Cubs Minor League News: Hill raking, Horton throws gem, Pannone impressive, Devers rocked
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Hill raking, Horton throws gem, Pannone impressive, Devers rocked
by - Senior Writer - Sun Apr 28 10:12:03 GMT-04:00 2024

Saturday was a strange day for the Cubs and the entire organization. Not only did the Chicago Cubs get pounded by the Boston Red Sox 17-0, but their Minor League affiliates struggled to get the job done, going just 1-3 on the night.

Three of those games saw a combined eight runs scored between all of the teams, while the fourth game saw 19 total runs scored. Talk about a whirlwind of a day from the top down. Throw in Garrett Cooper getting traded to Boston for cash, and it was an all-around strange day.

BUFFALO BISONS 2 - IOWA CUBS 0

Although no one likes to see a loss, when your pitching staff only allows two runs, that is something to be proud of, as pitching in AAA is never easy. Thomas Pannone has been the Cubs' best starter all season long, and despite losing his first game this season, his ERA remains 2.73.

Pannone gave the Cubs five strong innings again, allowing one run and striking out two. Usually that would be good enough to get a win, but when Andrew Bash and company don't allow any runs it doesn't matter. Bash struck out six of the 11 total batters for Buffalo, giving the Bisons five strong innings as both RBIs came on a pair of singles from Rafael Lantigua. The first came in the third, and the second came off Cam Sanders in the seventh. Darius Hill has had a great series, and with two more hits to lead the way, it continued.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 1 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 0

If you are a fan of pitching, this was the game for you, as one measly run was enough to win. That came off the bat of Josh Rivera in the fifth, as his solo blast would be all the Smokies would need.

It took long enough for Cade Horton to get his first win of 2024, but the Smokies finally stretched him out enough to get that win as he continued to dominate. With five more shutout innings and six strikeouts, Horton lowered his ERA to 1.10 and has to be in the conversation to move to AAA.

Cade Dana was equally as good, giving Rocket City six innings and allowing one lone run.

Chris Kachmar and Frank Scalzo Jr. finished things off for Tennesse as Kachmar struck out four and Scalzo Jr earned his fourth save and has yet to allow a run.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 12 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 7

This game was where pitching wasn't a factor, as 19 total runs were scored. When you look at the scoreline, it's hard to believe things were this close as the River Bandits used a nine-run third inning to break things open. Luis Devers was the victim of that as he endured the worst start of his High-A career, allowing nine runs on 10 hits in less than three innings.

Had Quad Cities not scored the rest of the way, it would've been enough, but with Henry Williams allowing seven runs himself in just 4 1/3, South Bend at least did their best to keep things close. After Jared Dickey opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first, Jonathan Long pulled the Cubs within 2-1 with an RBI single in the second.

Once the third inning hit, Quad Cities went to work as they pushed across nine runs to bust the game wide open. Five RBI singles did the most damage, leading to five runners scoring, but the big blow came from Trevor Werner, whose homer made things 11-1. It was Werner's first homer of the season, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Werner added the game's final run for Quad Cities a few innings later to finish with four RBIs.

While Werner led the offense for the River Bandits, Long carried the load for the Cubs early as he added a two-run blast to his RBI single to make things 11-3.

Then came the fifth inning when Long picked up his fourth RBI as part of a four-run inning using a bases-loaded walk to get it done. South Bend also had RBI singles from Reivaj Garcia, Brett Bateman, and Pedro Ramirez in that inning, but their early deficit was too much to overcome.

The Cubs did manage to come away with 10 hits in the loss, with Ramirez leading the way with three. Bateman and Long added two hits, driving in a season-high four runs.

LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 3 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2

As mentioned several times above, the pitching stood out on this night, which proved to be the case here as all five runs came after the fifth inning. Both starters did their job, but Alonzo Richardson was slightly better, striking out six in 5 2/3 scoreless frames.

That isn't to take anything away from Juan Bello, who lowered his ERA to 1.83 following four scoreless frames and four strikeouts. It took six innings for anyone to score, and with Jeral Vizcaino on the mound, it was the Hillcats striking first off the Esteban Gonzalez double. The Pelicans didn't waste much time tying things up, as Carter Trice delivered a seventh-inning single to bring things back to even 1-1.

Unfortunately for the Pelicans, just as quickly as they tied things up, they lost the lead with Angel Genao delivering the game-winning homer in the bottom of the seventh to make things 3-1. The Pelicans did show a little bit of life late in the game, with Alfonsin Rosario going deep for the first time to make things 3-2, but that was it for the Myrtle Beach offense.

Rosario also led the offense with two hits.

Comment on this story
Print   
Send Feedback to Dustin Riese: Email | Comment
Post your comments!
Read all 0 replies on the Baseball Board - Chat about this in CubsHQ Chat
search
Top Cubs News of the Week