Cubs Minor League News

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 6 hours ago

Lost in the shuffle of another Cubs vs. Brewers matchup was a full slate of Minor League action, where all seven affiliates were in action. When it came to the results, there were none, as the Cubs' minor league system went winless for just the third time this season, and first since all of the rookie league teams took the field.

NASHVILLE SOUNDS 9 - IOWA CUBS 0

Not only were the Cubs and Brewers playing in the bigs, but they were also playing in the minors as the Sounds took care of the Cubs 9-0. Coming off by far his best start since joining the Cubs, Kenta Maeda was roughed up as the Sounds touched him up early.

Maeda did his best and managed to limit the damage, as he was charged with four runs in six innings. That proved to be more than enough as Tobias Myers blanked the Cubs through six innings, striking out four to earn the win. All of the damage from Maeda came in the first two innings, with three runs coming in the first.

Jeferson Quero opened the scoring with a single, while Bobby Dalbec's homer pushed the Sounds' lead to 3-0. Oliver Dunn added a homer in the second to extend the lead to 4-0, but this was it for the offense for the majority of the night as Maeda finished his outing with four scoreless frames to keep things close.

Then came the seventh, when the Sounds' offense erupted for five runs to break things open, 9-0. Quero was responsible for one of those runs with an RBI single, but it was the Grand Slam from the Newly Acquired Andrew Vaughn that put an end to things and gave the Sounds a 9-0 win. Eli Morgan was charged with four earned runs in that inning, as this was his first AAA rehab outing.

The Cubs had six hits in the loss, four coming from Owen Caissie, who is starting to get on a heater at the plate. The Cubs also saw Porter Hodge work another scoreless frame as he is nearing the end of his rehab.

BILOXI SHUCKERS 9 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 8

Not only did the Brewers' AAA squad knock off the Cubs, but their AA team also won, as the Shuckers held off the Smokies for a 9-8 victory. Chris Kachmar got the start, going four innings and allowing four runs as he continues to go through an interesting season.

All those runs came in the first three innings, as it took Kachmar a little while to settle in on the mound. After gifting the Shuckers with a run on a balk in the first, Luis Lara added an RBI single to make this a 2-0 game. Mike Boeve added an RBI double in the second for the Shuckers' third run, which came after Jaylen Palmer put the Smokies on the board in the top of the second with a double of his own.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the third when the Smokies tied things up at 3-3 as a BJ Murray Jr single kept the line moving ahead of the Felix Stevens bases-loaded hit by pitch. Just as quickly as the Smokies tied things up, they found themselves behind again as Brock Wilken unloaded for a solo shot that put the Shuckers back on top 4-3.

Once again, it was the Smokies taking the Shuckers' best shot and battling back as Pablo Aliendo unloaded for his sixth homer of the season, as this was a 4-4 game through five. It was in the sixth when the Shuckers retook the lead and managed to give themselves their largest lead of the game with Garrett Spain picking up the go-ahead RBI single ahead of the Cooper Pratt double that made this a 7-4 game.

Just when you thought the Shuckers delivered the knockout blow, it was the Smokies battling back as Palmer worked a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to make this a 7-5 game. Then came the eighth, where Pedro Ramirez tied things up with an RBI triple before coming home on the Aliendo single that gave the Smokies their first lead of the night, 8-7.

Unfortunately for them, it was the Shuckers who had the last laugh as they scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the 9-8 win. Ramirez and Aliendo had three hits at the plate, but it was Jordan Nwogu leading the way with four hits.

LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 10 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

Looking to keep the momentum going after a strong series last week, it was the Cubs taking it on the chin, falling to the Captains 10-2. Brooks Caple took the loss on the night, struggling with his command in four innings, walking five and allowing four runs.

Ralphy Velazquez gave Caple fits, smacking a two-run homer in the first to open the scoring before pushing home another run on a sacrifice fly. Christian Knapczyk tacked on an RBI single in the fourth to push the lead to 4-0, with Wuilfredo Antunez making things 5-0 with a fifth-inning homer.

It took the Cubs five innings to break through, with James Triantos putting an end to the shutout with an RBI double. South Bend would add a second run later in the inning on the Jefferson Rojas grounder, but that was it, as the Captains ended the game with five unanswered runs to pick up the 10-2 win. Antunez added a late-game triple as part of the scoring barrage.

Triantos was one of three Cubs to record multiple hits, joining Ariel Armas and the newly promoted Cameron Sisneros. Luis Rujano had a strong showing out of the pen, allowing one run in two innings with four strikeouts.

FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 5 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2

The Cubs came close to having four teams get shut out on the night, and the Pelicans were one of those teams as they scored a pair of runs in the eighth to avoid the shutout loss. Yenri Rojas continues to battle from start to start, walking two and striking out five across four innings.

He was charged with four earned runs in those four innings, all coming from Alberto Hernandez, who had a two-run double in the third to open the scoring before adding a two-run single in the fifth. Cesar Hernandez picked up an RBI double in the sixth to push the lead to 5-0, which is all Anthony Cruz would need as the right-hander improved to 6-1 on the season.

Cruz struck out four across five shutout innings, allowing just one hit in the win. Both of the Pelicans' runs came in the eighth inning as they tried to mount a late comeback. Angel Cepeda put an end to the shutout with an RBI grounder, with Yahil Melendez tacking on an RBI single to close out the scoring in the 5-2 loss. Melendez led the Pelicans with two hits.