Cubs Minor league News: Wicks goes 7-0, Mastrobuoni raking, Shaw homers, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor league News: Wicks goes 7-0, Mastrobuoni raking, Shaw homers, more
by - Senior Writer - Fri Aug 11 12:47:14 GMT-04:00 2023

Thursday marked another full slate of Minor League action and another winning record this week. This has been one of the better weeks in a while, at least for the full-season squads, while the Rookie Leagues continue to take a significant hit.

Weather has been a significant issue all week in the Dominican Republic, and with two more suspended games, it looks like some of these games will not be made up. Even with the DSL teams losing another game, there were still five other games going on where the Cubs posted a 4-1 record on the night.

IOWA CUBS 10 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 3

The Cubs are undoubtedly enjoying life in Omaha right now, as their offense has been on a tear this week. Looking at the score, you would think the Cubs offense was rolling from the start. That was far from the case as they used an eight-run inning late in the game to take the lead and pulled away for the win.

Sporting a 7-0 record this season, Jordan Wicks continued to impress as the left-hander gave the Cubs five strong innings.

He walked one struck out five and allowed just one run as Chris Clarke and company took over from there. Despite Wicks and his efforts, fellow left-hander Anthony Veneziano was even better as he tossed six shutout frames with 10 punchouts.

It took a little while for both offenses to get going, with Nate Eaton coming through with a solo shot in the fourth to put Omaha in front 1-0. They would make that lead hold until the seventh, when the Cubs offense came to life and went crazy. Iowa scored eight times in that seventh inning as the Luis Vazquez single started things up and put the Cubs in front 2-1.

His single was followed by one from PJ Higgins to make things 3-1, with Alexander Canario adding an additional RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-1. The big blow in that inning came from Miles Mastrobuoni, who connected for his second homer in his last six games to put Iowa in front 8-1.

Immediately after giving up the lead, Omaha tried to fight back, with Jose Briceno leaving the yard for a solo shot while Brewer Hicklin added an RBI triple to close the gap to 8-3.

Those would be the final runs for Omaha on the afternoon as Higgins would add a two-run double in the eighth to close out the scoring with the Cubs rolling 10-3. Mastrobuoni led the way with three hits and three RBIs, with Higgins adding three hits and three RBIs.

BILOXI SHUCKERS 8 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4

Sparked by their four-run seventh inning, the Shuckers managed to bounce back from a rough start to the week and doubled up the Smokies 8-4. Cade Horton was on the mound to make his second AA start, and although it wasn't as good as his first was just fine. Horton got through four innings for the second time, striking out two, but this time around, he allowed three runs.

That is not a bad outing, but when your counterpart Carlos Rodriguez allows just one unearned run in five-plus innings, your team is forced to play from behind. Horton trailed early as Carlos D Rodriguez picked up an RBI single in the second to put the Shuckers on top 1-0. Rodriguez would add to that lead in the fourth with an RBI double to make things 3-0, while Zavier Warren picked up an RBI single in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0.

Looking for any offensive spark, Casey Opitz provided that spark in the sixth as he connected for his first career AA homer and pulled the Smokies to within 4-3 with one swing. That was as close as the Smokies would get as the Shuckers offense had their way with the Tennessee pen and added four runs to their lead in the seventh.

Isaac Collins started things off with an RBI triple, with Lamar Sparks connecting for a two-run shot. An Ernesto Martinez double ended the four-run frame, but the damage was done as Tennessee trailed 8-3. The Smokies did pick up another run in the ninth, but it wasn't enough to top the Shuckers, who took their first game of the week.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 9 - LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 1

The best way to get over a rough week is by coming out and picking up a dominating win. That is what South Bend did on Thursday as a six-run fifth inning helped lead the way to an impressive 9-1 win. Grant Kipp made his High-A debut, and things couldn't have gone much better for the right-hander.

Granted, Kipp only lasted 4 2/3 and didn't qualify for the win, but during those innings, he allowed just one run while striking out eight.

He was relieved by a trio of relievers, including Derek Casey, who made his season debut with three strikeouts, and Frank Scalzo Jr, who continues to pitch well in relief. Opposing Kipp was Ethan Hankins, who was equally as good through four innings before the wheels fell off on the pen.

