Cubs Minor League News: Iowa rallies, Smokies shut out Rocket City, South Bend stays alive |
Dustin Riese
· · 6 hours ago
For the second straight night, the Cubs Minor League system produced, as the wins have been flowing the past few days. Had it not been for a late-game loss from Myrtle Beach, the Minor League organizations would've posted a second straight unbeaten night, which is all you can ask for. Still, they managed to finish the day 3-1, 4-1 if you count the suspended game from last night.
They haven't been easy the past two days, but a win is a win, and the Iowa Cubs found a way to win again. In what was arguably the most important game of the day, veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon was on the mound making a rehab start as he faced off with recently released Iowa Cubs Spencer Turnbull. From a results side, three runs in 3 2/3 is nothing to write home about, but with one walk and six strikeouts, the stuff was there. Compare that to Turnball, who walked five and struck out four across four innings, and you can see the value Taillon brings to the MLB club once he returns. Two of Omaha's runs came immediately in the first when Harold Castro jumped Taillon for a two-run shot to make this a 2-0 game. The long ball has been an issue for Taillon all season, and with Tyler Gentry adding one in the fourth to make this a 3-0 game, it continued to be an issue. Apart from that, the Omaha offense was quiet as the Cubs' bullpen dominated the rest of the way, including a five-strikeout performance from Luke Little. Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth, it was the Cubs' offense finally coming to life, and they did so in a big way. With Turnball struggling to find his command, the Cubs benefited from that as Forrest Wall and Dixon Machado earned bases-loaded walks to make this a 3-2 game. Iowa would tie the game at 3-3 later in the inning on a Chase Strumpf single, as this was a brand-new game. Turnbull wasn't the only Storm Chaser pitcher struggling with his command as Chazz Martinez put himself in a massive hole in the seventh only to have a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Carlos Perez push home the winning run in the Cubs' 4-3 victory. Iowa had just five hits in the game, with Jonathon Long leading the way with three.
Coming off arguably their best comeback win of the season, the Smokies got right back to business as they took a 2-1 Series lead over the Trash Pandas. This was one of those games dominated by the pitching as Connor Schultz and company scattered just one hit. Schlutz got the start and went on to turn in his best outing of the season as he lasted seven innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight. Given the pitching the Smokies had, Knoxville didn't need a ton of offense as the Pedro Ramirez third inning double made this a 1-0 lead, only to have the Jordan Nwogu single double the lead in the fifth. One night after delivering the walkoff single in extras, Ethan Hearn was making an impact in this one as his seventh-inning bases-loaded walk pushed home the final run in the 3-0 Smokies win. Ramirez was the star of the game, picking up that RBI and going a perfect 5-5. SOUTH BEND CUBS 7 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4: Just when you thought the Cubs may have been finished, they pull you back in as this team is still alive in the playoff picture. Coming off their 5-3 victory in what was the originally scheduled game, it was the Cubs' offense that stayed hot, dispatching them 7-4 to complete the doubleheader sweep. Making his first High-A start of the season was Nazier Mule, and although he didn't get the win, he still showed plenty of promise. Mule was backed by a Cubs offense that scored three times in the first as Brian Kalmer opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly, only to have Drew Bowser follow suit with a two-run single to make this a 3-0 game. Wisconsin did their best to battle back as the Kay-Lan Nicasia double and a Marco Dinges homer led to two runs, but with the Cubs adding another run off an error, this was still a 4-2 gam. Leave it to Ariel Armas to come through once more as his RBI double in the bottom of the fourth brought home a pair and broke things open 6-2. Edgar Alvarez added an RBI fielder's choice later in the game, as the Cubs' offense was starting to pull away. Despite the Rattlers' best efforts late, with Luiyin Alastre picking up an RBI single ahead of a late-game RBI groundout, it was the Cubs taking care of business 7-4 as they remain in win-now mode.IOWA CUBS 4 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 3
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 3 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 0
COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3
The lone team to come away with a loss on Thursday, also happens to be the only team heading to the postseason as the Pelicans dropped a tough one, 4-3. Pierce Coppola got the start for the Pelicans, and after two strong innings to start the game, things got a little dicey in the third as Luke Nowak's single brought home a pair to make this a 2-0 game.
Myrtle Beach didn't waste any time battling back as a pair of third-inning singles from Alexey Lumpuy and Angel Cepeda led to two runs, while Matt Halbach's sacrifice fly helped put the Pelicans on top 3-2. Little did they know, those were the only runs the offense would score, and after the Connor Rasmussen double tied it up in the sixth, the Pelicans were going to have their work cut out for them late.
For the most part, the Myrtle Beach pen did their job as runs were challenging to come by from the fifth inning on. Still, it was Columbia finding a way to get the last laugh as Nowak delivered his second RBI single of the game in the ninth to lift the Fireflies 4-3. Cepeda was responsible for two of the team's four hits and drove in a run. Lumpuy and Jose Escobar had the remaining hits.
