Cubs Minor League News: Young blasts two homers, PCA raking, Hertz impressive, more
Bryon Houlgrave - USA Today Sports

Cubs Minor League News: Young blasts two homers, PCA raking, Hertz impressive, more
by - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 14 11:30:22 GMT-04:00 2023

Tuesday was not a great night on the diamond for the Cubs minor league system, as this was their worst overall performance of the season. Not only did they let several games get away late, but they managed to win just one of their seven games on the night, with the ACL Cubs claiming that victory.

That can't happen, especially when multiple teams are battling for first place in their respective divisions. They need to bank as many wins as possible, and showings like this will not get it done.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 7 - IOWA CUBS 4

Despite being one of the better offenses all season, the Iowa Cubs have gone into a bit of a funk lately and have fallen out of first place in their division. Needing to win this series to keep pace, the Cubs pitching let them down, allowing a four-run inning that put the Indians on top for good.

Nick Niedert got the start and was very good through four innings before falling apart in the fifth. Niedert allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings with four walks and one strikeout. Ryan Jensen followed that up with a scoreless 1 1/3, while Brendon Little and Cam Sanders scattered a pair of runs late. Opposing Niedert was Quinn Preister, who held the Cubs offense to two runs in 6 2/3.

Trailing 1-0 after the Jared Triolo homer in the second, Niedert kept things close until the rough fifth inning put the game away. A bases-loaded walk brought home the game's second run with a double play making things 3-0. Henry Davis ended the four-run fifth with a two-run shot as the Indians led 5-0. The Cubs took it upon themselves to pull a bit closer in the bottom of the fifth, with Jared Young connecting for the first of his two homers with Yonthan Perlaza adding another RBI to make things 5-2.

Young would add his second homer in the eighth to pull Iowa to within 6-4, but that was as close as they would get as the Indians added another run before closing things out.

Young and Sergio Alcantara led the offense with two hits, with Young responsible for three RBIs.

BIRMINGHAM BARONS 7 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 6

In what is considered a should-win series, the Smokies couldn't have asked for a better start as they raced out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. It was after that where things got concerning as their offense did next to nothing the rest of the way while their bullpen allowed six runs late in the game to give the Barons a 7-6 win.

The result was a tough pill to swallow for DJ Herz, who gave the Smokies his best start of the season. Herz was dialed in through five innings, allowing no runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. Herz was backed by five early runs, which did make things easier for him on the mound.

Pete Crow-Armstrong opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second before the Luis Vazquez double made things 4-0. Owen Caissie capped off a five-run frame with another RBI single as the Smokies raced out to the 5-0 lead. Given the way Herz pitched through five innings, you had to think five runs would be enough as the Smokies still led 5-1 entering the seventh inning.

Vazquez took it upon himself to push that lead to 6-1 with his ninth homer, but that would be it for the Smokies and their offense. Looking to finish the game, the Tennessee bullpen ran into trouble as Blake Whitney allowed a pair of seventh-inning runs to allow the Barons to get within striking distance.

Things went from bad to worse in the eighth as Michael McAvene struggled to do much of anything. McAvene didn't make it out of the eighth inning and was charged with four earned runs as the Jose Rodriguez double pulled the Barons within 6-5 before Tyler Neslony delivered the game-winning two-run single to give the Barons a huge comeback win. Vazquez led the way with three hits and three RBIs, with PCA picking up two hits and two RBIs.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 3 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

In what could be their most important series of the first half, the Cubs traveled to first-place Cedar Rapids for a huge six-game set. With the pitching dominating things throughout the night, the Kernels got the last laugh as they walked off the Cubs to send them under .500 for the first time since April.

Like Herz in AA, Connor Noland deserved a better result as he gave the Cubs five very good innings for a no-decision. Noland allowed two unearned runs on two hits with two strikeouts as he continues to pitch well. Both runs against Noland came in the first inning as one of the four South Bend errors extended the inning, allowing Kala'i Rosario and Noah Cardenas to pick up RBI singles.

That score held until the third inning when Jacob Wetzel picked the perfect time to hit his first homer as the Cubs tied things up 2-2. Still tied in the bottom of the ninth, the Kernels came through in the clutch as Rosario delivered the game-winning single to walk off the Cubs 3-2. South Bend had just four hits in the game.

FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 6 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4

In what could be viewed as another should-win series, the Pelicans are in a great position to not only extend their lead, but they could potentially put the first half out of reach with a good series. Instead, you have the Nationals showing up and using a four-run inning to build a big enough cushion to hold off the Birds 6-4.

