Cubs Minor League News: Shaw still raking, Rojas rolling, Pels win eighth straight, more
Rick Scuteri - USA Today Sports

Cubs Minor League News: Shaw still raking, Rojas rolling, Pels win eighth straight, more
by - Senior Writer - Fri Aug 02 12:37:29 GMT-04:00 2024

Thursday was supposed to be a full slate of games, but Mother Nature had other ideas, with both DSL games getting suspended early. Despite that, the Full Season teams took center stage as they continued to go about their business with a 2-1 showing.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 8 - IOWA CUBS 2

The Iowa Cubs couldn't buy a win last night, as it seems like a month has gone by without a win. Not only did they drop five of six last week, but they have lost the first three games to the Saints this week as things are a struggle. With Brandon Birdsell getting the start and pitching well enough to win, it was a lack of offense that did the Cubs in, as they were held to two runs.

Birdsell gave the Cubs six innings of five strikeout ball, allowing four runs, but only two runs. Usually, a start like that would be good enough to win most games, but with Adam Plutko allowing two runs in 6 1/3, his efforts went to waste. This was a much closer game than the score indicates as the game only ran through five innings and came on a first-inning Yunior Severino sacrifice fly.

Then came the sixth when the Saints broke out for three runs as the Jair Camargo blast put them in front 4-0. Camargo was just getting started as he added a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to extend the lead to 5-0 before the Saints tacked on another run to make this a 6-0 game. The game's lone runs for the Cubs came in the bottom half of the seventh when Darius Hill cashed in with an RBI knock to pull them within 6-2 before falling 8-2.

Four different players had one hit for Iowa.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 3

After dominating the Braves in their first two games this week, the Smokies found themselves locked into a tight matchup with the Braves on Thursday as this game was tied entering the ninth. Leave it to Jonathon Long to change that as he connected for a game-winning two-run single to lift the Smokies to another win, 5-3.

Although this wasn't the greatest start for Matt Thompson, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings, he did manage to keep things close, which is all you can ask for. With Lucas Braun doing the same thing, except going five innings, it wasn't surprising to see things tied 0-0 entering the fourth. That was when a Felix Stevens RBI double opened the scoring as the Smokies jumped in front 2-0.

Mississippi got one of those runs back on the Yolbert Sanchez single in the bottom of the fourth, but the Haydn McGeary sacrifice fly made it 3-1. The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the fifth, with Justin Dean tying things up with an RBI double, and that score held until the ninth.

The Smokies put the game away in the ninth inning, as Long connected for another clutch hit to lift Tennessee to 20 games over .500, 5-3.

Long led the Smokies with four hits and two RBIs, hitting .455 since his promotion. Matt Shaw also added three hits and has been hitting near .500 since the All-Star break.

SOUTH BEND CUBS at WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (Postponed)

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4 - DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 1

Don't look now, but the Pelicans are starting to make some noise and are becoming a team no one wants to play. Riding an eight-game winning streak heading into this one, the Pelicans used a four-run sixth inning to push their streak to nine and have now won 13 of 16 overall.

Yenrri Rojas was about as dominant as the Pelicans have seen him this season. He pitched six strong innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out two. Jeral Vizcaino took over from there, going the final three frames and striking out three.

The Shorebirds' lone run of the game came in the first inning when Leandro Arias's sacrifice fly put them in front 1-0. At the time, that run looked like it would be enough, as the Pelicans' offense was held scoreless through five innings. Once the sixth inning rolled around, their offense came to life, and they put the game away with four runs.

Alfonsin Rosario tied things up with a single, but Andy Garriola delivered the knockout blow with a two-run double to put the Birds in front 3-1. Anderson Suriel capped off the scoring with an RBI single, and the Pelicans took care of business 4-1.

DSL CUBS BLUE 1 - DSL RED SOX 0 (suspended in the first)

This game didn't last long, as heavy rains and lightning forced the suspension less than an inning in. Still, DSL Blue grabbed an early lead, which they will take with them when this game resumes. Juan Monso continued his hot stretch of play, picking up the long RBI thus far with a single.

DSL CUBS RED 1 - DSL PADRES 0 (suspended in the second)

Like in the DSL Blue game, this game didn't last too long, although they did make it to the second inning before the suspension. Once again, the Cubs scored first to take a 1-0 lead, which is where things will stand when they return to the diamond. Errors played a pivotal role in the Cubs' first-inning run, as the Padres committed three errors, one of which led to the game's only run.

KANE COUNTY COUGARS 13 - CHICAGO DOGS 2

WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 6 - NEW YORK BOULDERS 2

Despite their overall struggles this season, the Thunderbolts played arguably their best series of the season, sweeping away the Boulders 6-2. Not only was their offense on point all week but so was the pitching, as they held the Boulders to just six runs across the three games.

Kevin Pindel overcame some command issues to strike out eight in 6 1/3 while allowing just one unearned run. That was the theme for most of this series, as was the quick-strike offensive approach. With things tied 0-0 entering the third, Windy City broke through. The Michael Seegers single put the Bolts in front 1-0 ahead of the Brennen Dorighi homer to extend the lead to 3-0.

Joe Johnson extended the Thunderbolts' lead to 4-0 with a fifth-inning RBI groundout before a Kingston Liniak sacrifice fly, and another Seegers single pushed their lead to 6-0 after six. Those were the only runs Windy City would get on the day, but with New York being held to two runs on a passed ball and the ninth-inning single from Thomas Walraven, the Thunderbolts capped off the sweep 6-2.

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