Cubs Minor League News: Triantos raking, Kilian impressive, Franklin with three RBIs, more
Photo courtesy: I-Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Triantos raking, Kilian impressive, Franklin with three RBIs, more
by - Senior Writer - Thu Aug 22 09:00:02 GMT-04:00 2024

With the Cubs Rookie League teams officially seeing their season end on Tuesday, the focus will shift to the full season and Independent Leagues the rest of the way. After putting together a near-perfect record on Tuesday, which hasn't happened in a long time, the Cubs returned to the diamond on Wednesday and saw their system pick up a 2-2 mark.

TOLEDO MUD HENS 3 - IOWA CUBS 2

Losses are never a good thing for any team, but if you are going to lose why not lose this way as their pitching is what stood out. Once again, Caleb Kilian was taking the ball as he allowed two runs on seven hits across five innings. He walked two and struck out four, and he appears to be ready for an MLB shot this season.

Kilian was backed by a pair of early runs as the Darius Hill grounder gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the second before Matt Shaw extended that lead to 2-0.

Those were the only runs of the game for the Cubs as the Mud Hens went with more of a bullpen approach, and it worked in their favor.

Not only did Toledo get one of those runs back in the bottom of the second, but they managed to tie things up in the fourth off an Andrew Navigato double as the momentum shifted.

Toledo managed to take the lead on the Akil Baddoo homer off Frank Scalzo Jr in the seventh to put the Mud Hens in front good as they ended the game with three unanswered runs in the 3-2 lead.

Iowa was held to seven hits in the game as Miles Mastrobuoni and James Triantos picked up two hits.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 10 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 6

It was an offensive explosion for the Smokies in this one as they backed their starter Antonio Santos with 10 runs, including six in the fourth inning to pick up another win. Santos has been a pleasant surprise for the Smokies this season, and after striking out six in five solid frames, he continues to do his thing on the mound.

After Pablo Aliendo gave the Smokies a 1-0 lead with a single in the first, it was the long ball that put Pensacola on top as a pair of solo shots by Nathan Martoella and Johnny Olmstead gave the Blue Wahoos a 2-1 lead. Those were the only runs they could muster off Santos as the Tennessee offense took care of the rest.

That all started with a Reivaj Garcia single in the second to tie things up, only to have Joe Mack put the Blue Wahoos back in front with a single of his own in the third.

Still trailing by that 3-2 score in the fourth, the Smokies offense erupted for a massive six-run frame, started by a Christian Franklin double to tie things up 3-3.

That was followed by the two-run Brett Bateman single to put the Smokies on top for good, 5-3, with Luis Verdugo adding a double to push their lead to 7-3.

Haydn McGeary closed out the scoring in that inning with another RBi single as the Cubs opened up an 8-2 lead and never looked back.

With Santos out of the game, it was up to the pen to preserve the win, and it wasn't easy as a pair of RBI doubles from Jakob Marsee and Jared Surna pulled the Blue Wahoos within 8-5 in the seventh. That was as close as they would get as Franklin delivered the knockout blow with his two-run single in the seventh to close out the Smokies, scoring a 10-6 win.

Franklin had a great day at the plate, picking up three hits to lead the way while also driving in three. He was joined by Bateman and his two RBIs as the top of the Smokies lineup accounted for five RBIs.

BELOIT SKY CARP 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

What was a highly contested game dominated by pitching early turned into a laugher late as the Sky Carp erupted for five runs over the last four innings to pick up the win. It was a disappointing result for Drew Gray, who gave the Cubs all they could ask for in his five innings, as he allowed two runs in his outing.

With Nobel Meyer allowing just one hit across five scoreless frames and seven strikeouts, the Cubs had to consider themselves fortunate to be in the game as Gray did what he needed to do to keep things close. After Tony Bullard brought home the game's first run with an RBI single, the pitching took over, as that was the only run up until the sixth.

In that inning, Wilfredo Lara came through with another RBI knock as the Sky Carp doubled their lead to 2-0. That lead didn't last long as both of the Cubs runs came in the bottom of the second off an Andy Garriola double as his great season continues.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, those were the only runs they would score as the Sky Carp took the lead for good in the seventh off the Colby Shade single before tacking on three more runs late to secure the 6-2 win.

Garriola was responsible for both RBIs and one of the Cubs two hits, as Ed Howard had the other one.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 6

In what was a tale of three games in one, it was the Pelicans finding a way to get the job done as they held off the Riverdogs 8-6. This game after the Pelicans opened up a 5-0 lead through two innings, only to cough up the lead before grabbing it back late.

Half of the Myrtle Beach runs came in the first inning as the scorching hot Cam Smith opened the scoring with an RBI single before the Alfonsin Rosario double made this a 2-0 game. The Pelicans extended their lead to 4-0 on the Jose Escobar homer, while the Ludwing Espinoza homer in the second pushed their lead to 5-0, which appeared to be plenty for Tyler Schlaffer, who allowed three runs (2ER) in five innings.

All the runs off him came in the third inning as a pair of RBI doubles from Aidan Smith and Connor Hujsak pulled the Riverdogs within 5-3. Still trailing by that score in the sixth, Charleston tied things up with a Jhon Diaz homer and a Carlos Colemenarez sacrifice fly only to take the lead one inning later off a Diaz RBI grounder.

Trailing for the first time in this one, Smith took it upon himself to tie things up in the top of the eighth with his second homer in as many days only to have the Pelicans offense retake the lead for good in the ninth.

The Christian Olivo RBI fielder's choice brought home the winning run while a costly error aided to the second and final run in the Pelicans 8-6 win.

Smith led the Pelicans with two hits and two RBIs as seven of the nine players had at least one hit in the win.

CHICAGO DOGS 3 - MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 2

For the second night in a row, this game was decided by one run, and once again, it was the Dogs coming out on top. Zach Davidson was the winning pitcher for the Dogs, as he gave Chicago five innings of two-run seven strikeout baseball. Davis Welch took the loss, allowing three runs in five innings as all five total runs were scored in the game's first four innings.

Once again, the Dogs' offense got off to a fast start, giving them an early lead. A wild pitch paired with a Jacob Teter groundout made this a 2-0 game. The Dogs extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on the Dusty Stroup homer, which would go down as the game-winning hit.

Both of the Milwaukee runs came in the fourth, and they came off the bat of Jose Sermo, who connected for his 19th homer of the season to make this a 3-2 game before falling by that score. Stroup was one of three Dogs to record a hit, joining Jhonni Turbo and Derek Maiban.

EVANSVILLE OTTERS 3 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 0

The end of the season can't come soon enough for Windy City, as they need a complete regrouping after a rough 2024. Once again, a lifeless offense struggled to find its footing, and the Otters picked up the 3-0 shutout win.

John Mikolaicyk was the tough-luck loser, allowing three runs in 5 2/3. All three runs came in his final inning of work, with two of them coming on a pair of wild pitches. The third came off the Randy Bednar single, which would be all Chip Korbacher would need, as he allowed one hit in six innings and struck out five in the win.

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