Cubs Minor League News: Hernandez homers in first at-bat, Cruz and Ruiz homer, more |
Monday, June 6th, marked a very important day in the Cubs organization and the rest of the Major Leagues as the short-season Complex leagues got underway. Unlike the full-season league, Complex leagues are primarily for the younger kids getting accustomed to professional ball well also serving as a rehab facility for specific players.
The Cubs have abundant talent in the complex leagues, with Arizona being the one to focus on this year. As their seasons got underway, the Cubs went 2-1 to open their complex league seasons as new faces will start popping up daily.
The lone loss came from the Cubs ACL affiliate as the Guardians used two innings to score eight runs to top the Cubs. Yovanny Cabrera and Yovanny Cruz were outstanding early on as the duo allowed just two runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. The rest of the night didn't go as planned, especially with Starlyn Picardo allowing six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. All eyes were on top three prospect Cristian Hernandez who made his stateside debut on Monday. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Hernandez wasted no time making his presence felt as he connected for a two-run shot in his first stateside at-bat to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Here we go.. pic.twitter.com/HQv0UGqUEZ Opening Day of #ACL #cubs Crisitan Hernandez HR in 1st professional AB. Look at the launch angle. Ball towered into right field bullpen. pic.twitter.com/fgtfdxGbfi That would be the only lead the Cubs would have as the Guardians scored nine unanswered runs to take a 10-2 lead. Five of those runs came in the sixth when a pair of wild pitches mixed with homers by Manuel Mejias and Juan Benjamin put the game out of reach. The Cubs did manage to get one more run in the seventh off a wild pitch, but the result was not going to change. Hernandez got off to a great start, grabbing two hits with his two RBIs, but Rafael Morel led the way. The younger brother of Christopher Morel, Rafael, had three hits to pace the Cubs offense with Pedro Martinez and Matt Warkentin adding multi-hit games.
The lesser-known of the complex leagues is the Dominican League. This is primarily a league for teenagers and foreign-born players as the Cubs not only have two teams stashed here, but two very successful teams. DSL Red started their season off on a good note, using great pitching and timely hitting to do the job. Yenrri Rojas made the start for the Cubs as he went four innings allowing just one run and punching out three. Alfredo Romero relieved him, allowing one run in three innings to take the win. Offensively, it was a great day for the Cubs as they jumped on Patricio Ress early and often for six runs across the first four innings. Adan Sanchez gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with a single in the first before the Lizardo Ruiz homer in the second had the Cubs up 3-1. The fourth inning saw three more runs come home to score, with Andrews Cruz belting a two-run shot ahead of another Sanchez single to stretch the lead to 6-1. Robert De Paula capped off the scoring for the Pirates with an RBI knock in the sixth, but it was too little too late. Sanchez led the way with three hits with two RBIs, while Darlyn De Leon and Daniel Benschop added multi-hit efforts.
The DSL Cubs made it a clean sweep on Monday as they took down the Mets 9-3. With Adrian Martinez and Joel Jimenez setting the tone on the mound, the Cubs offense took a little while to get going before scoring five times off Jorge Avendano to bust the game open. Not only did Jose Herrera give the Cubs a 1-0 lead with a homer in the second, but a fourth-inning wild pitch saw that lead double. After the Mets tied things up with a Yonathan Henriquez double, the Cubs took command of the game by scoring five unanswered runs to grab control. Two came in the fifth inning as an error, and a steal of home saw the Cubs grab the lead for good at 4-2. In the sixth, a two-run double from Raul Guzman, mixed with an RBI single by Jefferson Rojas, had the Cubs offense clicking as they were in front 7-2. Now up 7-3, Abel De Leon added an eighth-inning homer ahead of another Rojas RBI single as the Cubs cruised to the 9-3 win. Rojas had the best day at the plate, collecting a team-high three hits with his two RBIs. ACL GUARDIANS 10 - ACL CUBS 3
DSL CUBS RED 6 - DSL PIRATES BLACK 2
DSL CUBS BLUE 9 - DSL METS 3
