Cubs Minor League News: Bote bomb, Thompson impressive, Hull pitches gem, more |
The playoff hunt is officially on for the Cubs minor league system as four teams are closing in on the end of the first half of the season. With three teams in position to claim the first-half title and another one seeing their chances slip away, wins are more important now than ever, as the Cubs posted a 2-4 overall mark.
In what was a rare low-scoring game for not only AAA but for the high-powered Iowa offense, their pitching stood out as they took care of the Indians 2-1. Riley Thompson was back in the starting rotation and delivered one of his better outings in a long time. The right-hander got through five innings and scattered four hits. From there, a quartet of relievers got the job done, including Manny Rodriguez, who notched his team-best ninth save. Opposing Thompson was Cam Alldred, who was equally as good, allowing two runs across six frames. The first of those runs came in the second inning off a David Bote homer as the Cubs led from start to finish 1-0. 404 feet later, we have the lead! David Bote puts us up 1-0 with this solo home run. pic.twitter.com/4l8XCmCXHZ Bryce Windham provided the game-winning RBI in the fifth as his sacrifice fly made things 2-0. The lone run of the night for the Indians came in the eighth inning against Jeremiah Estrada. Struggling with his command as he walked three, Estrada minimized the damage with Endy Rodriguez picking up an RBI single to make things 2-1 before falling by that score. Iowa had five hits, with Bote leading the way with two. Matt Mervis returned to Iowa and picked up a hit in his first game back. Welcome back Mash. #GoCubsGo 🐻⚾️ Make that 3 in a row! pic.twitter.com/B66ZKYIS9R
We can safely assume that the Cedar Rapids Kernels are South Bend's kryptonite this season. No matter how well this team pitches and they have pitched well in this series, the offense is nonexistent, and that is never a good thing. Today it was the combination of Brandon Birdsell and Manuel Espinoza falling to a lack of offense as both pitched well. Birdsell got the start and struck out four across five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Espinoza took over from there to close things out, allowing one run the rest of the way. The only problem with that was facing Marco Raya and Zebby Matthews, who combined to strike out 10. The lone run of the night for South Bend came in the third inning when an Ezequiel Pagan RBI single gave the Cubs a rare 1-0 lead against the Kernels. Their lead didn't last long, with Misael Urbina tying things up in the fourth on an RBI double before Jose Salas's single gave the Kernels the lead for good. Noah Cardenas added the final run in the eighth off of a single as the Cubs continue to flounder against the Kernels. Pagan was one of three Cubs joining Luis Verdugo, and Kevin Made with multiple hits. At least we can all agree...
The theme from the full-season teams had strong pitching, which was no different for the Pelicans. Led by Nick Hull, who struck out four over six innings of one-run ball, the Pelicans staff pitched well enough to win, only to be outdone by the Nationals as they allowed three hits with seven strikeouts in the game. Tied at 0 through five, it was the top of the sixth when the Nationals grabbed the lead as Daylen Lile took Hull deep for the game-winning hit and a 1-0 Nationals lead. That score held until the eighth when Elijah Green picked up an RBI single off Johzan Oquendo to lift the Nationals to a 2-0 win. Chase and Skye's first Pelican's game 🐶 Minor setback for a major comeback.#MBPelicans | #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/ptNjsBNA94
Despite the full-season teams combining to score just three runs across three games, the Rookie Leagues brought much more excitement as the ACL Cubs scored three runs on their own. Granted, losses are not what you want to see, but having Alexander Canario back in the lineup after a gruesome injury in the fall is a pleasant sight. Canario wasn't in the lineup on Friday, but he did make his season debut on Thursday. This game was decided by the big innings as the Brewers used a pair of massive innings to seize control and pull away for the win. The first of those big innings came in the second after Keston Hiura put the Brewers in front 1-0 in the first. In that second inning, four runs came across to score, with Hiura picking up his second RBI hit in as many innings. Johan Barrios and Duncan Gacria also added RBI doubles in that inning, with Josh VanMeter making things 5-0 with a single. All of the Cubs offense came in the third inning, with the red-hot Alexis Hernandez picking up an RBI triple to make things 5-1. A bases load walk, and a sacrifice fly later, and the Cubs were within 5-3, only to see their offense stall the rest of the way. The Brewers added to their lead with three more in the sixth inning as Juan Baez delivered a two-run double in that frame.
Friday will be known as the Derniche Valdez day in the DSL as the Cubs rookie had a career day at the plate. Not only did he go a perfect 4-4 at the plate, but Valdez delivered his first two homers as a pro. He also was responsible for nearly all the offense as he drove in seven runs to help offset a rough pitching performance. Trailing 2-0 after one, the Cubs pulled within 2-1 before a massive inning by the Tigers had them in control. Angel Cruz started that inning with a two-run blast, with Brandy Caraballo adding an RBI single later to stretch the lead to 6-1. From there, it was the Valdez show as he started his massive afternoon with a three-run shot in the third before his Grand Slam in the fourth put the Cubs on top 8-6 as he single-handedly brought them back. After Justin Rodriguez tied things up with an RBI single in the top half of the sixth, the Cubs had the last laugh as the bases-loaded walk from Brailin Pascual was the difference in the Cub's 9-8 win. Although Valdez was the star, everyone in the Cubs lineup had a hit.
While most of the Rookie League games were about offense, this one came down to the pitching, as the Cubs received an outstanding pitching performance across the board. Sure, having a four-run first inning certainly helps as it does make things easier on the staff, but you still need to take care of business from there. The Cubs offense got rolling right away in the first, with Carlos Altuve and Andres Bonolis picking up RBI singles while Josias Ramirez added an RBI double to make things 4-0. That was plenty of support for a Cubs staff that yielded two runs and struck out 10. Ronny Lopez earned the win after punching out four in three nearly flawless innings. After the Cubs plated four in the top half of the first, the Tigers grabbed one of those runs back as Heison Sanchez picked up an RBI single. Two innings later, it was Ramirez putting an exclamation point on his already nice game with a solo shot as the Cubs rolled to a 5-2 win.IOWA CUBS 2 - INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 1
📸 @Photographygcp pic.twitter.com/IAa9b5UJZA
TENNESSEE SMOKIES at BIRMINGHAM BARONS (Postponed, Makeup on Saturday)
CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 3 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1
Des Moines > Cedar Rapids pic.twitter.com/gMUDTw0BYkFREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 2 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 0
A BIG thank you to Nickelodeon for making PAW Patrol night so great! pic.twitter.com/ySiAdLYm6Q
ACL BREWERS 8 - ACL CUBS 3
DSL CUBS BLUE 9 - DSL TIGERS 8
DSL CUBS RED 5 - DSL TIGERS 2
