Cubs Minor League News: Bote bomb, Brown impressive, PCA and Alcantara raking, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Bote bomb, Brown impressive, PCA and Alcantara raking, more
by - Senior Writer - Thu Jul 20 11:00:33 GMT-04:00 2023

With the Full Season League being the center of attention, it made things easier for the Cubs fans to keep track of. Sure, the Chicago Cubs did have another night game against the Nationals, but all four of the Cubs Minor League started before that game, so you have plenty of chances to catch up on the prospects. There was also a Rookie League team going on, as that makeup game gave the Cubs five total games to keep track of.

Not only that, but three games took place during the day, and it was the pitching that dominated as the Cubs pitching staff allowed one combined run in the daytime sweep while the evening games posted a 1-1 mark. That saw the Cubs finish the day with an overall record of 3-2, as the makeup game was lost in the mix with everything going on.

IOWA CUBS 7 - INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 1

After struggling his last few times out, Ben Brown used the All-Star break to get some much-needed time off before returning to the diamond. After returning on Wednesday, you could see the rest did him well, as Brown was lights out in his return to action. One of the top hurlers in the Cubs system, Brown gave the Cubs five shutout innings while allowing just one hit. He also didn't walk a batter while striking out nine, as this was the start the Cubs had been waiting for.

With Brown doing his thing on the mound, the Cubs didn't need a ton of offense and elected to play long ball early on. David Bote opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second, as he has now reached base in 21 straight games.

Yonathan Perlaza followed that up with a solo shot in the bottom half of the third to extend the lead to 2-0, but that homer proved to be the game-winning run.

Despite Brown doing his thing on the mound, the Cubs hoped to give him more than just two runs of support. Leave it to Nelson Velazquez, who launched a Grand Slam in the bottom half of the fifth to extend the Cub's lead to 6-0. Bote capped off the scoring for the Cubs in the bottom half of the seventh, using an RBI double to make things 7-0.

Looking to keep the shutout alive, Cam Sanders entered in the eighth after Jeremiah Estrada tossed a dominating seventh. Sanders was very good for the most part, but he did allow a lead-off homer to Aaron Shackelford, which put an end to the shutout bid. That was the lone run the Indians would score as Bailey Horn took over for Sanders in the ninth and closed the door. Bote and Luis Vazquez led the way with two hits, as both have been on a tear.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 8

When you are the first-place team, and everyone is chasing you, teams will give you their best shot every night. Tennessee took the best shot from the Braves on Wednesday, and they were locked into a battle as they let a late lead get away before walking them off.

Manuel Espinoza was not at his best, as he pitched into the fifth before being removed. Espinoza was charged with six runs, five earned, as he came away with five strikeouts in 4 2/3. Take him out of the mix, and the Smokies pen was very good, including lefties Luke Little and Brailin Marquez, who struck out five in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

With the score knotted 0-0 in the third, Cal Conley got into one from Espinoza and deposited it over the fence for the 2-0 Braves lead. The Smokies didn't waste any time getting on the board themselves, with Owen Caissie using a single to make things 2-1, followed by the BJ Murray single to give them a 3-2 advantage.

In the fifth, things began to come unglued for Espinoza as Landon Stephens tied things up with a solo blast. That was just the beginning for the Braves and their offense, as they scored four times to take a 6-3 lead. A wild pitch and a passed ball helped give them two additional runs, but there was also the Tyler Tolve single that put them in front.

Like in the third when Mississippi initially took the lead, Tennessee didn't miss a beat as they not only pulled within one in the bottom of the fifth but took the lead in the sixth. The Smokies played long ball in the fifth to pull even with Murray Jr using a solo shot to make things 6-4 before Cole Roederer pulled them within one on his solo shot.

One inning later, Pete Crow-Armstrong came through in the clutch, using an RBI double to bring things back to even 6-6. The big blow in the sixth came from Pablo Aliendo as his two-run single put the Smokies in front 8-6. Given how their bullpen was pitching, that 8-6 lead looked like it would hold until the eighth inning.

Drew Lugbauer did his part with a solo shot to pull Mississippi within one, while an RBI groundout later in the eighth tied things back up 8-8. That score held entering the bottom of the ninth, where Tennessee needed one run to win the game, or extras were on the horizon. Leave it to Caissie to come through, as his tremendous patience at the plate paid off as he worked a bases-loaded walk to walk off the Braves 9-8.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - WEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS 0

Coming off a shutout loss to the Whitecaps on Tuesday, the Cubs returned the favor on Wednesday as they took care of West Michigan 5-0. Brody McCullough was making his first start since the all-star break and his third start with High-A.

Despite his struggles across his first two starts, McCullough looked like a completely different pitcher as he gave the Cubs 4 1/3 shutout innings.

He walked two, struck out seven, and allowed just two hits before Adam Laskey, Frank Scalzo Jr, and Sheldon Reed finished things off. Despite McCullough's effort, Wilkel Hernandez was equally as good, allowing one run with seven strikeouts in five innings.

The lone run he would allow came in the fourth as the Moises Ballesteros RBI double gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Not only did they not look back, but they didn't need another run the rest of the way as the pitching was dialed in from the start. Holding that 1-0 lead into the sixth, the Cubs doubled their lead on a wild pitch before putting things away in the seventh.

In that seventh inning, the offense matched the pitching as they pushed across three runs to take a 5-0 lead. Felix Stevens and Yohendrick Pinango picked up RBI singles during that inning, with Ezequiel Pagan adding a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs the win. Kevin Alcantara not only extended his on-base streak to 23 games, but he led the offense with three hits and has raised his average to .276 on the season.

COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 3 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2

Despite a fabulous pitched game from both sides, the Fireflies got this one as they evened up their series with Myrtle Beach. It is only a matter of time until the Cubs organization turns Jackson Ferris loose, but he is close. Following his 3 2/3 outing, where he struck out five and allowed one run, Ferris is showing he may be ready to take the next step in his development.

He managed to keep the Firefly's offense in check for most of his outing before running into a bit of trouble in the fourth. The result was an RBI single from Lizandro Rodriguez that put the Fireflies in front 1-0. Ferris was removed shortly after, but Columbia would add another run to take a 2-0 lead.

Given how Ben Hernandez was pitching at this point, the Pelicans knew they were going to need offense as Hernandez held them scoreless through four while punching out two. Despite Hernandez coming out of the game after four, it still took Myrtle Beach six innings to score as Cristian Hernandez put the Pelicans on the board with a sacrifice fly.

Hernandez wasn't quite done, and after Erik Pena made things 3-1 in the eighth on a sacrifice fly, Hernandez left the building in the bottom half of the eighth to keep things close 3-2.

That would be it for the Pelicans and their offense as the Fireflies found a way to even things up.

ACL ANGELS 5 - ACL CUBS 2

There aren't too many times when Rookie League teams play on Wednesday, but the Cubs broke that stretch as they had a makeup game against the Angels. For the most part, this was an excellent game as all five of the Angels runs came in innings 2-4. The problem was an offense that only scored two runs in the loss.

The Angels took the lead in the second with Rafael Medina using an RBI single to make things 2-0. Things only got worse for the Cubs from there, with the Angels adding two more runs in the third and an additional run in the fourth off the Athanael Duarte single to push the Angels lead to 5-0.

It took five innings for the Cubs to score as they benefitted from a wild pitch to close the gap to 5-1. In the next inning, it was Carlos Altuve coming through with an RBI single to make things 5-2, but that was the day's final run for either side.

Edward Vargas led the way with two hits, while Altuve and Brailin Pascual added the other two.

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