Cubs Minor League News |
Dustin Riese
· · 7 hours ago
There is no denying the recent stretch the Chicago Cubs have gone through is by far their worst stretch of the season. In the process, they have seen their division lead shrink from six games to two, as there needs to be some urgency shot back into the team.
On the Minor League front, the past two weeks have seen some of the best overall play of the season, as all four full-season teams have gotten off to a strong start to begin the second half. That continued for some teams on Sunday as the Cubs closed out their week with a 2-2 mark.
No one wishes an injury on anyone, but perhaps the injury to Jordan Wicks was the best thing that could've happened to him, as he looks like a different pitcher since coming back. For the fourth time in as many starts since returning, Wicks was dialed in on the mound, allowing one run in five innings with six strikeouts as the Cubs offense took care of the rest 9-3. Ironically, the only run Wicks allowed came in the first inning as the Will Wilson single put the Clippers on top 1-0, only to have Iowa tie things up in the bottom of the first on the Kevin Alcantara single. Then came the second inning, where the Iowa offense exploded as they pushed across six runs to break the game open 7-1. Christian Franklin and Alcantara were responsible for three of those runs off of RBI singles, while another Carlos Perez blast pushed the lead to 7-1 as he continues to lead all Cubs prospects in home runs. Franklin tacked on another single in the third to push the lead to 8-1, as it was all Iowa from start to finish. As good as the Cubs pitching was throughout, Tom Cosgrove didn't have a great day allowing two runs in the seventh to make this an 8-3 before a Dixon Machado single in the bottom of the seventh closed out the scoring in a 9-3 win. Franklin returned to the leadoff spot and picked up four hits and three RBIs to lead the way. Alcantara continued his hot streak with two more hits and two RBIs.
In a game that was all about the pitching, the Smokies found themselves on the wrong side of a pitchers duel as the Barons picked up a 2-1 win. Sam Armstrong wasn't perfect, but he was on the losing end of this decision as he allowed two runs in four innings before the pen took over. Both of those runs came in the fourth inning as Caden Connor delivered the game-winning RBI double that gave the Barons a 2-0 lead. That is all Tanner McDougle would need as he struck out eight across five scoreless frames to lower his season ERA to 1.76. Knoxville did manage to grab a late-game run on a Casey Opitz ninth-inning single, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Barons 2-1. Knoxville had seven hits in the loss, with Corey Joyce and Reivaj Garcia leading the way with two. Chris Clarke also extended his scoreless streak to start the season as he went two scoreless frames and is up to nine scoreless innings in full-season ball this year.
As good of a series as this was for the Cubs, Sunday wasn't a great day as the Cubs offense struggled to get rolling while their pitching took one on the chin in a 6-1 loss. Most of the damage came off the Cubs pen as Connor Schultz got the start and allowed one run in three innings. He didn't walk a man and struck out three in what was a promising start for him. Schultz was backed by an offense that picked up the game's first run in the third as Carter Trice managed to steal third before coming home on a throwing error. Unfortunately for the Cubs, that was it for their offense as the Kernels tied things up on the Jamie Ferrer single in the fourth before pushing across two runs in the fifth off an error to take a 3-1 lead. That score would hold until the eighth inning when the Kernels tacked on three runs off a pair of RBI doubles from Ferrer and Justin Connell to close out a 6-1 win. South Bend had six hits in the loss.
The hottest team in the Carolina League right now is the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, who have come out firing in the second half. Backed by four late-game runs, including a three-run seventh inning, it was the Pelicans finding a way to get the job done 8-7. Hayden Frank had a bumpy outing for the Pelicans, allowing five runs in four innings of work to take a no-decision. Frank was sharp early, allowing just a first inning run on a Colton Becker single that proved to be the Fireflies' only run through three innings. Mix that with an offense that had an Owen Ayers first-inning single, ahead of singles from Ty Southisene and Jose Escobar in the second and third innings, and the Pelicans offense was off and running early, 3-1. It was in the fourth when Frank started to labor as the Fireflies got to him for four runs in that inning to open up a 5-3 lead. All those runs came on a pair of homers, with Hyungchan Um connecting for a solo shot while Henry Ramos delivered the big blow with a three-run shot to put the Fireflies in front for the first time. Columbia would extend their lead to 7-3 in the fifth off a pair of wild pitches before the Pelicans bullpen settled in to keep them off the board over the final four innings. That alone was the momentum swing the Birds needed as their offense got back on track in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by Christian Olivo to pull them within 7-4. Then came the seventh as it was their turn to put forth a massive frame, as the Matt Halbach single brought home a pair and pulled the Birds within one. Halbach would come home to score later in the inning on Eriandys Ramon's triple, and just like that, we had a tie game, 7-7. The Pelicans closed out their comeback bid in the eighth just as they started the game off as Ayers had the game's first RBI and then came through with the winning RBI on an eighth-inning triple to lift the Pelicans to come from behind 8-7 win. Ayers was one of three players to have multiple hits, joining Halbach (2) and Escobar (3).IOWA CUBS 9 - COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 3
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 2 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 1
CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 7