Grant Kipp had an interesting day, as his final line is much better than it looks. Sure, Kipp gave up five runs in five innings, but only two of those runs were earned as the Pelicans defense let him down. He walked one and struck out six as his ERA fell to 3.04. Kipp was given some early run support as Reivaj Garcia put the Pelicans in front 2-0 with his RBI double in the second.

It is hard to win a game when you commit four errors, and once the third inning rolled around, those errors started to haunt this team. Daylen Lile tied things up with a two-run triple while an RBI groundout put the Nationals in front for good, 3-2. Paul Witt capped off the four-run frame with a solo shot as the Pelicans trailed 4-2.

The only other earned run against Kipp came in the fifth when Johnathan Thomas took him deep to push the lead to 5-2 before Elijah Green made things 6-2 with an RBI single in the seventh. Looking to rally late, the Pelicans started to make things interesting in the eighth as Cristian Hernandez picked up an RBI with a groundout while the Jefferson Rojas single pulled the Pelicans within 6-4. Unfortunately, that was as close as they would get as the Nationals held them off late.

Garcia was one of five players with multiple hits as he also drove in a team-high two. Andy Gariola, Moises Ballesteros, Rojas, and Hernandez were the other players to record multiple hits as the Pelicans had their chances only to come up empty.

ACL CUBS 4 - ACL DIAMONDBACKS 0

Tuesday's lone win in the Cubs system came in the desert, where the Cubs shut out the Diamondbacks. Left-hander Drew Gray got the start for the Cubs and worked through three scoreless frames with one hit. He walked two and struck out three as he continued to pitch well.

Gray was followed by Dominic Hambley, who gave the Cubs four shutout innings with four strikeouts, while Scotto Kobos finished things off. The only offense the Cubs would need came in the second when Wally Soto delivered an RBI double to put the Cubs in front 2-0. The Cubs added to their lead in the third, with Anderson Suriel continuing to smoke the ball with an RBI single.

Still holding that 3-0 lead in the seventh, Alexis Hernandez closed out the scoring with an RBI single as the Cubs won their third straight after a slow start. Hernandez racked up three hits with his RBI and is now hitting .483 with Arizona. Suriel added two more hits.

DSL PIRATES 3 - DSL CUBS BLUE 1

Sometimes, it is not how many innings you score, but how many runs you score in those innings. When it comes to the Pirates, all they needed was one inning, as a three-run first would be all the offense they would need.

Miguel Cruz was the victim of that first inning as he allowed three runs in 2 2/3. After that, you had Adrian Santana and Francis Reynoso combining to allow just one hit the rest of the way. The problem for the Cubs was a need for hitting, as they were held without a hit through five innings. Carlos Castillo played a massive role by striking out six in four hitless innings.

As mentioned, all the Pirates runs came in the first inning, with Samuel Escudero picking up an RBI double to put the Pirates up 1-0. He would later come home to score on the Angel Perez sacrifice fly, which proved to be the winning run. Angel Aquino capped off the scoring for the Pirates with an RBI single as they made that 3-0 hold until the sixth.

In that sixth inning, the Cubs put an end to the shutout bid with Omar Ferrera using a sacrifice fly to make things 3-1. That was it for the Cubs offense as they struggled from the start. Erbin Jaque provided the Cubs' lone hit of the day with a double.

DSL PIRATES 10 - DSL CUBS RED 1

Talk about a team having your number. The DSL Pirates made quick work of the Cubs all day as they combined to allow two runs on four hits in their two wins. The Pirates benefitted from a pair of big innings, scoring nine times in two frames to put the game away.

Like in the other game, the Pirates opened the scoring in the first as a bases-loaded walk gave them a 1-0 lead. That score held until the top of the fourth when Carlos Altuve used an RBI single to tie things up 1-1. Once the bottom of the fourth rolled around, it was all Pirates as they closed the game with nine unanswered runs.

Six came in the fourth as four RBI doubles led to five of the six runs coming across to push the lead to 7-1. The other three runs came in the fifth, with Rodolfo De La Cruz plating two with an RBI triple before he came around to score on the July Vittini single to cap off the 10-1 win.

https://www.milb.com/iowa/video/jared-young-s-two-homers?t=t451-default-vtp

https://www.milb.com/tennessee/video/dj-herz-s-9th-strikeout?t=t553-default-vtp

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