Cubs Minor League News: Mervis mashing, McGeary with two homers, Trice raking, more
Mervis had three hits in the win (Photo courtesy: I-Cubs)

Cubs Minor League News: Mervis mashing, McGeary with two homers, Trice raking, more
by - Senior Writer - Mon Jul 01 08:53:41 GMT-05:00 2024

Looking to close out their week of competition on a much higher note, the Cubs had plenty of chances to get the job done. However, their lack of consistency was an issue as the Cubs finished the day with a 2-2 record and will now shift their focus to next week.

IOWA CUBS 9 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 1

It has been a frustrating week for the Cubs, who have had difficulty figuring out how to beat the Saints. You wouldn't have guessed that based on their game on Sunday, as a strong pitching performance from Kyle McGowing and some late-game offense led to a 9-1 victory.

McGowin has been good since joining the AAA staff, and with five shutout innings and six strikeouts, he continued his success. He went pitch for pitch with Adam Plutko, who also struck out six in five innings. Despite the final score, this was a scoreless game until the sixth, when an error led to the first two runs and gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

That would be all the offense they would need as Edwin Escobar, Michael Arias, and Hunter Bigge finished what McGowin started. The offense made things a lot easier to do that as they added two more runs off a Matt Mervis double in the seventh before breaking out for five runs in the eighth.

Those runs came after Tony Kemp ended the shutout bid with an RBI single in the top half of the eighth as the Iowa attack got rolling again. Jack Reinheimer and Mervis had RBI singles leading to two runs in that inning, with Cole Roederer adding a two-run double.

You also had Alexander Canario work a bases-loaded walk as the Cubs took care of business 9-1. Mervis, Owen Caissie, and Darius Hill led the way with three hits, with Mervis also adding three RBIs.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 6 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 0

There was nearly some history on Sunday as the Smokies came one hit away from tossing a no-hitter. Led by Haydn McGeary and his five RBIs, the Smokies made quick work of the Barons, topping them 6-0. Chris Kachmar got the start for the Smokies and tossed five shutout innings with seven punchouts and one hit allowed.

He was backed by a Yohendrick Pinango solo blast in the second that put the Smokies up 1-0, as that was all the offense they would need. From there, it was all McGeary as he not only drove in the final five runs of the night, but did so on a pair of homers as he connected for a two-run shot in the sixth and a three-run blast in the seventh.

WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1

What was shaping up to be a promising series early in the week turned sour quickly as the Cubs dropped the final three games to drop the series. That included a tough-luck 2-1 loss on Sunday as the Cubs offense remained dormant the past three games.

Ty Johnson gave the Cubs all they could've asked for and more, but he was the tough-luck loser in this one. He lasted four innings, allowing two runs (1ER) before Tyler Santana and Jack Patterson took over. Those did their job by striking out five in four scoreless frames, but with Alexander Cornielle striking out five in six shutout innings, the Cubs' offense struggled to back their pitchers.

The worst part about this loss is that neither of the Rattlers' runs came off hits. Jadher Areinamo picked up an RBI groundout in the first, followed by another one from Tayden Hall in the fourth. Those would be the only runs they would need and the only runs in this game until the seventh, when an Ethan Hearn single put the Cubs on the board to make things 2-1 before the Cubs fell by that score. Hearn had one of the team's six hits, with Brett Bateman and Jonathon Long combining for four hits.

FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 8 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2

Of all the games in the Cubs system this weekend, this was the only blowout, as the Pelicans had no answers for the Woodpeckers. This game was close early as Will Frisch allowed two runs in two innings with the rest of the Pelicans starters struggling.

Both of the runs he allowed came against Xavier Casserilla, who doubled home the game's first run in the first before adding an RBI groundout in the third. The Pelicans did manage to get a run off a wild pitch in the second to draw even, but after a pair of RBI singles from Alberto Hernandez and Yamal Encarnacion, it was the Woodpeckers who opened up a 4-1 lead.

Carter Trice did his best to keep things close as his solo shot pulled the Pelicans to within 4-2 after four.

They wouldn't push across any more runs as the Woodpeckers ended the game with four unanswered runs the rest of the way, including two off the Will Bush single in the ninth for the win. Trice paced the offense with two of his team's four hits as he was joined by Christian Olivo and Christopher Paciolla.

CHICAGO DOGS 7 - FARGO-MOORHEAD REDHAWKS 6

It was an overall successful weekend for the Dogs, who took two of three from Fargo following a 7-6 win. Chicago opened the scoring on a pair of first-inning homers as a Brantley Bell solo blast, followed by a Jacob Teter long ball that gave the Dogs a 3-0 lead.

They would never look back as Teter connected for his second homer in as many at-bats in the third to make things 4-0.

Trailing 5-2 in the sixth, the Redhawks tied things up as two runs came in to score on wild pitches, with Marcus Chiu delivering an RBI double to plate the other run. Chicago responded with an Antonio Barranca double in the seventh to make things 6-5 before Nick Novak drove in the game-winning run with a single in the eighth.

WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 3 - EVANSVILLE OTTERS 1

The Windy City Thunderbolts capped off an impressive weekend with a sweep of the Otters 3-1. Will Armbruester set the tone for the Thunderbolts as he pitched 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing one run and striking out two. He was backed by the Kingston Liniak two-run double in the fifth that broke a scoreless tie and turned it into a 2-0 Bolts lead.

Windy City would tack on another run in the sixth off an error to extend their lead to 3-0 before Evansville closed out the scoring with a single from former Cubs farmhand Delvin Zinn in the seventh as the Thunderbolts took care of business 3-1. Zinn was a fan favorite when he was with the Cubs, and across seven games this season, he is hitting .238 with three RBIs and three SBs.

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