Cubs Minor League News: Morel raking, PCA smacks grand slam, Horton and Wicks impressive

Cubs Minor League News: Morel raking, PCA smacks grand slam, Horton and Wicks impressive
by - Senior Writer - Thu Apr 27 10:32:07 GMT-05:00 2023

Wednesday was almost as good as things could get for the Cub's minor league system, as there was a lot of winning. Had it not been for a late-game meltdown against the Peoria Chiefs, the Cubs would have posted a perfect 5-0 record on the diamond, which is extremely rare.

Despite that loss, the organization posted a strong 4-1 record, as this was their best overall showing of the young season. Along with that comes a ton of performances to get excited about as the Cubs system continues to deliver at a high level.

IOWA CUBS 9 - LOUISVILLE BATS 5

Tuesday was a first for the Iowa Cubs this season as they dropped their first series opener of 2023. That shows how good this team has been since the start, as they continue to land near the top five in virtually every offensive category.

In danger of dropping the first two games against the Louisville Bats, the Cubs bats came to life late and pushed across nine unanswered runs after falling behind 4-0 to pick up another comeback win 9-5. Comeback wins have been prevalent for the Cubs this season, as their first four wins of 2023 were all come-from-behind victories.

Ideally, the Cubs would like their starting pitching to turn around, but you are beginning to see signs of it right now, with Roenis Elias giving Iowa a decent start. The left-hander may have allowed four runs, but he gave them six innings for some much-needed length and struck out a season-high nine.

The problem was trying to solve Andrew Abbott, whose AAA debut went about as well as he could have asked for. Abbott struck out seven Cubs on the afternoon and allowed two runs in five innings. However, he gave Louisville four shutout innings before being charged with two runs in the fifth.

Abbott was given some early run support when Christian Encarnacion-Strand took Elias deep in the second to put the Bats in front 1-0. The next inning saw Louisville open things up a bit more, with Strand picking up his second RBI in as many at-bats with a single and then coming home on the TJ Hopkins homer to give Louisville a 4-0 lead.

Considering how explosive the Cubs offense has been, four runs usually isn't enough, but with the Cubs being held scoreless into the fifth, you had to wonder if it would be. Leave it to Christopher Morel to erase any of those doubts as his team-leading eighth homer put Iowa on the board and pulled the Cubs within 4-2.

That homer was the wake-up call the Cubs needed as their offense started to live up to the hype.

One inning after getting on the board, Iowa managed to tie things up by using a Jake Slaughter double and the Sergio Alcantara single to do so. Still tied in the seventh, and it was the Cubs turn to use a big inning as they wanted to seize control of this game.

The top of the Cubs order played a considerable part in the rally, with David Bote the Cubs in front for good with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later saw Yonathan Perlaza come through with an RBI triple down the first base line as that hit put the Cubs in front 7-4.

Perlaza came in to score shortly after on the Slaughter double as the Cubs took an 8-4 lead into the eighth.

Trailing 9-4 in the ninth, Louisville did their best to battle back, using an Elly De La Cruz triple to end the string of runs by Iowa and keep them threatening. That was as close as they would get as Manny Rodriguez finished things with his third save and another Iowa win.

Morel was one of four players with multiple hits, joining Slaughter, Alcantara, and Miles Mastrobuoni. Morel also led the team with two RBIs, as did Slaughter and Perlaza.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 1

It is incredible what can happen when you get strong pitching. Now that the Smokies starting pitching has started to match their offense, the wins are starting to come, as they now lead the series with Birmingham 2-0.

Jordan Wicks got the start as the left-hander continues to impress. Not only did he hold the Barons scoreless through five with seven strikeouts, but he didn't allow a hit as his season ERA fell to 2.76. He turned things over to Carlos Guzman, Hunter Bigge, and Michael McAvene to finish things off while the offense took care of the rest.

Not only did Tennessee open the scoring with a BJ Murray Jr sacrifice fly in the second, but that was the beginning of four straight innings with a run scored. Pete Crow-Armstrong added a sacrifice fly in the third to double the lead with a wild pitch making things 3-0 in the fourth. Chase Strumpf capped off that streak with a solo shot in the fifth as the Smokies were in complete control 4-0.

