Cubs Minor League News: Young and Shaw raking, Vazquez homers, more |
Friday couldn't have been a much worse night for the Cubs as their struggling week in the minors continues. Already with a losing record in nearly every day this week, things went from bad to worse on Friday as the Cubs posted an 0-4 record for the night.
In the process, several teams are seeing their playoff hopes take a bit of a hit as they are not making it easy on themselves. The good news, this week is almost over, which will give everyone a chance to regroup and start a new.
No one is going to argue that the Cubs have a great team, but they do tend to play down to their competition sometimes. This week is a prime example of that, as a five-run second is all the Mud Hens would need to pick up another win. Nick Niedert had a rough go of things as he walked four in just 1 2/3 while also surrendering five runs to take the loss. Considering Lael Lockhart allowed just two runs in five innings, the start from Niedert wasn't what the Cubs were hoping for, although they did give him an early lead on a PJ Higgins single in the first. Once the second inning rolled around, it was all Toledo as they scored five times and never looked back. With Donny Sands tying things up with a sacrifice fly, it was the beginning of the end as Nick Sloak, Colt Keith, and Tyler Nevin all added RBI singles to open up a 5-1 lead. Iowa did their best to battle back with a fourth-inning single from Jared Young and a sixth-inning homer from Luis Vazquez, but that was it for their offense as they trailed 6-4 before Toledo tacked on a pair of runs later. Luis Vazquez! Get outta town! This two-run blast brings us closer as we enter the later stages in Toledo 👊 pic.twitter.com/8z0Qitv8a3 One of those runs came from Justyn Henry-Malloy and his homer as the Cubs fell again 8-4. Tomorrow is another day pic.twitter.com/SvloqOFbuC
The Smokies may be in the first place by a comfortable margin, but they picked a bad time to play a hot Shuckers team as they have dropped all four games this week. The past two games have been close games, as Walker Powell was on a mission. The Cubs Minor League leader in wins had a bit of a rough outing, surrending four runs in 4 1/3 before the bullpen locked things down late. The only issue was trying to solve Carlos Rodriguez, who struck out eight in six strong innings. It didn't take the Smokies long to grab the lead as 2023 first-rounder Matt Shaw picked up an RBI single in the first to make things 1-0. Biloxi immediately responded in the second as Jeferson Quero took Powell deep to make things 2-1 and set the stage for what would be a back-and-forth affair. His long ball was followed by a two-run shot from Andy Weber in the bottom of the second as the Smokies retook the lead 3-2. However, those would be the last of the runs for the Smokies, as their offense hasn't been able to get going this week. After a Wes Clarke single tied things up 3-3 in the third, it was the Brewers top prospect in Jackson Chourio delivering the knockout blow as his solo homer in the fifth was the difference in the Shuckers 4-3 win. Shaw paced the offense with two more hits and another RBI and continues to come through when called upon. We almost got away with it. | @zips3mincarwash pic.twitter.com/h8f7FkB0qD
The miserable season continues for the Cubs as they have now lost three straight since their win on Tuesday. Brody McCullough was looking to put an end to that streak but it didn't last long. After allowing three runs in 2 2/3, McCullough rolled his ankle on the mound and was forced to leave the game. He had five strikeouts at the time of his exit. While three runs doesn't seem like a ton, when Dylan Lesko is on the mound, it is as he opened the game with four strikeouts in five batters and struck out nine Cubs in five scoreless frames. Lesko was backed by a second-inning solo shot from Griffin Doersching to give the Tin Caps the lead for good, while singles from Lucas Dunn and Doersching in the third gave the Tin Caps a 3-0 lead. Throw in the Nerwillian Cedeno blast in the fourth, and Fort Wayne jumped out to the 6-0 lead as the Cubs were searching for answers. Despite their offense going cold the rest of the night, South Bend wasn't able to do much as an RBI force-out from Parker Chavers ended the shutout bid in the seventh. Felix Stevens would then pick up an RBI single in the eighth, but that was it in the Cubs 6-2 loss. Final.
These two teams have been the best teams in the Carolina League the past two seasons and this season is no exception. Despite a five-run inning from Myrtle Beach late in the game, it was the seven-run inning from Charleston that made the difference as they continued their stranglehold on the division. Luis Rujiano failed to make it out of the second inning as he suffered a rare rough start. Rujiano was charged with eight runs in his outing for the most he allowed on the season, as the Pelicans offense had a ton of work to do. Trailing 1-0 in the second, Pedro Ramirez came through with an RBI single to tie things up, but it was the bottom of the second when things came unglued. All Charleston needed was a pair of long balls to bust the game open as Brayden Taylor and Odalys Peguero each connected for three-run shots as part of a seven-run second to open up the 8-1 lead. Reivaj Garcia managed to get one of those runs back with a homer in the third, but after the Peguero double in the fourth, it was the Pelicans trailing 9-2. Needing offense in a hurry, the Myrtle Beach offense came to life in the seventh and suddenly made a game of things. Brett Bateman started things with a two-run double ahead of a Jefferson Rojas single, and just like that, it was a 9-5 game. After a walk by Jonathan Long made things 9-6, Ramirez capped off the five-run frame with a sacrifice fly to pull the Birds within 9-7. Unfortunately, that would be it for them offensively, as the Pelicans dropped another game to the Riverdogs 9-7. We have our playoff opponent.TOLEDO MUD HENS 8 - IOWA CUBS 4
BILOXI SHUCKERS 4 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3
FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2
Programming note: Tomorrow's radio pregame show will start at 6:15 PM on 96.1 The Ton 📻 pic.twitter.com/aIqvm6fblbCHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 9 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7
Pelicans and RiverDogs for the Carolina League South championship series beginning September 12.#MBPelicans | #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/bdnaXSMjgR
