Cubs Minor League News: I-Cubs get walked-off twice, Smokies postponed, Gallardo impressiv |
Even with two games postponed on Tuesday, there was still plenty of Minor League action to follow with five teams in action once again. Add in the completion of a suspended game, and those five teams played a five-game slate as they began a new week of competition.
For the most part, things didn't go as planned, with the organization posting a 1-4 record on the night and 1-5 if you count the completed suspended game. Some of those losses were close, but there were some lopsided defeats as the organization continues to see some bright spots across the board.
Looking to complete their suspended game, the Cubs picked up the action in the fifth, where they held a 5-3 lead. Ironically, that score held until the ninth inning when the Saints pushed across three runs for the walk-off win. Jose Miranda tied things up with an RBI double before Tomas Telis singled home the winning run. All those runs were charged to Tony Cingrani as he not only lost his first game of the season, but allowed his first earned runs with Iowa. The Saints came out on top in the completion of our suspended game, but stay tuned, we'll play again in half an hour! pic.twitter.com/bqMp88oPWc
In their regularly scheduled contest, the Cubs Cory Abbott to the mound as he looked to tame the Saints. Once again, Abbott continues to battle through some command issues walking five and striking out five in five innings of work while allowing three runs. He pitched well enough to earn a no-decision, however, as the Saints walked off the Cubs for the second time on the day. It took four innings for the Cubs offense to get started, but they raced out to a comfortable 3-0 lead once they did. Jared Young opened the scoring with a single to right before the Levi Jordan RBI grounder doubled the lead. Trent Giambrone capped off the huge fourth inning with a single of his own, putting the Cubs up 3-0. Despite his command issues, Abbott kept the Saints off the board through four innings which is all you can ask for with your starter. That all changed in the fifth when Drew Stankiewicz connected for a solo shot to put Saint Paul on the board. A Trevor Larnach double and Telis single followed suit, and just like that, things were back to even 3-3. Neither team put much together the rest of the game until the bottom of the eighth when Gilberto Celestino ripped the walk-off single past Abiatal Avelino to secure the win. Much like the Chicago Cubs, Iowa continues to outhit their opponents with nothing to show for it as Ian Miller and Young led the way with two hits. Alfonso Rivas, Nick Martini, Trayce Thompson, and Giambrone added the remaining hits. Final from CHS Field. pic.twitter.com/aXibXec6IC
Tonight's game as been postponed due to inclement weather. Tickets can be exchanged for any other home game during the 2021 season. #SmokiesBaseball #GoSmokies https://t.co/O5IBdddU1b
The Cubs returned home on Tuesday to take on the River Bandits as they hoped to keep their momentum rolling. Instead, Quad Cities used a five-run fifth to grab control and pulled away for an easy win. One thing the Cubs have going for them over most High-A teams is a series of fireballers who can all touch 96 MPH plus. Max Bain is one of those guys, as he took the ball Tuesday. After looking impressive through four innings, Bain ran into tough sledding in the fifth as he was charged with five earned runs in that inning before taking the loss. That didn't bode well, considering Bradlee Beesley gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the fourth using his fourth homer of the season to do so. With Bain starting to labor in the fifth, Quad Cities began to capitalize with Tucker Bradley tying things up 1-1 with an RBI single. One batter later saw Nick Loftin take Bain deep for a grand slam putting the River Bandits in front for good 5-1. Beesley collected his second RBI in the fifth to keep pace with Quad Cities as a sacrifice fly made things 5-2. That would be as close as the Cubs would get with Michael Massey picking up a two-run single in the seventh off Tanner Jesson-Dalton and Bradley adding an eighth-inning homer to pick up the 9-2 win. Jake Slaughter led the way in a tough offensive night, collecting two of the Cubs six hits. Luis Vazquez joined Beesley, Bryce Ball, and Harrison Wenson with one hit while Beesley added both RBIs. Acquired in the Ryan Tepera deal, Bailey Horn made his season debut with South Bend and was charged with a pair of earned runs in one inning of work. Homers push the needle as the Cubs drop the first game of the series to Quad Cities. pic.twitter.com/xu3CBqIDjo
