Cubs Minor League News |
Dustin Riese
· · 4 hours ago
Apart from one game, Sunday was all about the pitching for the Cubs and their Minor League System, as runs were challenging to come by more often than not. Even if the results may not show it, with the organization going just 1-3, the pitching alone is what will stand out. Given the recent struggles of the Chicago Cubs' pitching, perhaps some more internal help is on the way.
Despite outhitting the Sounds 6-3, the offense was nowhere to be found as Nashville pushed across an eighth-inning run off Porter Hodge to pick up the 1-0 win. It took what was a great start away from Kenta Maeda, who delivered his best outing to date with Iowa. Granted, he did walk three batters across seven innings with three strikeouts, but he also only allowed one hit as the Sounds had no answers for him. The same can be said about Tobias Myers, who struck out six across five shutout innings, allowing four hits. The lone run of the game came on an eighth-inning RBI single from Anthony Seigler as the Sounds topped the Cubs 1-0. Carlos Perez and Christian Franklin paced the Cubs with two hits.
As was the case in Nashville, runs were challenging to come by for the Smokies as they were held scoreless in eight of nine innings and seven straight. They did manage to score a pair of runs in the eighth, but it wasn't enough, as Chris Kachmar was touched up for a trio of early runs in a 3-2 loss. The right-hander has dealt with some struggles in June, and although he was far from perfect, this was one of his better starts. Kachmar gave the Smokies five innings, walking two and striking out one while allowing three runs. That was more than enough for the Shuckers staff as they went with a bullpen game and struck out 11 on the day. It didn't take the Shuckers offense long to get the scoring started as Garrett Spain opened the game with an RBI double in the second before Jeremy Vargas' sacrifice fly doubled that lead. Two innings later, and it was Ethan Murray capping off his massive series with a solo shot that hit put the Shuckers on top 3-0 and went down as the game-winning hit. With the score still sitting at 3-0 in the eighth, the Smokies offense finally started to show signs of life as a Pablo Aliendo sacrifice fly put an end to the shutout and made this a 3-1. Felix Stevens would tack on an RBI grounder later in the inning to pull Knoxville within 3-2 before falling by that score. Pedro Ramirez continues to be one of the hottest hitters on the team and led the way with two hits. Reivaj Garcia joined him with two hits in what was otherwise a quiet day. Zac Leigh, Brad Deppermann, and Nick Hull all worked scoreless innings of relief in the loss.
Even with the Cubs scoring five times in the third inning and making that hold up most of the game, it was the Captains who got the last laugh as they scored six times in the final two innings to double up South Bend 10-5. It took long enough for Kenten Egbert to settle in, but the right-hander is starting to find his groove in High-A. This start may not indicate that he has improved by allowing three runs in 3 2/3 innings, but with five strikeouts and a 5.86 ERA, he has lowered his ERA by more than two runs over the past month, which is a notable achievement. After Jacob Cozart put the Captains in front with an RBI single in the second, it was the Cubs' offense erupting in the third as they backed Egbert with five runs to open up a 5-1 lead. Rafael Morel tied things up with an RBI single, while a double play grounder and a balk led to two more runs and a 3-1 Cubs lead. The big hit of the inning came from Cristian Hernandez, who put an end to his long homerless drought with a two-run shot as the Cubs were now in front 5-1. They didn't score the rest of the way but still managed to hold a 5-4 lead late after a pair of fourth-inning RBI singles from Johnny Ticnher and Kyle Dernedde, paired with a fifth-inning solo shot from Jose Devers. Called on to keep the Cubs in front late was Joe Nahas and things went south for him in a hurry. Not only did Nahas allow a game-tying homer to Wilifredo Antunez in the eighth, but he also allowed the game-winning homer to Esteban Gonzalez later in the inning that put the Captains up 7-5. It only got worse from there for Nahas, who served up three more runs in the ninth off an Antunez triple and a Devers single as the Captains broke the game open late 10-5.
You rarely see two 1-0 games on the same day, but that happened for the Cubs on Sunday. This time, it was the Pelicans who got the job done, scoring a second-inning run that their pitching held up. This was a promising game for Hayden Frank, who not only secured the win but also played as well as he has at any point this season. Not only did Frank go five innings, but he was nearly unhittable, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out six. He turned things over to Dominic Hambley, Brayden Spears, and Jackson Kirkpatrick, who lowered his ERA to 0.84 on the season while picking up his seventh save. The lone run of the game came from Eli Lovich, who continues to make a lasting impression on the Cubs this season. Lovich had some big moments for the ACL this season, but none bigger than his first career full-season homer, as that was the difference in the 1-0 Birds win.NASHVILLE SOUNDS 1 - IOWA CUBS 0
BILOXI SHUCKERS 3 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 2
LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 10 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 5
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1 - FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 0
