Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara raking, Fulmer impressive, Wiggins dominant, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara raking, Fulmer impressive, Wiggins dominant, more
Dustin Riese Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 6 hours ago

It was an extremely busy night on the diamond for the Cubs and their Minor League system as once again, all five affiliations were in action. Despite plenty of positive results, the wins didn't necessarily follow as the Cubs posted another losing night on the diamond by going 2-3.

IOWA CUBS 12 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 0

When discussing a complete game performance, look no further than this game, as the Cubs dominated the Mud Hens from start to finish. All it took was a pair of big innings, including a seven-run fourth inning, to break the game open as the Cubs cruised to a 12-0 win.

Anytime you can score that many runs, it makes things so much easier for the pitching staff, which comes in handy when you elect to go with a bullpen game. Michael Fulmer made the start, going three shutout innings with four strikeouts before Nate Pearson and a slew of relievers took over.

Fulmer and company were backed by a Jonathon Long third-inning single to put the Cubs on top for good, 1-0, before breaking the game open with a massive fourth inning.

James Triantos was part of that seven-run inning as his RBI double opened the scoring and made this a 2-0 game.

Reese McGuire followed that up with an RBI single, while Matt Shaw's double pushed the Cubs' lead out to 4-0.

Iowa continued to keep the pressure on with Ben Cowles adding another single to bring home the Cubs' fourth run of the inning as the Mud Hens were searching for answers. The big blow in the inning came from Kevin Alcantara, who uncorked a bases-loaded double to plate three runs as the Cubs were in front 8-0.

Those were the games that only ran until the sixth when the Cubs' offense got rolling again for four more runs. Alcantara was in the middle of the action with an RBI groundout, as was Cowles, who picked up another RBI hit. You also had Greg Allen getting involved with an RBI single mixed with a costly error as the Cubs rolled to a 12-0 win.

Cowles and Long paced the Cubs' offense with two hits, as all nine starters had one hit in the game. Alcantara did the most damage as he led the Cubs with four RBIs in the win.

CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 7 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 4

The Smokies seem to have hit a rough patch, which continued with another 7-4 loss on Thursday. Backed by a four-run third inning that put the Lookouts in front for good, it was Chase Burns taking care of the rest as the right-hander allowed one earned run in five innings with eight punchouts.

That run came in the top of the third off another Jaylen Palmer homer as he is starting to heat up at the plate. Knoxville also had picked up a run in the fourth off an error, but with the Lookouts cashing in for four runs in the bottom of third, the Smokies were facing a 4-2 deficit in the early innings. An error led to the first of those four runs before the two-run single from Hector Rodriguez put the Lookouts on top for good.

Jack Rogers added a second RBI off Sam Armstrong later in the inning to make things 4-1 as Sam Armstrong didn't have his best stuff. Holding a 4-2 lead in the sixth, it was Rodriguez coming through once more and delivered a two-RBI triple to break the game open 6-2. A Dominic Pitelli homer followed that in the seventh, and it was all Lookouts at this point, 7-2.

Despite facing a large deficit, the Smokies weren't going to go away quietly, and with BJ Murray Jr delivering an RBI single in the eighth, the Smokies' offense was starting to rally. Ethan Hearn also picked up an RBI during that inning to make things 7-4, which is how things would end.

Darius Hill and Pedro Ramirez were responsible for five of the eight hits as Hill led the way with three.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 1

It took a month, but Jaxon Wiggins was finally able to walk away from a start with a winning decision. All it took was one of the Cubs' best pitching performances, regardless of the level, as the Cubs picked up a 3-1 victory over Fort Wayne.

Wiggins was about as dialed in as you can be on the mound, going seven innings and allowing one run on three hits. He walked none and struck out seven to lower his ERA to 1.71 for the season.

Ironically, the only run Wiggins would allow came in the fourth inning, which was also the only lead the Tin Caps would have.

That run came on the Rosman Verdugo double as the Cubs were down again, 1-0. It didn't take long for the Cubs to answer as the suddenly red-hot Jefferson Rojas delivered an RBI single to bring things back to even 1-1. That was the beginning of three straight innings with a run coming across to score with a wild pitch, leading to the Cubs' second run in the sixth and putting the Cubs in front 2-1.

Rafael Morel added to the Cubs' lead in the seventh as he connected for his first homer of the season to cap off the Cubs' 3-1 win.

DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 2 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1 (F/12)

Runs were at a premium at the Beach on Thursday as the Shorebirds and Pelicans combined for three runs. All three runs came in extra innings before the Shorebirds survived 2-1 in 12 innings.

Will Frisch set the tone for the Pelicans staff by going 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He walked three, struck out eight, and allowed two hits for his best start of the season.

Jack Crowder was equally as good, striking out five in five shutout innings, as neither offense could get anything done.

With nine innings not being enough and no runs scored, this would come down to extras, and after Delmarva scored first on an 11th-inning wild pitch, it was likely that would be enough. That was until Cameron Sisneros came through in the clutch, delivering a game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the 11th to send this game to the 12th.

That is when the Pelicans' luck ran out as Braylin Tavera drove home the game-winning run with an RBI double to lift Delmarva 2-1.

ACL RANGERS 16 - ACL CUBS 2

Four games into the ACL season, and the Cubs are still searching for their first win. This was one of those games where things were decided early on, as a three-run third inning broke the game open and set the tone for the blowout win. Devin Fitz-Gerald and Jesus Lopez were responsible for two of those six runs with a pair of RBI singles, but it was the series of errors that led to four additional runs and put the Cubs in a 7-0 hole.

Following a fourth inning RBI groundout to push the lead to 8-0, Rashawn Pinder kept the line moving and used an RBI single to make things 9-0 in the fifth. Three more runs came in to score in the sixth off a sacrifice fly and an error, while a seventh inning Fitz-Gerald homer opened up a 14-0 Rangers lead.

It took seven innings for the Cubs to score, with Adan Sanchez providing the offense with an RBI double to make this a 14-1 game. Ronny Cruz would add an RBI single in the ninth, but this game was well in hand by then, with the Rangers taking things 16-2. Alexis Hernandez led the Cubs with three hits.

SHAUMBERG BOOMERS 10 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 3

Not only are the Minor Leagues off and running, but Thursday marked the start of the Independent Leagues with the Frontier League taking center stage. Looking to start 2025 off with a bang, the Thunderbolts grabbed an early lead before falling to the Boomers 10-3.

Most of the Boomers' damage came off the Thunderbolts' pen as they scored eight times in the seventh and eighth innings to flip the game on its head. Shaumberg opened the scoring with a wild pitch in the first to take a quick 1-0 lead.

Their lead didn't last long as all three Thunderbolts' runs came in the second inning. Winder Diaz tied things up with an RBI single before an error put the Thunderbolts on top 2-1. Kyle Harbison would add another RBI single later in the inning to give Windy City a 3-1 lead. They remained in front most of the game, but entering the seventh with a 3-2 lead, things were about to get out of hand quickly as the Boomers put the game away with a massive five-run inning to take a 7-3 lead.

Anthony Calarco delivered the big blow of the innings as his bases-loaded double brought home three of his four RBIs ahead of the Kyle Fitzgerald single, making things 7-3. The Boomers offense continued to tee off on the Bolts pen, adding three more runs in the eighth off an Andrew Sojka triple with another wild pitch aiding in the final run to give the Boomers a 10-3 win.

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