Cubs Minor League News: Caissie cranks 2 homers, Smokies walk it off, DSL thrillers, more |
Dustin Riese
· · 5 hours ago
Tuesday marked another day of a full slate of Minor League games as the Cubs and their Minor League System continue to press on. Once again, the results were what you might expect at this point in the season, as the organization posted a (3-4) mark for the day.
There was some good in this game, but also plenty of bad, as the Saints had three separate three-run innings to pick up the win. Starting with the good, Owen Caissie continues to be on a massive heater as he connected for two more home runs, including another homer in the first that put the Cubs on top 1-0. A CAISSIE CRUSHER ON HIS BIRTHDAY pic.twitter.com/9cfy8jxRRE OWEN CAISSIE DOES IT AGAIN! That made things easier for Will Sanders, who lasted five innings on the mound. From the outside looking in, Sanders' outing wasn't great, as he allowed five runs and struck out four, but with only two earned runs, he did his part to secure the win. Sanders allowed a pair of RBI forceouts in the first two innings, but with James Triantos adding an RBI single in the second, things were tied 2-2. Following Caissie's second homer that had the Cubs in front 3-2 in the third, it was the first of three separate three-run innings for the Saints as Patrick Winkel gave the Saints their first lead of the night, 5-3. The long ball continued to play a role for both teams in the sixth, with Greg Allen adding his second homer in as many games to bring things back to even 5-5. GREG ALLEN WITH HOMERS IN TWO CONSECUTIVE GAMES TIES THE GAME 5-5! pic.twitter.com/8I1kIXIynS Those were the final runs of the game for the Cubs as the Saints added a pair of three-run homers in the seventh and eighth innings from Aaron Sabato and Emmanuel Rodriguez to pick up the 11-5. The worst news of the night comes from Kevin Alcantara, who left the game early with a leg injury.
Don't call it a comeback, but instead a heart-stopping win as the Smokies rallied for three eighth-inning runs to steal a 5-4 win. In what was supposed to be another Jaxon Wiggins start, the Smokies have elected to shut him down until after the All-Star break in an effort to watch his innings. That meant that Sam Armstrong would be stepping in to make the start, and with four runs allowed in just 4 1/3 innings, it didn't go as planned. He did manage to strike out seven compared to two walks, as there were some positives to take away from his outing. With Smokies leading 1-0 in the fourth after the Pedro Ramirez RBI single in the third, it was the Biscuits battling back as Hunter Stovell tied things up with an RBI single in the fourth. The Biscuits continued to single the Smokies to death in the fifth as Colton Ledbetter and Gregory Barrios tacked on two more RBI singles that led to three runs to help the Biscuits open up a 4-1 lead. They wouldn't score again as Nick Hull, Brad Deppermann, and AJ Puckett slammed the door in relief to give the Smokies offense a chance. Jaylen Palmer managed to make this a 4-2 game with an RBI single in the fifth, but that is where things would stand entering the eighth. When it comes to the Smokies, it's better late than never, as their offense came to life at the perfect time to score three runs in that eighth inning. Casey Opitz started the rally with an RBI single, while a bases-loaded hit by a pitch to Jordan Nwogu made this a tie game. In what has become a recurring theme lately, Ramirez not only tends to open the scoring, but is now starting to finish it as well, coming through with the game-winning sacrifice fly to lift the Smokies to a 5-4 victory. Ramirez is hitting .292 following his two-hit night as he was joined by Andy Garriola and his two hits.
The Cubs certainly brought the bats north as they used a trio of crooked innings to blast the Rattlers 13-4. Brooks Caple was far from perfect, allowing four runs in six innings and striking out four, but he did manage to get the win to improve to 3-3 on the season. Caple was backed by an offense that scored seven times in the first three innings, giving him a quick 7-0 lead. Jefferson Rojas played a role in that with his solo shot in the first, but it was the Brian Kalmer homer in the second that broke things open 4-0. South Bend was just getting warmed up as the Cameron Sisneros double pushed their lead to 5-0, with Ariel Armas closing out the fast start with a two-run blast to make this a 7-0 lead. Wisconsin was finally able to get on the board in the fourth on the Jadher Areinamo homer, but with Reggie Preciado adding an RBI single in the sixth ahead of a Rojas single and an error, the Rattlers still trailed in this one 10-1. The Rattlers did their best to make things a game in the bottom of the sixth, as Areinamo added an RBI single to make this a 10-2 game. That single was followed up by Juan Baez's double and Tayden Hall's sacrifice fly as Wisconsin matched the Cubs with three runs of their own to make this a 10-4 game. That was as close as they would get as South Bend added a run in the seventh on the Sisneros homer before Sisneros and Kalmer brought home two in the ninth for the 13-4 win. Sisneros was one of four Cubs to post multiple hits as he paced the offense with three hits and three RBIs. Rojas, Armas, and Kalmer all had two-hit games, with Kalmer tacking on four RBIs.SAINT PAUL SAINTS 11 - IOWA CUBS 5
412 FEET OFF THE BATTER'S EYE! pic.twitter.com/jHkhnPHDEe
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 5- MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 4
SOUTH BEND CUBS 13 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4
KANNAPOLIS CANNONBALLERS 9 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2
Given how poorly the first half went for the Pelicans, they need to win the second half to make the playoffs. That leaves them with no margin for error, and following a 9-2 loss on Tuesday, the margin for error will continue to shrink.
