Cubs Minor League News: Pelicans dominate again, Caissie stays hot

Patrick Gorski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 2 hours ago

The Cubs secured a pair of Minor League wins to post a 2-2 record, 2-4 if you count the struggling Rookie League Squads.

WORCESTER RED SOX 7 - IOWA CUBS 4

In what was a very well-played game most of the night, it was the Red Sox pulling away late as a three-run ninth inning would seal the Cubs' fate in this one. Chris Kachmar was back on the mound doing his thing as the right-hander continues to pitch well since his promotion.

In his five innings, Kachmar did a great job limiting the damage as he struck out four and walked two, while also allowing just two runs. Both those runs came on a pair of fourth-inning homers as Nate Eaton and Mikey Romero broke a scoreless tie and put the Red Sox in front 2-0. After keeping the Cubs offense in check for four innings, Tyler Uberstine was bitten by the long ball as Owen Caissie connected for another blast in the fifth that brought things back to even 2-2.

Uberstine would allow three runs in 5 1/3, with James Triantos tying things back up in the sixth with a double, as that came after a Romero sacrifice fly made things 3-2 in favor of Worcester. The back-and-forth affair continued into the seventh when Kristian Campbell put the Red Sox on top for good with an RBI double off Tyson Miller that made this a 4-3 game.

Then came the ninth when Riley Martin ran into some trouble, only to have Eaton clear the bases with one swing as his bases-clearing triple broke things open and had the Red Sox in front 7-3. The Cubs did manage to creep closer in the bottom of the ninth on the Moises Ballesteros double, but that was it as Iowa drops another series opener 7-4. Given the Cubs' offensive struggles in the majors, it's only a matter of time until Caissie gets a look as he picked up three hits and two RBIs to lead the Cubs.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 5 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 0

It was a quiet night for the Smokies on Tuesday, as the Trash Pandas held them to three hits in a 5-0 shutout loss. That lack of offense came after several pre-game promotions, as neither of the new faces got anything going.

Taking the loss for Knoxville was right-hander Grant Kipp, who, despite not being at his best, has still pitched to a 3.56 ERA this season. Kipp battled through four innings, walking two and striking out three while allowing three runs, although only two of those runs were earned. Like Iowa, this was a scoreless game through three as Rocket City opened the scoring in the fourth and never looked back.

All it took for the Trash Pandas to get a win was the David Calabrese single that put them in front 1-0, only to have Myles Emmerson add another single shortly after to double the Rocket City lead 2-0. That is all the offense George Klassan would need as the right-hander picked up his fourth win after tossing five scoreless frames.

Already down two in the fifth, the Smokies didn't do much to help themselves as a pair of untimely balks led to two additional runs, which opened up a 4-0 lead. Knoxville killer Calabrese would tack on another RBI single in the seventh to close out the scoring in what was a 5-0 Rocket City win. Jefferson Rojas, Reivaj Garcia, and Jaylen Palmer had the hits for the Smokies.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 4 - BELOIT SKY CARP 2

The beat goes on for the South Bend Cubs as they continue to make their unlikely push for the playoffs. Despite trailing most of the game, the Cubs' offense came to life late as they scored four times in the final three frames, including a three-run seventh to grab the lead, and held on for the 4-2 win.

This was one of those games where you would've loved for Connor Schultz to get a win, but the right-hander will have to settle for a no-decision after tossing five strong innings. Schultz was charged with one unearned run, which came on a third-inning sacrifice fly, but with Karson Milbrandt allowing three hits and striking out six in 5 2/3 scoreless frames, that was starting to look like enough.

It wasn't until the seventh inning that the Cubs' offense got rolling, and they got rolling in a big way as a wild pitch brought things back to even, only to have Edgar Alvarez follow suit with the game-winning single that put the Cubs in front 3-1. South Bend would tack on another run in the eighth on the Rafael Morel double before Beloit added a ninth-inning single from Wilson Weber in the Cubs' 4-2 win.

Given the promotions that took place, this Cubs lineup will look different the rest of the way, so it will be interesting to see if they can keep their strong play going. Morel did the heavy lifting in this one, picking up three hits to go with his RBI.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 10 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 1

Another day, and another blowout win for the Pelicans as they continue to dominate the second half 10-1. This time, it was Alfredo Romero benefiting from a strong offensive day as the right-hander secured his third win in five shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.95.

Romero was backed by an offense that scored three times in the first three innings as the Pelicans opened up a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back. Two of those RBIs came from Matt Halbach, who opened the scoring with a single in the first before tacking on a homer in the third. You also had a bases-loaded walk in the second, bringing home a run as the Pelicans continue to do damage in all different ways.

Following an Alexis Hernandez sacrifice fly in the fifth to push the lead to 4-0, it was the Myrtle Beach offense putting the game away in the sixth as they added three more runs to make this a 7-0 game. Alexey Lumpuy got the party started with a bases-loaded walk, while another Halbach RBI gave the Birds a 6-0 lead. Myrtle Beach capped off the big inning with an Angel Cepeda sacrifice fly, as this was now a 7-0 Pelicans lead.

Six innings into the game, the Fireflies finally broke through, using a sacrifice fly to put an end to the shutout and making things 7-1. That was it for their offense as the Pelicans added three more runs in the ninth off the Christian Olivo single and Ty Southisene double to make quick work of Columbia 10-1. Southisene, Olivo, and Halbach all had two hits for the Birds, and combined for six RBIs. Halbach had three of those RBIs.