The Woodpeckers were able to cool off one of the hottest teams in relatively easy fashion, making quick work of them 8-1. In his start, Richard Gallardo gave the Pelicans everything they could have asked for more, going five innings and allowing just two runs to keep things close. Both those runs came in the third inning when Jordan Brewer opened the scoring with an RBI triple before coming home on a Quincy Hamilton sacrifice fly. Fortunately for the Pelicans, they were able to keep pace through five innings, with Ezequiel Pagan picking up an RBI single in the fifth to pull within 2-1. With the Pelicans bullpen in the game, Fayetteville began to damage, with most of it coming in the sixth. In that inning, the Woodpeckers busted things wide open, taking a one-run game and making it a five-run lead. Nathan Perry opened the scoring with an RBI double before Nerio Rodriguez, and Victor Mascai added RBI singles. A wild pitch later in the inning capped off a four-run frame with the Woodpeckers up 6-1. They pushed their lead to 8-1 in the seventh, with Rodriguez and Kobe Kato adding two more RBI singles in the win. Jonathan Sierra and Fabian Pertuz had the hot hand at the plate, as they combined for four of the teams seven hits. Pagan picked up the lone RBI with his hit while Kevin Made and Ed Howard also landed in the hit column. Tonight’s final. #MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/MADrtaQl0E
Although the Rockies may have the best record in the league, the Cubs have their number beating them for the second time in a week 4-2. Andricson Salvador continued his great season giving the Cubs five great innings of one-run three-hit ball to lower his ERA to 1.91. He didn't walk anyone and struck out five. Two of the Cubs four runs came immediately in the first as that proved to be all the offense they would need. In just a few games, 2021 fourth-round pick Christian Franklin is proving his value with this team picking up an RBI groundout for the quick 1-0 lead. Juan Mora would add an RBI single later in that inning as the Cubs were up 2-0. There wasn't much that went wrong for Salvador, yielding two of his three hits allowed in the second, including the RBI single by Cole Zabowski to pull the Rockies within 2-1. Outside that, Salvador was good, but the bullpen let him down in the sixth, allowing an RBI ground to Hunter Goodman to tie things up 2-2. Fortunately, the Cubs offense had the last laugh with Peter Matt getting drilled by a pitch with the bases loaded to push across the winning run in the sixth. Franklin would add a clutch RBI single in the seventh to provide some insurance as the Cubs win 4-2. Owen Caissie continues to be one of the offensive leaders in terms of hits, collecting two more to his name. James Triantos, Kevin Alcantara, Franklin, Mora, Matt, and Malcom Quintero all had hits in the win. Ismael Mena and Reggie Preciado were held hitless, but each managed to take a walk.
Much like the major league version of the Brewers, the Cubs couldn't solve them getting dominated 9-0. After the starter Kenyi Perez got through three shutout innings, it was the Brewers going to work as they opened the scoring in a big way in the fourth. With two runners on base, Arnys Rodriguez connected for the winning hit as his RBI double had the Brewers on top 2-0. Miguel Briceno picked up a single later in that inning to double the lead 4-0 through four. Two innings later saw the Brewers at it again, with Jose Gonzalez taking a bases-loaded walk ahead of the Gregory Berrios single to extend the lead to 6-0. The Brewers continued to add to their lead in the seventh using a Jamal Zalm double to go up 7-0 before Briceno added another double to cap off the scoring in a 9-0 Brewers win. Even with the loss, the Cubs managed seven hits, with Anderson Suriel leading the way with two. Cristian More, Pedro Ramirez, Raino Coran, Gouri Lubo, and Luis Maza collected the other five hits in the losing effort.
SAINT PAUL SAINTS 6 – IOWA CUBS 5 (Completion from June 20)
SAINT PAUL SAINTS 4 – IOWA CUBS 3 (8 innings)
TENNESSEE SMOKIES at BIRMINGHAM BARONS (Postponed Make up TBD)
QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 9 – SOUTH BEND CUBS 2
FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 8 – MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1
ACL CUBS 4 – ACL ROCKIES 2
DSL BREWERS 9 – DSL CUBS RED 0
DSL CUBS BLUE vs. DSL DODGERS (Postponed)