Now leading 5-0 after Murray Jr added an RBI single in the seventh, it was an eighth-inning at-bat that may go down as one of the best at-bats in history. With the bases loaded, PCA showed why he is a tough hitter to get out as he fouled off several pitches. Facing his 16th pitch of the at-bat, PCA won the battle as he ripped one over the right field fence for the grand slam as the Smokies went in front 9-0.

Birmingham ended the shutout in the bottom of the ninth off the Tyler Osik RBI double, but that doesn't take away from the showing that the Smokies put forth.

Murray Jr. had two hits to lead the Smokies as Strumpf and Miguel Amaya joined him. Crow-Armstrong led the way with five RBIs and ensured his lone hit made an impact.

PEORIA CHIEFS 3 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

Wednesday was about as painful a loss as you can have if you are the Cubs. With Luke Little getting the start and giving South Bend five scoreless frames with six strikeouts, South Bend was in a great position to win another pitcher's duel and take the first two games of the series.

That was until the ninth inning when Peoria began to rally off of Tyler Santana and ultimately pushed three runs across to take the lead. Santana has struggled a ton in his first month in High-A, as his rough inning was the difference in the game.

Not only was Little outstanding, but so was the Peoria pitching staff, as Dionys Rodriguez and Ian Bedell managed to keep South Bend scoreless through five innings. In the sixth, South Bend broke through using a Kevin Made sacrifice fly to put South Bend in front 1-0. South Bend doubled their lead in the eighth as the suddenly scorching-hot Kevin Alcantara delivered an RBI double to make things 2-0.

In a great spot with the lead and three outs to go, Peoria wouldn't go away quietly and began to rally in the ninth. Osvaldo Tovalin started that rally with an RBI single to put the Chiefs on the board, but the Francisco Hernandez RBI single proved to be the game-winner as the Chiefs rallied to take down the Cubs late 3-2. Alcantara had a monster day at the plate, going 4-4 with his RBI. Haydn McGeary added three hits, as those two accounted for seven of the team's nine hits.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 2 (Game 1)

Facing a tough draw with a doubleheader against their arch nemeses, it was the Pelicans who rose tall in game one and took care of business 7-2. Cade Horton played a significant role in that as the 2022 first-round pick continues to dominate.

Horton allowed one hit in four innings while striking out two. He has yet to allow an earned run this season and could soon be on the verge of a promotion.

Horton may have been doing his thing on the mound, but the Parker Chavers coming out party at the plate started with a two-run shot in the third for the early 2-0 lead.

Given how dominant Horton was on the mound, the Pelicans made that lead hold until the fifth inning, when their offense erupted for four more runs to bust the game wide open.

Reivaj Garcia had a seeing RBI single to get the scoring started in that inning, but it was Chavers coming through again with his second homer to push the lead to 6-0.

The Pelicans added a run on a wild pitch in the seventh before the Riverdogs ended the shutout with an Odalys Peguero RBI triple.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 2 (Makeup of 4/8)

In what was a makeup game from the April 8 rainout, it was the Pelicans pitching once again leading the way as they picked up a big doubleheader sweep of the Riverdogs. Branden Noriega got the start and lasted 2 2/3 before Johzan Oquendo and Jose Romero finished things off.

Oquendo was lights out with his six strikeouts and one walk, while Noriega managed to strike out five but also surrendered five walks.

The early command issues hurt Noriega early on as he committed a first-inning balk with runners on base to give the Riverdogs a quick 1-0 lead. That was Charleston's only lead in the game as Moises Ballesteros put the team on his back early. Not only did his sacrifice fly tie things up in the bottom of the first, but he connected for the two-run shot in the second to give the Pelicans the lead for good, 3-1.

The Pelicans kept the pedal to the floor in the fourth with a wild pitch aiding in their fourth run, followed by a Cristian Hernandez single to make things 6-1. Rafael Morel got in on the fun two innings later and used his first homer to put a stamp on the game, with the Pelicans leading 8-1.

Like in game one, the Riverdogs scored the game's final run and ended a string of eight unanswered runs with the Ryan Spikes single in the seventh before falling by the 8-2 score. Hernandez led the team with three hits and is now hitting .311. Ballesteros picked up three RBIs in the win, as these two will be the offensive leaders in 2023.

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