Cubs Minor League News: South Bend, Myrtle Beach pick up wins in night of close games |
Dustin Riese
· · 18 hours ago
Even if the results weren't what the Cubs wanted, going 2-3 on the day, all five games were competitive as they were all decided by two runs or less. That is all you can ask for at this juncture of the season, as competitive baseball tends to be fun as the Cubs are playing some very competitive baseball across the board.
The Cubs came close to finishing the night with a winning record, and the game you can look at as a missed opportunity would be this one. After doing their part most of the night and holding the Saints to one run, the Saint Paul offense came to life late as they scored four times in the later innings, including a three-run eighth to pick up the 5-3 win. It was a disappointing result for Connor Noland, who may not have started this game, but instead came in after Luke Little opened and continued to do his part. Noland has been the consistent force leading this rotation, and after 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball, his ERA is at 4.26 for the season. He walked three and struck out five, which has been a massive part of his game this year. Noland and company were backed by some instant offense, with Moises Ballesteros opening the scoring in the first with a two-run double that had the Cubs in front 2-0. Bally drives in 2 runs! pic.twitter.com/4K6vKwYjqE Doubles were the theme of the game early on for the Cubs as Jonathon Long got in on the fun with an RBI double in the third that pushed the Cubs lead to 3-0. That was it for their offense, but with the pitching allowing just an RBI groundout through six, it was looking as if three runs would be enough. Following an Austin Martin single that pulled the Saints within one in the seventh, their comeback was complete in the eighth as Carson McCusker unloaded for a three-run shot off of Keegan Thompson for the game-winning hit as the Saints came from behind 5-3. Long has cooled off at the plate the last month, but with two hits to lead the team, he is still hitting .313 for the season. Iowa had just five hits total.
Late-game letdowns were the theme for the Cubs on Wednesday, as both their full-season losses came in the late innings. Like with Iowa, the Smokies were locked into a tight game late, only to have the Biscuits scratch across two eighth-inning runs to grab the win. What appeared to be a modified bullpen day, Grant Kipp got the ball for the Smokies as he went on to allow two runs in 3 1/3. Kipp has been solid for the most part all season, with an ERA of 3.63, which is all you can ask for. Even if he wasn't at his best, he didn't need to be, as the Smokies offense gave him plenty of early support with a bases-loaded walk to Casey Opitz, opening the scoring in the second. Then came the third inning, when the Smokies' offense not only woke up but woke up in a massive manner, scoring four more times to break things open, 5-0. A BJ Murray Jr single and Reivaj Garcia double were responsible for two of those runs, with Andy Garriola tacking on the other two with his single. BJ Murray picks up his LEAGUE LEADING 53rd RBI! pic.twitter.com/VgvtYp8bwv Not only was that it for them offensively, but in a span of three innings, the game was tied at 5-5 as the Biscuits started to chip away at the lead one inning at a time. It all started with a pair of bases-loaded hit by pitches in the fourth to make this a 5-2 game, while a Tatem Levins double and Will Simpson made this a one-run game in the fifth. Montgomery continued to battle back in the sixth with an RBI groundout tying things up, and suddenly, this was a brand new ball game. With the momentum still on their side late, the Biscuits delivered the knockout blow in the eighth as a costly error led to two runs, which was the difference in their 7-5 win.
Two up and Two Down as the Cubs have taken the first two from Wisconsin to open the series. Unlike Monday, where it was all about the offense, this one came down to the pitching as the Cubs picked up a 3-1 win. Evan Aschenbeck has been a blessing in disguise for this team since his promotion, as he continued to deliver on the mound. Despite his 3-4 record, the left-hander has been very good, pitching to a 3.21 ERA. This was a strange outing for him as he struck out one across seven innings, allowing eight hits, but only one run. Compare that to Ryan Birchard, who walked five and struck out seven across 4 1/3 subpar innings, and the Cubs had all the offense they would need to win this game. Not only did South Bend open the scoring on a first-inning error, but the Edgar Alvarez single in the fourth proved to be the game-winning hit with the Cubs in front 2-0. South Bend continued to build on their lead in the fifth, with Cameron Sisneros tacking on an RBI single to make this a 3-0 game, which was all the offense they would need. The lone run of the day for the Rattlers came in the sixth on a Luiyin Alastre single as the Cubs did their job 3-1. Cristian Hernandez was the only other Cub to record a hit as South Bend was held to three hits in the win.SAINT PAUL SAINTS 5 - IOWA CUBS 3
MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 7 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 5
SOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3 - KANNAPOLIS CANNONBALLERS 2
Talk about a nice bounce-back win for the Pelicans as they evened things up with Kannapolis this week. Once again, it was the sudden improvement from the pitching staff that took over as the Pelicans held off the Cannonballers 3-2.
Ethan Flanagan had issues with his command, walking four and striking out two in five innings. All that matters is the overall performance, as he allowed one run and three hits, as his ERA is down to 0.86. Flanagan was backed by some early offense, with Christian Olivo opening the scoring with a second-inning RBI double before an Owen Ayers sacrifice fly extended the lead to 2-0 in the third.
Those were the lone runs Grant Umberger would allow as he gave the Cannonballers six innings of six-strikeout baseball to bring his ERA to 2.26. It took five innings for Kannapolis to break through as the Jorge Corona homer put an end to the shutout and had the Cannonballers within 2-1.
Two innings later, it was time for TJ McCants to come through as his RBI triple made things 2-2 and took a win away from Flanagan. Despite that, the Pelicans didn't let that bother them as they answered that seventh-inning run with one in the eighth as the Eli Lovich grounder was the difference in a 3-2 win. Myrtle Beach had seven hits in the win, with Leonel Espinoza leading the way with three.
ACL DIAMONDBACKS 3 - ACL CUBS 2
I can't remember a season where there were so many low-scoring games in the desert. This was another one of those days for the Cubs and their offense, as they were held in check until late before falling 3-2. Edwardo Melendez has had a miserable season thus far, but Wednesday saw him deliver his best outing of the year.
Sure, he still took the loss, but with two walks and seven strikeouts over five strong innings, there is hope that he may have turned the corner. The only run Melendez would allow came in the fourth inning off a Pedro Blanco triple as the Diamondbacks opened up a 1-0 lead and never looked back.
Blanco was just getting warmed up as he added an RBI single as part of a two-run sixth inning before the Ivan Luciano sacrifice fly made this a 3-0 game. That score would hold until the seventh and final inning, as the Cubs' offense did its best to rally back. With one swing of the bat, Fernando Cruz watched it fly as his two-run blast made this a 3-2 lead before falling by that score.
CHICAGO DOGS 7 - MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 6
MISSISSIPPI MUD MONSTERS 8 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 1
