Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara and Ballesteros blast back-to-back homers, Knight raking |
Don't look now, but in just a week, the Minor League Schedule will be cut in half as both High-A and Low-A will have their seasons end on Sunday. Neither one of those teams will be making the playoffs this season so the next six games will be the final time we see a lot of these players this season.
Given that the Labor Day schedule is always a little quirky, half of the Cubs system was off on Monday with the other half having off tomorrow. With two games expected to be played on Monday, Mother Nature had other ideas as one game got rained out. That made for just one game to go final as the Cubs went 1-0 on the evening.
Nothing comes easy for the Iowa Cubs right now, especially not when they play the Saints as these continue to deliver great games. Despite a seven-run third inning to break the game open, the Saints came roaring back as they scored five times across the final two frames before falling 11-8. There are many questions about who will start the rest of the way for the Cubs as Daniel Missaki battled through some command issues to go 3 1/3 innings. Daniel Palencia took over from there and struck out four across his 2 2/3 before Frank Scalzo Jr and Jack Neely went through their struggles. Caleb Baragar was on the mound for the Saints, and like Missaki, he didn't last long as this was also a bullpen day for the Saints. With both teams manufacturing a run in the first inning, the Cubs offense came out swinging in the third to break things wide open. All seven of those runs came on a trio of homers, with Kevin Alcantara starting things off with a three-run blast. Moises Ballesteros answered that with a solo blast to extend the lead to 5-1, with Caleb Knight getting in on the fun with another three-run shot as the Cubs opened up an 8-1 lead. YOU GET A HOMER, YOU GET A HOMER, YOU GET A HOMER! Knight was just getting started as he added a second solo shot in the sixth to push the Cubs lead to 9-1, with Owen Caissie doubling home an additional run to make this a 10-1 game. CALEB KNIGHT AGAIN! @CalebKnight13's first multi-homer game of his career makes it 9-1! Not quite a homer, but Caissie's second double of the day will do! 10-1, good guys! pic.twitter.com/3Nwu23XPQH It took five innings for the Saints to get on the board again, with Diego Castillo and Payton Eeles delivering a pair of RBI singles to make this a 10-3 game. Trailing 11-3 in the eighth, the Saints offense started showing signs of life as Scalzo Jr continued his struggles on the mound. Eeles got the party started with his second consecutive RBI single, with Rylan Bannon tacking on an additional single to make things 11-5. Things continued to get interesting in the ninth as Neely had his worst showing of the season since joining the Cubs, which has to be a concern. Not only did Neely surrender a Yunior Severino homer to make things an 11-7 game, but he also allowed a Carson McKusker triple as the Saints were suddenly within 11-8. That was as close as they would get as Neely eventually settled in to finish things off as the Cubs closed out a win to open their week. Knight had arguably his best game of the season as he led the Cubs with three hits and four RBIs. Caissie, Alcantara and Ballesteros all added multiple hits in the win. We put in [W]ork on Labor Day! Another one Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/IurXcMYymm
With neither of these teams making the playoffs and this game not yielding any playoff implications, there is a good chance this game won't be made up. Tonight's game has been postponed due to unplayable field conditions. A makeup date has not been announced yet and will be shared at a later time. Relive the highlights from the final homestand of 2024!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/3PXAb2vvtp
You could make the case that this was one of the best, if not the best, series of the season for the Dogs. Not only did they sweep the Railcats this weekend, but they did so by allowing just five total runs and scoring 30. Monday was a continuation of that as the Dogs took care of business 7-1 to cap off the sweep. With the playoffs right around the corner, this is the final tuneup for many of these guys, including Chad Pike, who allowed just one run in five innings of work before yielding to Eric Turner, who went the rest of the way. The lone run Pike allowed came off a Miguel Sierra third-inning single, which tied things up after Brantley Bell picked up an RBI single in the top of the third. The score remained until the fifth, when Gus Sosa left the yard for what would be the game-winning solo shot before an error led to two more runs to push the Dogs lead to 4-1. That score would hold until the eighth inning when the Dogs added three more runs. A bases-loaded walk to Nick Novak led to the first run, with Jacob Teter closing out the scoring on an RBI single to give the Dogs another win. Next up for the Dogs will be an off day before they open their best-of-three playoff series on Wednesday against the Railroaders. Series sweep!🧹IOWA CUBS 11 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 8
Kevin Alcantara and @moisesballest17 go back-to-back in the third and then @CalebKnight13 adds a another in the frame! Our first three-homer inning makes it 8-1 I-Cubs! pic.twitter.com/lqbc7gZYNT
Knight now has 11 career homers in affiliated ball and he has made two career starts at third base. Three of his 11 homers have come as a third baseman. pic.twitter.com/V1d8DBeyMo
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS vs FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS (Postponed)
Tickets for tonight's game are good for any remaining game this season AND any game during April 2025. Fans can exchange their… pic.twitter.com/6Rgs0TDXI1
CHICAGO DOGS 7 - GARY SOUTHSHORE RAILCATS 1
📺https://t.co/ZyIk7dPtfi |🌭#NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/A065t7xrRH
