Cubs Minor League News: Bote bomb, Horton and Roberts impressive, Garriola still hot, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Bote bomb, Horton and Roberts impressive, Garriola still hot, more
by - Senior Writer - Thu May 23 11:00:08 GMT-04:00 2024

It was another day in the Cubs Minor League system, as the organization posted another .500 showing. Although the wins may not have been as consistent as they would've liked, the offense stole the show, as the Cubs organization scored early and often throughout the day.

IOWA CUBS 8 - INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 7 (F/11)

It was a much better day on the diamond for the I-Cubs, who responded from an ugly showing on Tuesday. It didn't come easy, but a win is a win, and the Cubs walked off the Indians to secure that win. It was another start from Cade Horton, who went on to pitch his best AAA start yet, striking out six and allowing two runs in five innings.

That is all you can ask for from him right now, as he gave up an early first-inning homer before settling in. Coming off a strong week last week to earn International League Player of the Week nominations, BJ Murray kept things rolling as he tied things up with a solo shot in the bottom of the second.

One inning later, it was Alexander Canario coming through again as his two-run single gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead.

Trailing 3-2 in the sixth, the Indians quickly tied things up on the Matt Gorski triple before Matt Frazier gave them the lead with a single. Frazier also had a solo shot in the first to open the scoring for the Indians. The one thing about this Iowa lineup is that they have a lot of great AAA players who have struggled in the majors.

David Bote is one of those players, but you would never guess that based on his season so far. He unloaded a go-ahead three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to put the Cubs in front 6-4.

Their lead wouldn't hold up, as the Indians rallied for two runs in the ninth to force extras before Henry Davis gave them the lead in the 10th.

Leave it to Bote to deliver when called upon again as he flared a bloop single out to right to tie things up and got the game to the 11th inning. Following a great outing from Ethan Roberts, who struck out four in 1 2/3, Brad Weick came on to finish the 11th with the Cubs coming to bat.

Sometimes all you need is a little luck, and with the luck of a bobble at second, Miles Mastrobuoni delivered the walk-off RBI grounder to give the Cubs an 8-7 win.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 6 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 5

One of the most underrated picks by the Chicago Cubs this season was landing Kyle McGowin on a Minor League. In his three starts with the Smokies, McGowin has been nothing short of impressive, but Wednesday night took the cake as he delivered the best outing by any pitcher in the Cubs system this season.

McGowin lasted seven innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 12. Had it not been for a rare rough outing that saw Michael Arias allow five runs in the eighth, McGowin would've won, but regardless, Tennessee found a way to win late. All six of the Smokies runs came on two swings with Josh Rivera taking Luis Palacios deep in the fifth for the three-run shot to make things 3-0.

Palacios would get through seven innings, striking out seven and allowing just those three runs. That score would hold until the eighth inning when the Blue Wahoos rallied off Arias for five runs to take a 5-3 lead. Jakob Marsee and Jacob Berry had RBI singles with Joe Mack adding an RBI double. A wild pitch also mixed in as the Smokies fell behind 5-3.

The Smokies would get the last laugh in this one with Haydn McGeary connecting for the Smokies second three-run shot in the top half of the ninth to lift the Smokies to the 6-5 win.

McGeary had two hits in the win with Luis Verdugo pacing the offense with three.

WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

After taking care of business on Tuesday, South Bend turned to Nick Hull on Wednesday in hopes of keeping a strong string of success going. Despite an ERA hovering around 6.00 for the season, Hull has been one of the best pitchers at home as he entered the game sporting a 1.80 ERA at Four Winds Field.

Hull struggled early, allowing four runs in two innings, but only two were earned. He would end up going four innings, allowing just those four runs, but that would be all Wisconsin would need as they doubled up the Cubs to even the series. Opposing Hull was Tate Kuehner, who was lights out in his five innings, as he scattered two hits and punched out eight in five shutout innings.

A pair of unearned runs opened the scoring for Wisconsin in the first, while the Jadher Areinamo double pushed the lead to 4-0 in the second. The Cubs finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh off an Ethan Hearn groundout before Felix Stevens capped off the scoring with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth. Stevens extended his on-base streak to 15 games and has six homers, 17 RBIs with an impressive 1.091 OPS during that stretch.

CAROLINA MUDCATS 14 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8

In what was the highest-scoring game of the night, the Mudcats used a pair of big innings to score 10 of their 14 runs en route to a victory. Mason McGwire continued to show signs of growth on the mound with four innings of three-run ball before the bullpen struggled.

The Pelicans were led by a pair of surprising names, Reggie Preciado and Christian Olivo, doing the most damage. Both men combined for six RBIs, with Olivo opening the scoring for Myrtle Beach with an RBI in the second to make things 2-1. Another Andy Garriola homer followed that in the third to make things 3-1 before the Mudcats offense got rolling.

Preciado was on fire, picking up three hits and three RBIs from the leadoff spot, as his average is up to .281. That included a solo homer in the seventh before connecting for an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to close out the scoring for the Birds.

Juan Baez led the way for Carolina, connecting for three hits while driving in four in the win.

INDEPENDENT LEAGUES

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 2 - CHICAGO DOGS 1

Two games into their series, the Dogs have scored two runs as their offense continues to be an issue. Zac Reininger pitched well for the Goldeyes, allowing just an unearned run in the first across his six innings with five strikeouts. His performance was good enough despite Dogs starter Kenny Serwa going the distance for Chicago, allowing just the one earned run and striking out six.

Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, Pavin Parks delivered the lone RBI of the night for the Dogs as his RBI single tied things up. Their momentum didn't last long as Winnipeg scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth off a balk.

FRONTIER LEAGUE

WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 8 - LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS 5

The Thunderbolts bounced back from a rough series-opening loss and brought the bats to the field on Wednesday. Michael Barker got the start and gave the Thunderbolts five innings of seven strikeout ball. He allowed four runs, but only two were earned as he did his part.

Barker was backed by an offense that only needed two innings to score, with a five-run third setting the tone. An error opened the scoring for Windy City before a pair of singles from Cam Phelts and Christian Kuzemka made things 3-0.

Joe Johnson closed out that massive inning with an RBI double.

That 5-0 lead held until the sixth when Lake Erie put together a four-run frame to climb back into the game. Sean Cheely delivered an RBI double before coming home on a Vincent Byrd Jr single. Following an RBI groundout to make things 5-3, Ron Washington laced an RBI triple to pull the Crushers within 5-4.

They wouldn't get any closer as the Thunderbolts put the game away with a three-run eighth inning anchored by a pair of RBI knocks from Johnson and Lolo Williams to pick up the win.

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