Cubs Minor League News: Hernandez with grand slam, Rios raking, Hull impressive, more
Hernandez is an elite prospect for the Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Hernandez with grand slam, Rios raking, Hull impressive, more
by - Senior Writer - Sun May 14 11:00:21 GMT-05:00 2023

After a rough showing on Friday, the Cubs Minor League system was back in action Saturday as they looked to finish the week with a strong showing. Unfortunately, the results weren't there as the organization posted their second straight 1-3 after dominating earlier in the week.

The one positive to take away from the night was Myrtle Beach finding a way to solve Lynchburg as they grabbed their first win of the week. Perhaps that will jumpstart them into the second half of their homestand because they desperately need a lift.

TOLEDO MUD HENS 4 - IOWA CUBS 1

It took four games for the Mud Hens to not only win a game against Iowa but to contain their high-octane offense. Credit Austin Bergner for that, as the right-hander gave the Mud Hens four scoreless innings of relief while striking out eight. That helped flip the game as the Mud Hens used a bullpen game to silence the Cubs offense.

Losses like this are incredibly frustrating, especially for a guy like Chris Clarke, who is searching for his first win. Clarke wasn't perfect in his four innings, but you can't ask for more when you allow two runs to keep your team in the game. Since returning to the Cubs system, Clarke has posted a 3.86 ERA, as he looks comfortable.

Both of the runs Clarke allowed came in the first two innings, as it took him a little while to settle in. The first of those runs was a Steele Walker single in the first, with Justyn-Henry Malloy adding a single in the second. Darius Hill may have gotten off to a slow start this season, but he has started to look like his 2022 self in recent weeks picking up an RBI single in the third to pull the Cubs within 2-1.

Hill gets credit for the lone run of the day for the Cubs as Malloy added a late-game homer with the Andre Lipcius sacrifice fly, capping off the 4-1 Toledo win. Hill provided one of the team's three hits as David Bote and Edwin Rios added the other two.

MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 4 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2

The Smokies will have to try and clinch the series on Sunday as they have now dropped two straight after winning the first three. Today was all about the pitching, where Anthony Molina outpitched Jordan Wicks for a 4-2 win for the Biscuits.

Wicks wasn't at his best, but he wasn't terrible as the left-handed gave the Smokies four innings of two-run six strikeout ball.

The problem was watching Molina pitch into the sixth and holding the Smokies to two runs before Ryan Jensen, and the bullpen let it get away.

Owen Caissie has broken out of his slump during this series and opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first.

That was the last of the offense for Tennessee until the sixth, as the Biscuits used RBI singles from Diego Infante in the third and Gionti Turner in the fourth to grab a 2-1 lead. It was in the bottom of the sixth when the Smokies got back on the board with the suddenly hot BJ Murray Jr. picking up an RBI double to bring things back to even 2-2.

That was all the offense for Tennessee as the Biscuits got the last laugh and used the Alika Williams homer in the seventh to grab the lead for good, while closing out the scoring with a ninth-inning Austin Shenton double. Caissie and Luis Vazquez provided most of the offense as they combined for four of the six hits.

Murray Jr and Andy Weber added the final two in a quiet offensive night.

WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

After dominating the first two games of the series, you had to think the Cubs were well on their way to winning the series. Well, here we are on Saturday, where the Cubs need a win on Sunday to earn a split as the Rattlers picked up their third straight win 4-2.

Tyler Santana was the tough-luck loser in this one, as he has looked good in his last two starts. Despite walking two and striking out two in four innings, Santana did his best to keep things close as he allowed three runs on seven hits. He turned things over to the pen that allowed one run in four innings, but it wasn't enough for the Cubs to come back.

That is because Joseph Hernandez was on top of his game, getting through five innings and allowing two runs, with only one being earned. It was the Ben Metzinger show early on, as he provided all of the offense for the Rattlers early. His first-inning RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead, while he added a second RBI single in the third to make things 2-0.

Immediately after falling behind 2-0, the Cubs rallied off of Hernandez in the fourth, with Bryce Ball coming through with an RBI single to tie things up 2-2. Unfortunately, that was it for the Cubs, and their offense as an Adam Laskey wild pitch brought home the winning run in the fifth, with Terence Doston adding an RBI single in the eighth to cap off the scoring. Along with Ball, the Cubs had two additional hits, with Ethan Hearn and Christian Franklin grabbling those.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7 - LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 2

I guess all it takes to beat the Hillcats is to put forth a massive first inning which is what the Pelicans did. Sparked by a five-run first and strong pitching, the Pelicans ended the five-game skid and earned their first win of the week 7-2.

Nick Hull has quietly started to put a nice string of good starts together, which continued with 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out four and has lowered his ERA to 3.80 after a rough start to the year. You don't need a ton of offense whenever you get pitching like that, but the Pelicans didn't want to take that chance.

Andy Gariola opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single as the Pelicans took a 1-0 lead and never looked back. In desperate need of a big inning, Cristian Hernandez provided the thunder as his first-inning grand slam gave the Pelicans a commanding 5-0 lead and had them in complete control.

The Pelicans continued to play long ball in the fourth, with Parker Chavers adding a two-run shot to push the lead to 7-1 before they ultimately ran 7-2.

With only six hits, the Pelicans made those hits count as Chavers led the way with two.

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