Cubs Minor League News: Franklin collects 5 RBIs, Long goes deep, Alcantara raking, more |
Dustin Riese
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- 8 hours ago
It was another full slate of games for the Cubs Minor League system on Thursday, as all four of their full-season squads were in action. Wednesday yielded better results than Tuesday, and the Cubs hoped that would continue into Thursday. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, as the Cubs came away with just one and posted a 1-3 record.
This has been a back-and-forth series to begin the week, which continued on Wednesday as the Cubs regained the series lead 2-1. This was one of those games where pitching dominated things early on before the Cubs' offense exploded for 10 runs over the final five innings. That included back-to-back big innings in the fifth and sixth that were responsible for eight runs as the Cubs took care of business 10-2. Tommy Romero made his second start for Iowa, and once again, he continued to impress. Despite walking two and striking out one in his 4 2/3, Romero found ways to limit the damage, as he allowed just one run before handing things over to Tony Cosgrove, Nate Pearson, and Jack Neely. That run came in the second inning when Milan Tolentino took him deep to give the Clippers a 1-0 lead. They would make that score hold until the fifth, as Will Dion was dialed in early. In the fifth, the wheels began to fall off as the Cubs' offense started to come to life, with Christian Franklin kicking things off with an RBI single to tie things up 1-1. Christian Franklin RBI, what's new? Iowa would score five runs in the fifth as the Carlos Perez double put Iowa in front for good, 3-1, with Kevin Alcantara adding another two RBIs to push the lead to 5-1. Carlos Perez with an RBI-double drives in two more! THE JAGUAR ADDS ON TWO MORE RUNS It was more of the same for the Cubs in the sixth as they continued to build on their lead by scoring three more runs to open up an 8-1 lead. FRANKLIN ADDS TWO MORE Franklin was in the middle of the action again, delivering another RBI knock to push home a pair while the Jonathon Long homer made things 8-1. Jonathon Long SOLO SHOT Franklin wasn't done as he capped off a massive five-RBI day with a two-RBI single in the ninth to give the Cubs a 10-1 lead. Christian Franklin with 5 RBIs on the day! They would win 10-2 as Yordys Valdes added a solo shot in the ninth off Neely to cap off the scoring. Franklin and Long had great days at the plate, with Franklin leading the way with four hits and five RBIs. Long chipped in with three hits, while James Triantos and Hayden Cantrelle added two from the bottom of the order.
Talk about a team being the tough-luck loser. The Knoxville Smokies pitched well enough to win this game, but the offense let them down. Grant Kipp is rounding back into form on the mound and after going four scoreless frames and allowing one hit, his ERA is now 3.30 for the season. Kipp gave way to Antonio Santos, who allowed both runs in three innings, as his ERA is 1.31 for the season. The game's lone run for the Smokies came in the third inning when Pedro Ramirez ripped an RBI single to give them an early 1-0 lead. Typically, one run is never enough these days, but with the score still sitting at 1-0 entering the fifth, it was starting to look like it may hold. That was until the bottom of the fifth when Mike Boeve connected for a two-run single off Santos to put the Shuckers in front 2-1, and they would win by that score. Knoxville was held to five hits in the loss. Final score presented by @zips3mincarwash.
