Cubs Minor League News: Roederer impressive, Kalmer and Chavers homer, Trice raking, more |
This week has been a struggle for the Cubs when it comes to winning games. However, with this being the final day before the all-star break, what better way to go out and have your best day of the week to give yourself some momentum heading into next week?
That is just what the Cubs did as they used strong pitching and some tremendous offensive showings to set the tone which isn't something you have been able to say most of the week. The result was a 3-1 record to close out the week, as the Cubs will now enjoy some extra time off.
The lone loss of the day came in AAA, and it happened to be the best pitching performance of the day, with the Sounds and Cubs combined for just five runs. Unfortunately, the Cubs got the short end of the straw as they fell to the Sounds 3-2. Coming off his first win since joining the Cubs, Dan Straily was at it again as he delivered another strong outing. Straily gave the Cubs 5 2/3 impressive innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out four. He went toe to toe with Garrett Stallings, who pitched into the sixth, allowing one run. It didn't take the Cubs long to get the scoring started as Cole Roederer opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first as Iowa opened up an early 1-0. Cole gives us the lead in the first! pic.twitter.com/kGeYLy8QmQ That lead was short-lived as the Sounds came to bat at the bottom of the first and proceeded to use a Brewer Hicklen homer to take a 2-1 lead, as the Sounds never looked back. Those are the only runs Straily would allow, but with the Cubs offense struggling, two runs seemed like five runs as the Sounds pitching was lights out. Following the strong outing from Straily, the Cubs turned to their pen, and Caleb Kilian continued his rehab with another strong outing. With the score still sitting at 2-1 in the seventh, Owen Miller pushed across the winning run as he worked a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-1. Iowa picked up a run in the ninth off the Jack Reinheimer groundout, but that was all they could do in a 3-2 loss to the Sounds. Bryce Windham paced the Cubs offense with two hits while Michael Arias added another scoreless frame of relief to his season. Had our chances today. See y'all after the All-Star break! pic.twitter.com/xswpDCYCcB
If the Smokies are going to make the playoffs by winning the second half, they will have to earn it, as several teams will test them. One of those teams is the Biscuits, who gave the Smokies all they could handle this week. However, the Smokies had the last laugh as they shut out the Biscuits 9-0 to end the week. After getting roughed up by the Biscuits earlier this week, Antonio Santos bounced back in a big way as the right-hander tossed five innings of shutout baseball, allowing two hits and striking out seven. Facing Logan Workman for the second time this week, the Smokies offense came out swinging as they used a six-run fifth inning to break things open and cruised for the win. The Smokies opened the scoring in the second as the Caleb Knight fielder's choice pushed home the winning run while a Luis Verdugo sacrifice fly made things 2-0. They would extend their lead to 3-0 in the fourth off a Casey Opitz RBI forceout, but it was the fifth inning when the Smokies offense took over. It all started with a Yohendrick Pinango single to extend the lead to 4-0, but that was the only hit in the inning that brought home a run, as the Biscuits didn't help themselves out. Three bases-loaded walks and a hit by pitch led to four additional runs, with an error leading to the game's final run in the Smokies' 9-0 win. Today was a good day. Final score presented by @Zips3mincarwash
Although Mother Nature forced this game to be completed in seven innings, it was a very positive seven innings for the Cubs, who dominated the Dragons 7-0. Whether it was their relentless offense that pushed across seven runs or a pitching staff that held the Dragons to only three hits, this was a complete-game win for the Cubs, which hasn't happened a ton. Ty Johnson got the start for the Cubs and was dominant in his three innings as he struck out six and scattered just two hits. He gave way to Tyler Santana, who went the next two innings before Nick Hull tossed the final inning for the Cubs. Opposing Johnson was Mason Pelio, who wasn't terrible in his three innings, but only two hits the Dragons offense didn't give him much of a chance. South Bend only needed one inning to get the scoring started. The Jonathon Long single not only gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, but it also went down as the game-winning run. They extended their lead to 3-0 in the second, as a wild pitch and the Brett Bateman sacrifice fly had the Cubs comfortably in front. Those were the game's only runs until the fifth inning when the Cubs offense started to show signs of life again. Backed by an RBI fielder's choice and an Ed Howard sacrifice fly in the fifth, the Cubs would go on to score four runs in the final three innings to pull away for the victory. Brian Kalmer and Parker Chavers added the final two runs on a pair of solo homers in the win. Kalmer led the Cubs with two hits as he started to figure out the high-A pitching. He was joined by Jefferson Rojas and his two hits as he tried to hit his way out of a lengthy slump at the plate. Rain shortened, but still a W! 💪 pic.twitter.com/AZMnz37mGQ
Despite spotting the Cannonballers with a four-run second inning, it was the Pelicans that showed the fight the fans have been waiting for as they battled back to pick up the 6-4 win. Kenten Egbert was charged with those four runs as he struggled to find outs in his two innings. Take his start out of the mix, and the Pelican's pitching was outstanding as four relievers combined for nine strikeouts and three hits allowed across seven dominating frames. With the score tied 0-0 in the second, Kannapolis put the pressure on as they erupted for a massive four-run second off Egbert. Two homers provided all of the offense in this one, with Drake Logan going deep to make things 2-0 and Mason Dinesen adding a two-run shot later in the inning to give Kannapolis a 4-0 lead. Those would be the only runs they would score in this one, as it was up to the Pelicans to battle back. You started to see that in the bottom of the second when Carter Trice got in on the home run party as he took Jake Bockenstedt deep to make things 4-2 after two. Myrtle Beach pulled within 4-3 off a wild pitch in the fourth inning before Jacob Wetzel tied things up in the seventh off an error. Looking to take the lead late, Trice came through with another massive hit as his RBI single brought home the game-winning run to put the Birds in front 5-4. Myrtle Beach extended their lead to 6-4 later in the inning on a Christopher Paciolla sacrifice fly as they would win by that score. Trice had a massive game at the plate as he led the Pelicans with three hits and three RBIs. Heading to the break with a W!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/ehL7H6TFKj Pelicans’ manager Buddy Bailey stands alone in third place on the Minor League Baseball all-time wins list with 2, 391!NASHVILLE SOUNDS 3 - IOWA CUBS 2
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 0
Box Score: https://t.co/gYdTEPvWx9 pic.twitter.com/3WsgthkOAXSOUTH BEND CUBS 7 - DAYTON DRAGONS 0 (F/7)
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6 - KANNAPOLIS CANNONBALLERS 4
Congratulations, Skip!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/uJeYCrxEUH
