Cubs Minor League News: Rookie League action |
Once again, Rookie League Monday rolled in and out of our lives as this is the only day where the Rookie League teams get center stage. It would be nice if these teams would live up to the expectations of the full-season leagues, but a lot of these players are multiple years from reaching those levels.
Until then, it is nice for fans to see a small glimpse of the future and what could be coming through the system in the next few seasons while the rest of the full-season players progress. Wins are significant, but not as important as the developmental side at this level.
Don't look now, but the ACL Cubs are one of the hottest teams in the Arizona Complex league. Yes, they are still just 22-25, but they have gotten hot in recent weeks and are seven games above .500 over their last 21 games. They continued their hot streak on Monday, using a five-run inning to put away the Brewers. It was the Brewers who had the early advantage, with Gregory Barrios cashing with a first-inning RBI double. Trailing 1-0 in the third, the Cubs offense came to life and put the game away for good. A pair of wild pitches led to the first two runs to put the Cubs in front for good before the Reggie Preciado single made things 3-1. Rafael Morel and Anderson Suriel added RBI singles later in that inning to cap off a five-run frame leading 5-1. The Cubs would add to that lead in the fourth when Morel added his second RBI hit in as many innings to extend the lead to 6-1. The Brewers managed to get one of those runs back late with another Barrios RBI, but that was it as the Cubs win again 6-2. Morel led the way for the offense collecting three hits to go with his two RBIs. In other news, Brennen Davis returned to game action and posted a hitless night with one walk and three punchouts.
One of the biggest nemesis' for the DSL Cubs this season has been the Yankees, which continued on Monday. Despite playing well and keeping things tied through five innings, it was the Yankees who erupted for five runs late, including a four-run sixth to put things away. While Mora was on the mound taking the start, he allowed a pair of runs in just 1 1/3 innings. Both of those runs came in the second inning when Juan Matheus picked up an RBI single ahead of a bases-loaded walk to make things 2-0. Add in a Manuel Palencia RBI double in the third, and the Yankees held a 3-0 lead. Considering how good Jordarlin Mendoza was pitching, you had to think three runs would be enough as he held the Cubs scoreless through four innings. It was in the fifth when the Cubs offense finally broke through, which started with Josias Ramirez's RBI double to make things 3-1. Later that inning, it was time for Erbin Jaque to come through as his second homer of the season brought things back to even 3-3. Despite the Cubs best efforts to tie things up, the Yankees pulled away late, using a massive four-run sixth to put the game away. Diomedes Hernandez came through with the game-winning RBI double to make things 5-3, while Keiner Delgado picked up an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-3. Willy Montero added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to go with a wild pitch run in the seventh as the Yankees pulled away late 8-3. The Cubs had just three hits, with Jaque, Ramirez, and Andrews Cruz grabbing those hits.
While the Yankees have been an issue for the Cubs all summer, DSL Blue finally got on the winning side of things topping the Yankees 7-5. A big reason for their success was some early offense that helped them build a five-run lead before holding off the Yankees in the end. The Cubs wasted little time getting started on offense, with Jose Herrera putting the Cubs in front for good with an RBI triple. Following a wild pitch that allowed him to score, Jairo Diaz added an RBI single that saw the Cubs race out to an early 3-0 lead. Things only got better in the second inning, with Josefrailin Alcantara adding a second RBI triple for the Cubs before coming home on the Jose Escobar RBI groundout to make things 5-0. It was in the bottom of the second when the Yankees bats came to life as they started to make a game of things. With the bases loaded, the Yankees scored four times using a pair of walks and a pair of hit-by pitches to do the damage and pulled within 5-4 of the Cubs. That score held until the fifth inning when Escobar delivered the game-winning homer to extend the Cubs lead to 6-4. Once again, the Yankees pulled within one in the bottom half of the fifth before the Cubs added a late-game run to pick up the 7-5 win. Escobar and Herrera led the way with two hits and combined for three RBIs in the win.ACL CUBS 6 - ACL BREWERS 2
DSL YANKEES 8 - DSL CUBS RED 3
DSL CUBS BLUE 7 - DSL YANKEES 5