At some point you have to think the Cubs luck will start to change, but that isn't in the cards right now. Making his High-A debut for the Cubs was the hard-throwing Erian Rodriguez, who began the season with the ACL Cubs. Rodriguez was far from perfect, allowing three runs in five innings, but there was still a lot to like from his outing. Two of the three runs he allowed came in the first inning when Jadher Areinamo opened the scoring with a solo shot that put Wisconsin on top for good, 1-0. They would add an RBI single from Marco Dinges later in the inning to extend the lead to 2-0. Still facing a 2-0 deficit entering the fourth, Yhoswar Garcia came through with the game-winning hit as his double extended the Rattlers' lead to 3-0. That was all the offense Tyson Hardin would need as he struck out eight across six innings, allowing just a Rafael Morel single in the bottom of the fifth that had the Cubs within 3-1. Following the outing from Rodriguez, Chase Watkins took over in the sixth and was immediately greeted by some struggles as he allowed a pair of runs, with one of those runs coming off the Hedbert Perez double that pushed the Wisconsin lead to 5-1. South Bend tried to battle back late with Miguel Pabon pushing home a run in the eighth, but the Cubs couldn't get any closer, falling by the 5-2 score. South Bend collected nine hits in the loss, with Andy Garriola leading the way with three. Jefferson Rojas added two hits as his average is up to .292. Jefferson Rojas kept his on-base streak rolling at 22 games, but the Cubs couldn't take down Wisconsin.
Apart from the win for Iowa, the offense was tough to come by most of the night for the Cubs system, and that continued for the Pelicans, who fell to the Crawdads 6-1. Will Frisch was the loser in this one, but with six strikeouts across four innings and two runs allowed, he was one of those pitchers who deserved better. Both runs came in the first inning, as it took him a little while to settle in. Myrtle Beach did very little early on to help, pushing home the first run on an error while the Pablo Guerrero double proved to be the game-winning hit with the Crawdads in front 2-0. It took six innings for the Pelicans to break through with Yahil Melendez cashing in with an RBI single that pulled Myrtle Beach within 2-1. Yahil Melendez drives in Leonel Espinoza to put the Birds on the board! pic.twitter.com/Ol2fHNfT4X That was not only the only run off of J'Briell Easley in 5 2/3, but it was the only run of the day for the Pelicans, who struggled to get anything going. Looking to put the game away in the bottom of the sixth, Maxton Martin delivered as his two-run double started a string of three innings with at least a run scored and pushed the Crawdads' lead to 4-1. Hickory would add a run on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh before closing out the scoring on an Erick Alvarez eighth-inning single as they silenced the Pelicans 6-1. Melendez was responsible for two of the Pelicans' six hits and drove in the lone run.
Backed by some early offense that scored three times in the first two innings and a strong pitching performance, it was the Dogs getting back to their winning ways as they shut out the Redhawks 4-0. Brock Bell earned the win for Chicago, going five shutout frames and striking out two as the offense did what it needed to win this game. It didn't take long for the Dogs' offense to get rolling as they opened up a 2-0 lead in the first and never looked back. Clint Coulter opened the scoring with an RBI groundout, while Alex McGarry's single extended the lead to 2-0. Chicago would add to their lead in the second on a Reggie Pruitt Jr homer as they were in front 3-0 early. Those were the lone runs for most of the game, with Chance Sisco adding a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to close out the 4-0 win. HOT DIGGITY DOG...DOGS WIN! pic.twitter.com/ye7xGvQ4gI
The Crushers closed out a terrific series against the Thunderbolts and delivered a three-game sweep by picking up a 5-4 win. Brandyn Sittinger played a role as the right-hander, giving the Crushers six strong innings on the mound, allowing three runs and striking out seven. Kyle Huckstorft paced the Crushers' offense with three RBIs, two of which came on his first homer of the season. Jalen Greer led the way for the Thunderbolts with three hits and was joined by David Maberry and Dakota Kotowski. Kotowski also led the way with two RBIs.IOWA CUBS 10 - COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 2
1-1 tie game pic.twitter.com/W7riaCoVbI
3-1 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/Y4aJSxI1R7
5-1 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/gn6LgDq0EN
7-1 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/aOvWca7awz
8-1 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/HKeoCDnHvl
10-1 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/x4eFWcR9MABILOXI SHUCKERS 2 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 1
Box Score: https://t.co/MYfjMIN7Ps pic.twitter.com/wMRUDCyB3ZWISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2
RECAP ⬇️https://t.co/bcpw4dTtOiHICKORY CRAWDADS 6 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1
CHICAGO DOGS 4 - FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS 0
LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS 5 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 4
