Cubs Minor League News: Mastrobuoni raking, Verdugo impressive, Hernandez with three hits |
Saturday was an extremely busy day on the Diamond for the Cubs Minor League system, with six teams and seven games being played. Although the overall results weren't great, with the organization going 2-5, it was the full-season squads that continued to play the best games, going 2-3 for the day.
After mercifully ending their losing streak on Friday 5-1, the Cubs were looking to make it two in a row to get right back into the series. Instead, the Saints got the job done, returning the favor with a 5-1 win of their own. Kyle McGowin was on the mound for the Cubs, still searching for his first AAA win. McGowin gave the Cubs three innings of work, allowing three runs, while the rest of the bullpen did a great job keeping things close. All of the runs McGowin allowed came in the third with an RBI groundout giving the Saints the lead for good, 1-0, and Wynton Bernard connecting for a two-run double to make things 3-0. That would be all the offense that Louie Varland would need as he struck out eight across six dominating innings on the mound. Already leading by three, the Saints continued to give Varland plenty of support as they added two more runs in the sixth off Riley Thompson to extend the lead to 5-0. Dalton Shuffield picked up an RBI double in that inning before coming home on the DaShawn Keirsey Jr single. The lone run of the game for the Cubs came in the eighth inning as Miles Mastrobuoni cashed in an RBI single to make things 5-1 before falling by that score. Mastrobuoni paced the Cubs with two hits, and that RBI as six others had one hit. Apart from the two rough innings, the Cubs pitching was outstanding as Keegan Thompson and Sam McWilliams each delivered a scoreless inning of work. You also saw the newly acquired Jack Neely show up as he struck out the side in the ninth. This Jack Neely strikeout is your @GreatClips Clip of the Game! Series finale tomorrow afternoon. pic.twitter.com/AlwoEX9dtM
Despite the Braves' not making things easy on the Smokies, Tennessee continued to go about its business, delivering an 8-5 victory. Anytime you score six runs in the game's first four innings, you are doing something right, as the Smokies gave Antonio Santos plenty of support. Santos was strong throughout his outing, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 and striking out nine. It didn't take Tennessee long to get going, as they pushed across three runs in the second to open a 3-0 lead. A trio of RBI singles did the work, with Luis Verdguo, Felix Stevens, and Christan Franklin picking up the RBIs. Verdugo added an RBI single in the fourth, which followed a Jonathon Long double to extend their lead to 5-0. After Matt Shaw added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to push their lead to 6-0, the Braves started to get the offense rolling in the fifth as they began to close the gap. David Fletcher started the rally, as his two RBI pulled the Braves within 6-2. Following a Verdugo sacrifice fly in the sixth to make things 7-2, Tyler Tolve made things a two-run game, as his three-run shot pulled the Braves to within 7-5. That was as close as the Braves would get, as Verdugo added to his massive three-RBI game with another RBI single in the eighth to cap off the Smokies' 8-5 win. Verdugo was a man on a mission, with three hits and three RBIs to lead Tennessee, joined by Long and his three hits. Casey Opiz and Shaw added two hits to the Smokies lineup as Shaw has pushed his average to .279. Winning vibes only! | @zips3mincarwash
In what has been an excellent week thus far for the Cubs, Saturday was a busy day for South Bend, as they had not one but two games against the Rattlers. Backed by a strong pitching performance that allowed just five hits, the Cubs took care of business in game one, 4-1. Jaxson Wiggins made the start for the Cubs as he continued to pitch well. Wiggins gave the Cubs four innings, allowing one run and striking out two before handing things off to the bullpen. That is when Luis Devers stole the show, returning to the Cubs to toss two scoreless frames and striking out three. It didn't take the Cubs long to get there offense going as the suddenly red-hot Ethan Hearn took Will Rudy deep in the second to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Wisconsin responded with a Tayden Hall single in the third to tie things up, but that was the only run of the game for the Rattlers, who had a tough time getting anything going. Once the fifth inning rolled around, the Cubs put the game away. The Brett Bateman sacrifice fly brought home the winning run ahead of the Rafael Morel double to make this a 3-1 game. Jordan Nwogu closed out the scoring with an RBI forceout in the sixth, and the Cubs rolled to a 4-1 win. Morel and Hearn each had two hits and an RBI in the win.
Despite holding the Rattlers to just one run on four hits in game two and two runs total for the day, the Cubs only managed a double-header sweep as they fell to Wisconsin 1-0 in game two. Grant Kipp was the tough-luck loser, allowing one run in 4 2/3 before handing things off to Marino Santy. That run came on Jose Acosta's homer in the third inning, which was the only run that Brian Fitzpatrick would need. He struck out seven in five shutout innings for the win. Parker Chavers was responsible for two of the Cubs four hits in the loss.
After seeing their season-long winning streak end on Friday, the Pelicans were looking to start a new streak against Delmarva on Saturday. For the most part, things looked great for the Birds as they were in control most of the night. That was until the eighth inning when the Shorebirds struck for four runs to take the lead before tacking on another run in the ninth to walk things off. Following a brief one-inning outing from Juan Bello, Angel Hernandez took the ball. After allowing just one run in four innings, his ERA sits at 1.48. Hernandez walked two and struck out five as the Pelicans were in command early. Cristian Hernandez opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first to make things 1-0, only to have an error extend the lead to 2-0. Delmarva battled back with an Anderson De Los Santos single in the first to make it 2-1 before a wild pitch in the second inning brought things back to even. That 2-2 score would hold until the fifth when a pair of RBI singles from Cristian Hernandez and Alfonsin Rosario gave them a 4-2 lead, which they managed to hold until late. Still holding that lead in the bottom of the eighth, the Pelicans saw their lead quickly evaporate as the Shorebirds responded with a massive four-run frame. A bases-loaded walk brought home the first run in that inning, but it was Jake Cunningham's bases-clearing double that gave the Shorebirds a 6-4 lead. Not to be outdone, Myrtle Beach responded with two runs in the ninth, as an Andy Garriola home tied things up 6-6 and had this game on the verge of extra innings. GARRIOLA TIES IT! That was until the Shorebirds had the last laugh, with Aron Estrada coming through with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Shorebirds to the 7-6 win. Cristian Hernandez and Ludwing Espinoza led the way for the Pelicans with three hits in the loss. Series finale tomorrow.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/WZW2sHzU9Y
SAINT PAUL SAINTS 5 - IOWA CUBS 1
In his I-Cubs debut, @jackneely00 sent the Saints down in order in the ninth, striking out the side! pic.twitter.com/VybeoBYsCM
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 8 - MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 5
Box Score: https://t.co/0yN0xpJdcO pic.twitter.com/EAsT4r6s41SOUTH BEND CUBS 4 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1 (Game one)
WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 0 (Game 2)
DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 7 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6
A two-run homer with one out in the ninth makes it 6-6.
BUCKLE UP.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/6pMlOkcnUd
DSL BLUE JAYS 6 - DSL CUBS BLUE 5
DSL DODGERS 12 - DSL CUBS RED 1
