Cubs Minor League News: Shaw raking, Palencia and Gray impressive, Hernandez crushes homer |
Wednesday was a near-perfect night on the diamond for the Cubs Minor League system as five affiliates hit the field. Apart from one ugly game where the Cubs lost, the rest of the day was flawless, to say the least, as they finished the night with a 4-1 record and have gotten off to a great start this week.
Not only are the losses continuing to pile up for the Cubs, but they are starting to get ugly as the Saints dominated Iowa 11-0 on Wednesday. Anytime you have one player outscore your entire team, it's not a good sign, which is what happened for Iowa in this one. Yunior Severino had a day at the plate, collecting three hits and six RBIs to single-handedly outscore the Cubs. Five of those RBIs came off of Trey Supak on two swings, as Severino connected for a two-run shot in the first and a three-run shot in the second. He then added an RBI double later in the game, as he was all the offense the Saints would need. Keeping the ball in the yard was an issue all day for the Cubs as Wynton Bernard extended the lead to 6-0 in the third with a homer while DaShawn Kiersey Jr went deep in the fourth to make this a 7-0 game. That is where things stood until the ninth, when the Saints tacked on four additional runs to pick up the 11-0 win. With five hits, there was little to get excited about if you are an Iowa fan, as five different players had one hit. That includes Moises Ballesteros, who continues to hit well in AAA with his .281 average. Despite the rough pitching across the board, especially from Supak and Frank Scalzo Jr, Daniel Palencia delivered a positive showing as he struck out three in two scoreless frames. Until tomorrow pic.twitter.com/DjbmoSXnUp
The beat goes on for the Smokies, who are starting to peak at the right time. They took a similar path last season to win the Southern League title, and they appear destined to challenge for another title this season. This was one of those games where it was nearly over as quickly as it began, although an eight-run third inning will make things much easier for you. Jimmy Endersby got the start and tossed three scoreless frames for Tennessee before handing things off to Joe Nahas and company. Endersby was given some instant offense in the first as a pair of wild pitches from the Braves led to two runs as the Smokies took a 2-0 lead and never looked back. It was the third inning when they put the game on ice, scoring eight runs their half of an inning to break things open 10-0. A pair of two-run doubles from Felix Stevens and William Simoneit created some distance at 6-0, with Christian Franklin and Kevin Alcantara tacking on RBI singles. You also had another double from James Triantos mixed in as the Smokies offense was in full force. That lead held until the ninth inning, when the Smokies added three more runs as they cruised to the 13-0 shutout win. Matt Shaw is a man on a mission right now. He led the team with four hits and is suddenly hitting .272. Alcantara added three hits to push his average north of .280, with Stevens and Simoneit adding two. Matt Shaw goes 4-5 and Kevin Alcantara goes 3-5 as the Smokies offense comes alive to produce 13 runs. The pitching staff holds the Braves to only 4 hits and ZERO RUNS! What a night for the Smokies. | @zips3mincarwash
If you didn't check the standings, you would never know that the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were the first-half champs while the Cubs finished near the bottom of the division. Through two games this week, the Cubs have looked like a first-place team as they continue to play great baseball. After going through a massive rough patch earlier in the season where his command wasn't sharp, Drew Gray has now bounced back in a big way, and with five shutout innings and four strikeouts, he continues to figure things out. Gray walked two and allowed one hit before handing things off to Nick Hull and the rest of the Cubs pen. Not only was Gray good, but so was Patricio Aquino, as this was a scoreless game through five innings. Once the sixth rolled around, both offenses started to get things going, which all started with a Jefferson Rojas sacrifice fly to put the Cubs in front 1-0. Wisconsin immediately tied things up in the bottom of the sixth, with Luke Adams leaving the yard off Hull. That was the only run the Rattlers could muster as the Cubs held them to three hits in the game. With one swing of the bat in the seventh, it was the Cubs back in front as Ed Howard left the yard to put the Cubs in front for good 2-1. Jordan Nwogu added an RBI double later in the seventh to extend their lead to 3-1 before tacking on two additional runs in the ninth, with one coming on a bases-loaded David Avitia walk and the other on a wild pitch. South Bend racked up eight hits in the win, with Brian Kalmer and Pedro Ramirez leading the way with two. Brett Bateman also reached base twice on a pair of walks to continue setting the table from the leadoff spot. Drew Gray tosses 5 shutout, 1-hit, innings as the Cubs take a 2-0 series lead! pic.twitter.com/38wP3A7j0P
