Cubs Minor League News: Frazier raking, PCA impressive, Alcantara with 11th homer, more |
Friday was not a good night on the diamond for the Cubs as their organization went 0-7. Technically they were 1-7 with the completion of a previously suspended game, but apart from that, it was an overall ugly night.
Forget what this scoreboard looks like, as this game was much closer than the final score indicated. In fact, all seven of the Indians runs came in one inning in what was otherwise a great game. Unfortunately, those runs were all charged to Caleb Killian, who made it through three innings before the bottom fell out. Dixon Machado managed to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the top of the inning before the Indians offense started to hammer Killian. Carter Bins and Mason Martin picked up homers as the Indians would hit for the cycle in that inning, taking a 7-1 lead. Jackson Frazier would add a solo shot in the seventh inning, but that was it in the 7-2 loss. Final from Victory Field. pic.twitter.com/HEb2zDAZqg
Much like Iowa, this game was much closer than the final score indicates, as an eight-run inning turned a close game into a blowout. Ryan Jensen got the start and allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings as he was tagged with the tough-luck loss. That was because Dalton Stambaugh got lit up for 10 runs in three innings of relief, as the pitching was a struggle most of the night for everyone. Things were not all that bad for Tennessee as they struck first with a pair of runs in the third coming from a Luis Vazquez sacrifice fly and the Jake Slaughter single. Still holding that 2-0 lead in the fifth, the Barons offense woke up with Yasmani Grandal belting a three-run shot to make things 3-2. That lead grew to 6-2 in the sixth, with Luis Curbelo adding a three-run shot of his own. In the eighth inning, Birmingham put the game away as two homers ignited an eight-run inning that saw a 6-2 game flipped to a 14-2 game. Tennessee came away with three runs in the ninth as Harrison Wenson had an RBI groundout ahead of the Bradlee Beesley RBI double. Smokies score 7 on 7/7! Chris Clarke, @topher_clarke, throws 5 shutout innings in the W. #SmokiesBaseball #Cubs #FlyTheW #ItsDifferentHere pic.twitter.com/cQalyhMnfI
Coming off their dramatic win on Thursday, things didn't go as planned for South Bend on Friday as Wisconsin dominated them. For as good as DJ Herz has been this season, this was not one of his better starts. Herz lasted 4 1/3 innings allowing three runs on five hits to raise his ERA to 2.30. However, he did strike out eight, as that part of his game continues to be elite. Following his departure was Joe Nahas, who had some tough luck all night. Despite being charged with one earned run in two-plus innings, he surrendered six runs in total, as that was more than enough for the Rattlers. With Herz on the mound, any lead is tough to come back from, and Yohendrick Pinango did his part by adding an RBI single in the first. That score held until the fourth, when Herz uncorked a wild pitch to even things up. Wisconsin continued to keep the pressure on with Tristan Peters picking up an RBI double and then stealing home to make things 4-1. The Cubs kept things close in the sixth, with Jonathan Sierra ripping an RBI double to make things 4-2 before the passed ball brought things within 4-3. That would be as close as things would get as the Timber Rattlers for five runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to cruise to the victory. Sierra led the way with three hits while Pinango and Pete Crow-Armstrong added two. Series tied, game 5 tomorrow at 7:05 ET. pic.twitter.com/jxRUeGqfxr
Anchored by their four-run first inning, the Fireflies avoided the DH sweep by picking up a huge win. Richard Gallardo continues to be in a midseason swoon as the right-hander gave the Pelicans five innings, but was roughed up for all five runs. That proved to be an issue, especially when Luinder Avila matched his five innings, but only allowed one run to grab his fifth win. Known as a control pitcher, Gallardo had some issues with that from the start as he walked three and struck out zero. Those issues led to plenty of traffic in the first inning as Enrique Valdez put the Fireflies in front for good with an RBI double. That double was followed up with an error, and a balk as Columbia led 4-0 after one inning of play. Being down four runs is a difficult position to be in, but the Pelicans are explosive enough to come back. Ezequiel Pagan started that comeback attempt with an RBI single in the third to make things 4-1. After opening the scoring in the first inning, Valdez added to his already good game with another RBI hit in the fifth to cap off the scoring for Columbia and leading 5-1. The Pelicans did their best to make things interesting late, with Kevin Alcantara connecting for a two-run shot in the seventh, but they ran out of time, falling 5-3. Newly minted Top 100 prospect @Cubs' Kevin Alcantara crushes a two-run shot for his 11th dinger for @Pelicanbaseball. pic.twitter.com/oZyn1VYOaf Birds fall in the second game.INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 7 - IOWA CUBS 2
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 14 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5
WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 11 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3
COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 5 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3
Saturday night baseball tomorrow at 6:05.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/d4HsNU6nrz
