Down on the Farm: 1-2 record, Carl Edwards' debut, Roederer impressive, more |
Although still early in the minor league season, you can start to get a sense of how things may be shaking up in the Cubs system this season as it all comes down to consistency. For Iowa, that consistency has been evident in winning four of their first five games. For the rest, they are just trying to find ways to match their winning efforts as the other farmhands went winless last night.
IOWA CUBS 6 – Nashville Sounds 5: The Iowa Cubs closed out their opening series on a positive not holding off the Sounds for the 6-5 win to improve to (4-1) on the season. With Trevor Clifton taking the ball and lasting only three innings despite a good performance, it was up to the bullpen to hold things together as some 40-man roster starts looked to show they have improved this season. After Matt Carasiti struggled in his outing, it was time for Carl Edwards Jr. to take the ball for the first time in an Iowa uniform this season. Despite allowing two hits, Edwards struck out the side and most importantly did not walk a single hitter which is a huge positive to take going forward. Offensively, the Cubs were led by a balanced attack as they needed only three innings to score enough runs to win. Starting in the second, it was Taylor Davis opening up the scoring as his fielder’s choice gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Iowa doubled that advantage a few batters later when Christhian Adames picked up an RBI ground out of his own for the 2-0 lead. With Clifton sharp on the hill early, it was the Cubs defense that put the Sounds on the board with a third-inning error and watching their lead shrink to 2-1. Not to be discouraged, the Cubs got that run right back in the fourth when Zack Short sacrificed an out for a run with another RBI groundout pushing things 3-1. That lead was short lived when Carasiti struggled in the fifth as a Danny Santana single and the Nolan Fantana bases-loaded walk evened things up 3-3. That was when the Iowa bats erupted in a big way in the seventh. Starting with Ian Happ, although only 1-5 with a pair of strikeouts, Happ made his one hit count when it mattered as his single to score Adames put the Cubs in front for good 4-3. Looking for some much-needed insurance, it was Phillip Evans coming to the rescue with a double to push the lead to 6-3. Going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, Phillip Evans is tonight's @EMCInsurance Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/qFMaB2BPFO That hit proved to be the game winner as the Sounds rallied for two runs off Ryan Wick late to cut things to 6-5 before another previously released and resigned Cub Brian Duensing locked things down for his first save to preserve the 6-5 win. TENNESSEE SMOKIES vs. Mississippi Braves: Postponed due to inclement weather Monday Night's Game Cancelled, Fans Can Exchange Tickets for Future 2019 Home Gamehttps://t.co/XmESy1wEJ2 MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4 – Down East Wood Ducks 12: The rough start for the Pelicans got much tougher last night as they fell to 1-4 on the season. After being fairly competitive in their previous four games, nothing went right last night falling 12-4 at the hands of the Wood Ducks. Perhaps one of the lone bright spots had to be the bullpen as Jesus Camargo, Tyler Payne and Manuel Rodriguez combined to throw 4 2/3 innings of shut out baseball after starter Erling Moreno got tattooed for 11 earned runs in just 3 1/3 inning. Things were not quite that bad early as the Pelicans not only got off to a strong start but busted things open before the Wood Ducks could even take their first swings of the night. A leadoff single from Jimmy Herron followed by a Carlos Sepulveda walk had two on with no outs. With Miguel Amaya reaching on a fielder’s choice the Pelicans now had runners on the corners before Luke Reynolds doubled home the first runs of the game for the 2-0 lead. Kevonte Mitchell added to the lead delivering a huge blow and crushing a home run over the fence to give Myrtle Beach the early 4-0 lead. That was all the offense on the night, however, as things began to unravel quickly. Starting with the Eric Jenkins home run in the bottom of the first, it was the lack of command that proved problematic for Moreno as he loaded the bases before hitting Tyreque Reed and seeing his lead evaporate to 4-2. That was just the Beginning for the Wood Ducks as they responded with 12 unanswered runs to close out the game with all of those runs coming before the fifth inning. That was aided by a bases-loaded Yonny Hernandez double in the third and a six-run fourth in which Yohel Pozo crushed a three-run bomb in the 12-4 defeat. Amaya continues to battle through some learning curves going hitless again and seeing his average fall to 200, while Mitchell was the lone Pelican to pick up multiple hits in the ball game. SOUTH BEND CUBS 2 – Great Lakes Loons 3: After starting the season 2-0, things have gone sour for the Cubs as they looked to put an end to their two-game losing streak on Monday. Despite another strong effort on the hill from a trio of arms, the South Bend bats were cold once again as they dropped their third consecutive contest 3-2 to fall to (2-3) on the season. Zach Mort was strong on the mound entering in relief to toss three shutout innings in relief of Faustino Carrera who allowed two runs in 3 2/3. Those two runs allowed came right away in the first inning as Carrera battled through command issues all game with five walks and six strikeouts. Those command issues allowed the Loons to be patient before doubles from Niko Hulsizer and Romer Cuadrado gave Great Lakes the early 2-0 lead. That was all the offense for the majority of the game as both teams scattered hits, but were unable to cash in as the game went on. That was until the ninth inning when all the action began to pick up. A leadoff Jonathan Sierra single to start the ninth gave South Bend a much-needed baserunner late. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Rafael Narea took a walk to put a pair of runners on before a strikeout had the Cubs down to their final out. Not to be intimidated, Cole Roederer showed ice water in his veins ripping a double to tie the game up 2-2. Roederer went 2-5 in the game with both of those RBI’s. With the Loons finishing off the inning without any further damage, it was up to Ethan Roberts to hold tough on the hill and get the game to extras. Unfortunately, that could get done as the bases loaded single from Dan Robinson would be all Great Lakes needed to secure the walk-off 3-2 win. Cubs rallied in the 9th, but the Loons walk off South Bend to start the four game series on Monday night. pic.twitter.com/AOp6qG40ea