After needing extra innings to take down the Shorebirds on Tuesday, things were much easier for the Pelicans on Wednesday as they continued their great play with another big win. Despite Nazier Mule struggling with his command and only lasting 3 2/3 innings, it was the offense that stole the show, scoring seven times in the first two innings to seal the win. Mule was given an early lead, with Alfonsin Rosario opening the scoring with a double in the first before the Andy Garriola sacrifice fly made this a 2-0 game. In the second, the Pelicans broke things wide open, scoring five times in that inning to take a 7-0 lead. An error led to two runs in that inning, but the big fly from Cristian Hernandez was the dagger, as his three-run shot put the Birds in front 7-0. CRISTIAN HERNANDEZ BOMB. That would be all the offense they would need, as the Shorebirds managed just two runs off the Pelicans' pitching. Both of them came from Maikol Hernandez, who homered in the third and singled in the fourth to close out the scoring in a 7-2 Pelicans win. With the win, the Pelicans have won 12 of their last 15 and moved to 16-15 in the second half, just 3.5 games out of first. Rosario and Hernandez provided the bulk of the offense, as they were responsible for four of the team's seven hits and four RBIs. Francis Reynoso earned the win by allowing no runs in 2 1/3 innings and striking out four. SEVEN IN A ROW.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/yM7TttgKiU
In what was a makeup game from an earlier rainout, the DSL Blue squad took it to the Mariners and shut them out 8-0. Emannoel Madeira and Irving Vazquez combined to strike out seven across the seven innings, allowing no runs and scattering five hits. Madeira had four of those seven strikeouts in four innings, with Vazquez going the rest of the way. It didn't take the Cubs long to grab the lead. They scored three times in the opening inning and never looked back. Two of those runs came on bases-loaded walks, and another one came home on a wild pitch, as the Mariners weren't doing themselves any favors. Those runs were all the Cubs could scratch out until the fourth when Juan Monso picked up an RBI single to stretch the lead to 4-0 as part of another three-run inning. The Cubs benefitted from two additional wild pitches in that inning, as the command was an issue all day for the Mariners and their pitching. Leading 6-0 in the fifth, the Cubs closed out what was a tremendous offensive day with Leonel Vivas picking up an RBI single ahead of another Monso RBI to cap off the 8-0 win. Monso had a great day at the plate, driving in a game-high three runs while picking up one of the two hits. That's right, the Cubs had two hits and scored eight runs, with Vivas having the other hit.
It was another day, and the Dogs had another big win, clinching their series with the Cougars 7-1. Jake Carroll got the start for the Dogs, going six innings and allowing just one run as the Dogs offense backed him with plenty of instant offense in the win. That all started in the first, with Dusty Stroup leaving the yard for his ninth homer as the Dogs took an early 2-0 lead. They continued to add on in the second, with Johnni Turbo leading off the second with a solo shot only to have Brantley Bell tack on a two-run blast later to extend their lead to 5-0. Chicago closed out their scoring on the Zion Pettigrew double in the fifth to make things 7-0 before the Cougars picked up their lone run to fall 7-1. Stroup led the way with three hits for the Dogs and was one of several players with multiple hits. Bell, Turbo, and Gus Sosa also added multiple hits for the Dogs offense. 🐶>🐱
What looked like two consecutive shutouts turned into a game late, as the Boulders scored four times in the final two innings before falling 8-4. Will Armbruester was dialed in, holding the Boulders to one run through eight innings before coming undone in the ninth. He still gave the Thunderbolts 8 1/3 innings of work with seven strikeouts but allowed all four runs. As good as he was, he didn't need to be at his best, as the Thunderbolts scored in each of the first four innings to open a 6-0 lead. Brennen Doughri started things off with a two-run shot in the first, with Cam Phelts and Henry Kusiak adding singles in the second to make this a 4-0 game. Cam Phelts Makes Magic In The 2nd! Henry Kusiak with an RBI single! Windy City continued to exert pressure over the next two innings, with a Joe Johnson double extending the lead to 5-0 in the third and a wild pitch making it 6-0 after four. Joe Johnson Extends The Lead From Ozinga Field! Ronnie Allen Jr comes home on a wild pitch Johnson closed out the scoring for Windy City in the seventh with a two-run single, as it was all Thunderbolts at this point, 8-0. Who said lighting doesn't strike twice? It took the Boulders 17 innings to score a run against Windy City, but a Chris Kwitzer homer ended that streak to make this an 8-1 game. They then battled back with three more runs in the ninth to pull close, but they still fell 8-4. SAINT PAUL SAINTS 11 - IOWA CUBS 0
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 13 - MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 0
Box score: https://t.co/enlmMEUbwF pic.twitter.com/F2bCplUwBrSOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7 - DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 2
A three-run homer in the second makes it 7-0 Birds!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/COpibxtm9g
DSL CUBS BLUE 8 - DSL MARINERS 0
CHICAGO DOGS 7 - KANE COUNTY COUGARS 1
📺 https://t.co/ZyIk7dOVpK | 🌭#NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/ipmiOCBeNsWINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 8 - NEW YORK BOULDERS 4
3-0 Bolts pic.twitter.com/0Z9dS7AeYG
4-0 Bolts pic.twitter.com/Jywd752HQM
5-0 Windy City pic.twitter.com/AMvqSuFvdh
The Bolts are on a roll! pic.twitter.com/glJ7Ar61Zk
Joe Johnson makes it 8-0 Bolts pic.twitter.com/ViJGJKzygu