The Cubs gave Kipp an early 1-0 lead as Moises Ballesteros cashed in with an RBI single in the first. Things only got worse for Lake County from there as the South Bend offense exploded in the fifth to put the game away. Three homers provided the damage in that inning, with Luis Verdugo delivering the big blow with his three-run shot to extend the lead to 4-0.

His homer was followed by the first-round pick, Matt Shaw, who picked up his first professional homer as the Cubs built up a 6-0 lead.

Ballesteros capped off that massive inning with a solo shot of his own to put the Cubs in front 7-0. The lone run of the game for Lake County came in the bottom of the fifth when Dayan Frias picked up an RBI single off of Kipp to make things 7-1.

South Bend added a pair of runs late as a single from Shaw mixed with the James Triantos sacrifice fly brought home two eighth-inning runs and gave the Cubs a 9-1 win. Shaw has been fitting in nicely with High-A and is now hitting .345 after his three-hit, three-RBI day.

Ballesteros and Yohendrick Pinango also had multi-hit games.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7 - FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 3

Another day and another win for the Pelicans as they continue to do great work this week. Like most teams in the Cubs system, a big inning provided the winning runs for the Birds as their five-run third opened up a massive lead they would never give back.

Since moving into the rotation, Luis Rujiano has been nothing short of impressive, which continued on Thursday. Rujiano may not be going that deep into games, but after allowing one run in four innings, his ERA fell to 2.45 for the season. His lone earned run came in the top of the first when Ryan Johnson gave Fayetteville their lone lead with an RBI double.

Not only did the Pelicans respond with the game-tying single from Brian Kalmer in the bottom of the first, but Kalmer's day was just getting started as the rookie is off to a great start. Kalmer continued to show off his power and belted his third homer in as many days to give the Pelicans the lead for good in the third, 3-1. His homer was followed by fellow rookie Jonathan Long whose second homer in as many days had the Pelicans in front 4-1.

Already with three runs pushed across in the third, the Myrtle Beach offense continued their relentless approach, with David Avitia and Pedro Ramirez adding a pair of RBI double as the Pelicans broke things open 6-1. The Pelicans added an additional run in the fourth on the Kalmer sacrifice fly before Fayetteville closed out the scoring with a fifth-inning homer from Luis Baez and an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

Kalmer had his coming out party as he picked up two hits and a team-high four RBIs in the win. Ramirez added three hits to lead the offense as the Pelicans have been rolling this week.

ACL CUBS 14 - ACL REDS 11

If you like offense, then Mesa was the place to be as 25 combined runs were scored. 11 of the Cub's 14 runs came in the first four innings as their offense set the tone early. Zyhir Hope opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first before coming home on the Carter Trice single to make things 3-0.

A five-run second inning followed that as the Cubs were up 8-0 early. Leonel Espinoza started that massive inning with an RBI single to make things 5-0, while the Alexis Hernandez triple made things 6-0. Throw in an Anderson Suriel single and a Hope walk, and the Cubs were in complete control.

Continuing his rehab assignment was Kevin Alcantara, whose RBI single in the third extended the Cubs lead to 9-0 before the Reds got on the board with a Carlos Sanchez double to make things 9-2. Fourth-inning doubles from Trice and Yahil Melendez kept the line moving as the Cubs held an 11-2 lead entering the bottom of the fourth.

Usually, a lead like this would be safe in any league, but that was not the case in Arizona, as the Reds had other ideas in mind. Sparked by a Richardo Cabrera homer in the fifth, the Reds scored six times and pulled within 11-8 to make this a game. Those were the last of the runs for quite some time until both offenses went to work in the ninth.

Jairo Diaz came through with a massive solo shot in the top of the ninth as his homer proved to be the game-winning RBI. That homer was followed by a Christian Olivo double and another Suriel RBI as the Cubs took a 14-8 lead. Those runs were crucial in the end as the Reds responded with three more runs in their half of the ninth to pull within 14-11 and lost by that score.

Trice paced the offense with three hits and two RBIs, as he was one of several players having great days. Suriel added two hits and two RBIs; Hope had two hits and two RBIs as the Cubs pounded out 20 hits in the win.

DSL CUBS RED vs. DSL RED SOX (Suspended)

DSL CUBS BLUE vs. DSL RED SOX (Suspended)

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