Cubs Minor League News: Hill raking, Shaw and Ballersteros homer, Merryweather impressive

Cubs Minor League News: Hill raking, Shaw and Ballersteros homer, Merryweather impressive
by - Senior Writer - Sat Jul 20 11:04:05 GMT-04:00 2024

At long last, the All-Star Break has come and gone, which means all seven of the Cubs Affiliates were back on the diamond. Although it was nice to focus on the Rookie League teams most of the week, those players are still years away from making an impact, which is why most fans pay attention to the full-season leagues.

In their first of three action-packed days over the weekend, the Cubs were looking to kick things off with a bang. For the most part, there were some solid performances, but on the flip side, there were also some ugly ones. Regardless, the Cubs returned to a full slate of games and posted a 3-3 mark.

IOWA CUBS 4 - MEMPHIS REDBIRDS 3

In what was a tightly contested back-and-forth game that saw things knotted up at three, it was the Cubs who emerged victorious as they scratched across a run in the eighth to pick up the win. Riley Thompson got the ball and delivered one of his best starts in over a month, allowing just one run in five innings to go with four punchouts.

The same can be said about Michael McGreevy through five innings before he started to come undone in the sixth and finished with three runs allowed in 5 2/3. It took four innings for either team to break through, with Moises Ballesteros picking up where he left off with his third Iowa homer to make things 1-0.

Memphis responded in the bottom of the fourth on a Nick Dunn single to tie things up, but with Darius Hill coming through with a two-run single in the sixth, the Cubs were back in front 3-1. Like in the fourth, when the Cubs opened the scoring, Memphis responded with two runs of their own. Another Dunn single made things 3-2 before a bases-loaded walk tied things back up 3-3.

However, the Cubs would get the last laugh as Cole Roederer worked a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to pick up the 4-3 win.

Hill paced the offense with three hits and two RBIs, while Ballesteros and Jake Hager added two. On a side note, Julian Merryweather continues to work back to the majors as he tossed a scoreless outing with two punchouts.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 6 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4

In what could be one of the deciding second-half series of the season, the Smokies and Trash Pandas faced off with first place in the division on the line. Despite a fast start by the Smokies offense with four early runs, the Trash Pandas came to life late and finished with four unanswered runs to win 6-4.

Alex Troop was the victim of the Rocket City offense. His great start to the game ended with a dud, as he surrendered five runs in six innings and only struck out two. Despite Caden Dana getting off to a rough start, he managed to get through five innings, allowing four runs but striking out eight as he settled into a nice groove.

The Smokies couldn't have asked for a better start. Matt Shaw opened his second half with a first-inning homer to put Tennessee in front 2-0.

That lead was short-lived, as Rocket City answered with two runs in the top of the third off a Nelson Rada double and an Orlando Martinez sacrifice fly, and just like that, this was a 2-2 game.

Not to be outdone, Shaw continued to keep the offense rolling as he delivered an RBI knock in the bottom of the third to put the Smokies back in front 3-2, with Kevin Alcantara adding a fielder's choice to make things 4-2.

Those would be the final runs of the game for Tennessee as Rocket City ended the game with four unanswered runs to pick up the win.

Three runs came in the fourth off Troop, and they all came on the Denzer Guzman homer to put Rocket City in front for good 5-4. They would add another run late on another Rada hit as the Smokies dropped their second-half opener 6-4.

Shaw had a massive game with three hits and three RBIs to lead the way, as James Triantos and Casey Opitz picked up two hits.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 8 - QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 1

Of all the games on Friday, South Bend delivered the most impressive performance as a pair of big innings backed a strong pitching performance to pick up the win. Erian Rodriguez may have struggled with his command in two innings, but he only allowed one run before the bullpen took over.

Newly promoted Nico Zeglin was part of that pen as he tossed three impressive innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. The same type of success can't be said for Ben Kudrna and company, as he allowed four runs in five innings before the bullpen got lit up late. The lone run of the game for Quad Cities came in the second inning off a bases-loaded walk as they took their only lead of the game, 1-0.

From there, it was all South Bend as they tied things up in the bottom of the second on an Ethan Hearn triple before taking the lead with three runs in the third. Jefferson Rojas and Parker Chavers had RBI singles in that inning, with an RBI fielder's choice leading to the third run as the Cubs opened up a 4-1 lead after three.

That was all part of eight unanswered runs to end the game, with the final four coming in the sixth inning of the River Bandits pen. Reivaj Garcia started things with a two-run single, while Brett Bateman and Pedro Ramirez rounded things out with two more RBI hits.

South Bend had 13 hits in the win, with six players having multi-hit games.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS at COLUMBIA FIREFLIES (Postponed)

ACL CUBS 13 - ACL GIANTS 10 (F/11)

DSL DIAMONDBACKS 8 - DSL CUBS RED 1 (F/5)

This game may not have lasted long, but it was a long day for the Cubs. The Diamondbacks used a five-run third inning to break the game open before winning 8-1. That came after the Cubs opened the scoring in the first inning off an Ezequiel Pena steal of home, as the Cubs took an early 1-0 lead.

It was all Arizona from that point on as the Diamondbacks tied the game on a wild pitch in the second and scored eight unanswered runs to end the game. They grabbed the lead for good in the third off the Enyervert Perez homer to make things 3-1 before tacking on five runs in the fourth.

A bases-loaded walk and a wild pitch aided the first two runs in that fourth inning, with an Eliesbert Alejos single extending the lead to 7-1. The Diamondbacks closed out the scoring with one more run-off an error as they took care of business 8-1.

DSL CUBS BLUE 5 - DSL RAYS 4

Despite a furious comeback that saw the Rays score twice in the ninth inning, the Cubs found a way to get things done. They used a plethora of early offense to hold off the Rays 5-4. Like in the DSL Red game, where the Cubs scored first and then went cold, the Rays struck first. A pair of RBI singles from Wilian Trinidad and Alan Fries gave the Rays a 2-0 lead through three.

Then came the Cubs and their offense as they stormed back to score five unanswered runs and opened up a 5-2 lead. That all started with a Juan Monso sacrifice fly to put the Cubs on the board in the fifth before they pushed across three runs in the sixth to take the lead. Sandy Sanchez gave the Cubs the lead for good with a two-run single before a wild pitch made things 4-2.

They would add one more run in the seventh off an error as the Cubs held a 5-2 lead. Looking to close things out, the Rays made things interesting as they pushed home a pair of runs in the ninth off a forceout and an Andres Torres single, but it wasn't enough as DSL Blue held on for the 5-4 win.

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