Cubs Minor League News: Murray homers, Rojas and Mena homer, Shaw impressive, more
BJ Murray continues to rake this season

Cubs Minor League News: Murray homers, Rojas and Mena homer, Shaw impressive, more
by - Senior Writer - Sat Jul 29 11:31:05 GMT-05:00 2023

Typically, Friday would mean a full slate of Minor League action, but it was a much lighter night on the diamond with both DSL teams off. Lighter load or not, there was still plenty of action to be had, and it was an action that went in the Cub's favor again as they closed out the night 3-2 to continue their strong play.

MEMPHIS RED BIRDS 5 - IOWA CUBS 3

While the Cubs and Cards are going at it at the MLB level, why not see them go at it in AAA? After taking the first two in the series, Memphis has bounced back and has now evened things up with their 5-3 win. Nick Niedert was the losing pitcher despite allowing just two runs in five innings.

He was locked up with Gordon Graceffo, who matched Niedert pitch for pitch to allow just one run in 5 2/3. Both earned runs off of Niedert came in the first as the red-hot Masyn Wynn made it three straight games with a homer while Luken Baker added a double. Those would be the games only runs until the sixth, when Matt Mervis got the Cubs on the board with a single.

Trailing 2-1 at this point, Memphis used a three-run bottom of the sixth to put the game away for good as the Moises Gomez single made things 3-1 with an error leading to two additional runs. Iowa did manage to keep things close with Byrce Windham homering in the seventh to make things 5-3, but they would lose by that score.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 8 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4

It was only a matter of time until the Smokies cooled off a bit, which has happened the past few days. After securing the first two games of this series in dominating fashion, Rocket City has returned the favor in the last two, including their 8-4 win on Friday. Kohl Franklin has steadily improved over the past month, but this wasn't one of his better outings.

Yes, he did have six strikeouts in four innings, but he also gave up five runs as the Smokies were playing from behind most of the night. That is because Cole Percival, son of the great Trevor Percival, was on the hill as he made his AA debut and allowed one run in five innings with seven punchouts.

Despite their struggles most of the night, Haydn McGeary gave them an early lead as his first-inning RBI had the Smokies in front 1-0. Not only was that their only lead, but it didn't last long as Tucker Flint gave the Trash Pandas a 2-1 lead in the third, only to see McGeary tie things up in the fourth with another RBI hit.

Those runs in the bottom of the third seemed to awaken the Rocket City offense as they continued their onslaught in the fourth with the Gabe Matthews homer to put themselves in front 4-2. Jeremiah Jackson would add a homer in the fifth to extend the lead to 5-2, only to have BJ Murray Jr use a homer of his own in the sixth to keep things close to 5-3.

A David Calabrese single in the sixth extended the lead to 6-3, with Scott McKeon adding another RBI in the seventh to keep things close. Rocket City would end the game with two more runs to pull away as they doubled up the first-place Smokies 8-4.

McGeary and Owen Caissie led the way with two hits hitting .285 and .275, respectively.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - PEORIA CHIEFS 1

For the Cubs to pull themselves back into the second-half race, they need to have a big winning streak which is what they have done so far this week. Not only have they owned the Chiefs this series, but they have done so in various ways as the Cubs kept their winning mojo going with a 5-1 win.

Following a dominating performance from Cade Horton on Thursday, Brandon Birdsell was on the mound Friday, looking to build on his 2.52 ERA. Birdsell only lasted 4 1/3 but allowed just one run as Tyler Santana and Frank Scalzo Jr took care of the rest. Birdsell wasn't as sharp as he typically is, but he didn't have to be, as South Bend came out hot against Max Rajcic in the first.

For the second consecutive night, Kevin Made opened the scoring as his RBI single made it 1-0 with a fielder's choice later in the first, giving the Cubs the 2-0 lead. That lead would hold until the fourth, when the Cubs began to build on that advantage and stretch it out more. Ezequiel Pagan was the reason for that, as his two-run single doubled the lead from 2-0 to 4-0.

The lone run of the night for Peoria came in the bottom of the fourth when Jimmy Crooks took Birdsell deep to make things 4-1. Christian Franklin continued his scorching start to the season with the games final RBI in the eighth off his double as the Cubs continued to play well, 5-1. Pagan and James Triantos led the way with two hits.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 9 - FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 1

Coming off an embarrassing week last week, the Pelicans have taken their frustrations out on Fredericksburg this season. With three blowout wins under their belt, the Pelicans made it four as they took the series from the Nationals with a 9-1 win.

Grant Kipp continues to pitch well and may have given the Pelicans his best start of the season so far. The Right-hander gave the Pelicans five innings of three-strikeout baseball while allowing no runs on two hits. His ERA fell to 2.97 as he continued to anchor that staff at the top.

Kipp was greeted with plenty of early offense as the Pelicans scored six times in the first three innings to build the 6-0 lead. Three runs came in the second, with an RBI groundout leading to the first run and the lead, while the single from Reivaj Garcia extended the lead to 3-0. One inning later saw Parker Chavers extend the lead to 4-0 with a single, while another error in the field allowed two additional runs to score as the Pelicans built an early 6-0 lead.

The lone run of the night for the Nationals came in the sixth as an RBI groundout made things 6-1. The Pelicans capped off the scoring with a pair of homers from Jefferson Rojas and Ismael Mena, while a balk aided the final run in another easy win.

Garcia and Chavers led the way offensively with three hits while driving in three combined runs.

ACL CUBS 10 - ACL DIAMONDBACKS 5

Sparked by a pair of four-run innings in the first two frames, the Cubs managed to double up the Diamondbacks to secure the win. That early offense was good as Derek Casey made his first rehab start with the ACL Cubs and lasted just 2/3 of an inning. Casey was charged with two earned runs. The Ruben Santana double made things 1-0 with an RBI groundout making it 2-0.

When it comes to the Cubs offense, their lineup is vastly different than what it looked predraft, but that may not be a bad thing. Third-rounder Josh Rivera had a great game and opened the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. His single was followed by the Brian Kalmer single to tie things up, while Adan Sanchez put the Cubs in front for good with his sacrifice fly.

With one big inning under their belt, the Cubs began to tack on in the bottom half of the second as their offense was rolling. First-round pick Matt Shaw opened the scoring in that inning with a solo blast, only to have Rivera answer one with a solo shot of his own. Throw in the Jefferson Encarnacion single and the Drew Bowser single, and the Cubs were up 8-2 and showing no signs of letting up.

The Diamondbacks did a great job of hanging tough most of the way, but a pair of wild pitches gave the Cubs the final two runs as they took care of the Diamondbacks 10-5. Shaw and Rivera led the way with two hits and connected for their first professional homers.

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