Cubs Minor League News: Kilian rocked, Alvarez with grand slam, Ramirez raking, more |
Coming off a very good Wednesday night, when the Cubs posted a 3-1 record, wins were tough to come by on Thursday as the organization went just 1-2.
Ironically, the lone win came from the worst team in the organization record-wise, the South Bend Cubs, as it was the offense that needed to shoulder the load on the night.
This was your classic Saints vs Cubs game that not only saw plenty of offense but was a back-and-forth affair. In the end, it was the Saints finding a way to get it done as they scored a run in the ninth inning to walk off the Cubs 7-6. There was a last-minute decision to go with Caleb Kilian on the mound instead of Connor Noland, and it was a decision that didn't pay off. Kilian has been excellent most of this season, but you could tell he was off right from the start. Kilian only lasted 1 2/3 innings in this one, allowing three runs and striking out four. All of those runs came in the first inning, as Yunior Severino and Rylan Bannon connected for RBI singles to push home two runs, and a wild pitch put the Cubs in a 3-0 hole. From then on, it was all Iowa as they began to battle back against Caleb Boushley, who struck out five in four innings. William Simoneit got the Cubs on the board with an RBI single in the second before the Matt Shaw groundout pulled the Cubs within 3-2 in the fourth. Two innings later, the Cubs grabbed the lead as the Hayden Cantrelle homer put Iowa in front 4-3. Hey now, Hayden! @5GuyCantrelle goes deep for the third time as an I-Cub and puts us on top! pic.twitter.com/21Wu6dgyV9 The long ball continued to play a role for the Cubs in the seventh with Darius Hill going deep for the first time this season as the Cubs responded with six unanswered runs to take a 6-3 lead late. Darius Hill's first round-tripper of the season is your @GreatClips Clip of the Game! pic.twitter.com/J3joBYevRY What was an overall great day from the Cubs bullpen, especially Daniel Palencia, who struck out five in two innings, was the bullpen that led the Cubs down late. Saint Paul ended the game with four unanswered runs across the final three innings. Three of those runs came in the bottom of the seventh, with Severino picking up his second RBI single to make this a 6-5 game, while Jair Camargo tied things up with his single. With only three outs standing in the way of a Cubs loss and going to extras, the Saints managed to come through as Anthony Prato delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the Saints' 7-6 win. Nine of the Cubs' 11 hits came from the bottom of the order, with Simoneit leading the way with three hits. Chase Strumpf, Cantrelle, and Hill added two hits. Back at it tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Zgou93GCPx
Due to weather, tonight's 6:35 pm game against @smokiesbaseball has been postponed.
Despite allowing five runs in the first three innings, the Cubs bullpen took over as they held the Tin Caps scoreless across the final six innings. Pair that with an offense that refused to go down without a fight, and it was the Cubs picking up the lone win in the system, 9-5. This was a strange game, especially for starting pitcher Will Sanders, who lasted four innings. Sanders gave up those five early runs, but with two walks and seven strikeouts, you could see the overpowering stuff he has shown this season. Nico Zeglin took over from there, and that is when this game changed. He struck out five across three scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 0.33 since arriving in South Bend. Like Sanders, Jagger Haynes had a rough go of things on the mound as he dealt with command issues and plenty of hard contact, and he was chased after just 3 2/3. Trailing 1-0 in the second after an Ethan Salas sacrifice fly in the first, Edgar Alvarez unloaded for a second-inning grand slam as South Bend was now in front 4-1. Edgar Alvarez, @Cubs' 2024 eighth-rounder: It was a lead that didn't last long as Fort Wayne responded with an Ethan Long three-run blast in the bottom of the second to tie things back up 4-4 before the Tin Caps took the lead on a Tyler Robertson single in the third. Those were the only runs of the game for Fort Wayne as Zeglin came into the game to silence the bats, giving the momentum right back to the offense. Like in the second when the Cubs responded from an early deficit, Cam Smith took it upon himself to tie things up in the fourth as his RBI single made this a 5-5 game. That was the start of five unanswered runs for the Cubs as their offense picked it up late. With things still tied in the sixth, it was the Ezequiel Pagan single that put the Cubs on top for good, with Brian Kalmer tacking on an additional single in the seventh to push the Cubs lead to 7-5. The Cubs offense was just getting started as Jordan Nwogu tacked on an additional RBI single in the eighth to push the lead to 8-5, with Kalmer capping off the scoring with a solo shot in the ninth for the 9-5 win. South Bend had no issues making contact as Pedro Ramirez led the Cubs with his three hits. Ed Howard and Alvarez added three hits to pace the Cubs' offense, which had 15 total hits in the win. South Bend also struck out 17 hitters in the win, with Sam Thoreson adding five more strikeouts in the final two innings. Series lead secured 👏
Talk about a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel, as the Woodpeckers knocked off the Pelicans 1-0 in 10 innings. Given how important offense is to most teams nowadays, games like this are extremely rare, so when you have them, you take the time to sit back and enjoy them. Juan Bello made his final start of the season for the Pelicans and continued to deliver when called on. Bello gave the Birds five scoreless frames of one-hit ball, walking one and striking out four. He was followed by Luis Rujano, who also gave the Pelicans four scoreless frames and five strikeouts as neither team could crack the scoreboard. Opposing Bello was Ramsey David, who started the game with three innings before yielding to Yeriel Santos and the rest of the Woodpeckers pen. The lone run of the game came in the bottom of the 10th when the winning run was brought home on a balk. Myrtle Beach was held to four hits in the loss as Ludwing Espinoza, Ivan Brethowr, Jose Escobar, and Reggie Preciado had those hits. Final.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/rYHRYrxTjdSAINT PAUL SAINTS 7 - IOWA CUBS 6
TENNESSEE SMOKIES vs MISSISSIPPI BRAVES (Postponed)
We will make up tonight's game as part of a Friday doubleheader starting at 5:05 pm CT. Gates will open at 4:00 pm. pic.twitter.com/0DlCoYv3LtSOUTH BEND CUBS 9 - FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 5
🔵 2nd all-time in @Nicholls_BSB career HRs
🔵 First pro homer is a grand slam for the @SBCubs! pic.twitter.com/GMF5xo4TJm
FLY THE W! pic.twitter.com/wta32iOEZWFAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 1 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 0 (F/10)