Anytime your starter can give you five innings, you have to be happy, but when they allow six runs, which is what Hayden Frank did, things typically don't end well. Frank was victimized by an offense that jumped on him early and often, with Caleb Bonemer opening the scoring with an RBI double in the first before an RBI groundout made this a 2-0 game.
The Pelicans managed to keep things close early on, with Alexey Lumpuy picking up an RBI groundout in the third, only to have the Cannonballers respond with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to push their lead to 4-1. The offensive barrage continued into the fourth, with Grant Magill picking up another RBI double to make this a 5-1 game with a sacrifice fly adding a sixth run.
That was more than enough offense for Seth Keener, who allowed just two runs in six innings, with the second one coming off a Matt Halbach single in the sixth to make things 6-2. The Pelicans were unable to do anything else as a pair of wild pitches and a TJ McCants homer led to three late-game runs for the Cannonballers in an impressive 9-2 win.
ACL PADRES 8 - ACL CUBS 1
There wasn't a whole lot to get excited about in Mesa as the Cubs were held to just five hits in the loss. Christopher Paciolla is on a rehab stint and drove home the Cubs lone run on a fifth inning sacrifice fly in what was otherwise a quiet day.
Jose Sanabria picked up a first-inning RBI single that put the Padres in front 2-0 at the time and wound up being the game-winning hit. You also had a Dante Grant double in the second and a Luis De Leon triple in the fifth to help the Padres open up a 4-0 lead. Grant also got involved as part of that three-run fifth inning as his two-run shot pushed their lead to 6-0.
Grant was just getting started as he capped off an impressive five RBI performance with a double in the seventh that gave the Padres an 8-1 win. Jairo Diaz was the lone Cub to record multiple hits, as he paced the Cubs with two.
DSL CUBS RED 5 - DSL TIGERS 4
Following the rain that ended both DSL games early on Monday, there was some excitement on the island as the DSL Red squad walked off the Tigers 5-4. This was a game that saw the Cubs score early and then saw the Cubs score last, as that was all they would need to get the win.
Most of the Cubs damage came in the first inning where a pair of bases loaded hit by pitches were mixed with a Fernando Lara sacrifice fly that had the Cubs on top 3-0. They would hold that lead until the third when Fabian Dorta put the Tigers on the board with a single, only to have a steal of home make this a 3-2 game.
With one swing of the bat from Jeiker Gudino, this was a tie game as his solo shot brought things back to even in the sixth. The Tigers would wind up taking the lead later in the inning on a Cristian Perez single as they held their first and only lead of the day 4-3. Still leading by that score entering the ninth, it was the Cubs who would get the last laugh as Luis Leon unloaded for the walk-off two-run shot to give the Cubs a 5-4 win.
DSL GUARDIANS 11 - DSL CUBS BLUE 10 (F/10)
Tuesday was the day of walk-offs in the DSL, as both Cubs games resulted in a walkoff. However, this was one of those games that the Cubs would love to have back, as they allowed two runs in the ninth to force extras and then two more in the 10th, falling to the Guardians 11-10.
After the Cubs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Enyel Rosario's homer, it was the Guardians answering back as they responded with two runs in the bottom of the third on a Ricardo Romero single mixed with a sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 lead. They would extend their lead to 3-1 in the fourth with Jose Marcano tacking on an RBI triple.
Still trailing by that score in the sixth, the Cubs offense came to life in a big way as the Robin Oritz homer not only put the Cubs back on top 4-3, but was the beginning of a six-run inning that saw the Cubs open up a 7-3 lead. Luis Santos (double) and Ronnyel Espinoza (single) added two more runs, with an error leading to the final run.
Espinoza was just getting started as he went on to add an RBI double in the eighth to push the Cubs' lead to 9-4, which was looking to be enough given how things were unfolding. Leave it to the Guardians to battle back as an RBI single from Romero brought home another run in the eighth with a Heins Brito double, making this a 9-7 game.
The Guardians continued their comeback effort in the ninth as an Angel Espinoza double tied this one up 9-9 and helped send this game into extras. In the extra frame, it was the Cubs striking first as Espinoza capped off his four-RBI day with a single that had DSL Blue back in front 10-9. Once again, it was a short-lived lead as the Guardians not only tied things up with a sacrifice fly, but walked off the Cubs on an error to pull out an 11-10 win.
CHICAGO DOGS 9 - MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 5
MISSISSIPPI MUD MONSTERS 5 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 3
