Cubs Minor League News: PCA sizzling, Canario and Murray homer, Powell impressive, more

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Sun Aug 13 10:45:42 GMT-04:00 2023

Saturday marked one of the busier days in the Cubs system as several teams had makeup games to get through. That left nine games to keep track of as the Cubs fans had to keep their head on a swivel for what was happening.

Even with one game getting canceled due to weather, the Cubs still had a very good showing as they continue to pile up the wins this week. The Cubs ripped off four wins on the diamond on Saturday night and posted a 4-4 record as they head into Sunday with a ton of momentum and one of their best weeks of the season thus far.

IOWA CUBS 7 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 4

Despite having one of their best seasons in a long time, Iowa remains out of the playoff picture as the AAA rule differs from the rest of Minor League baseball. Still, that won't stop this Cubs team from battling as they continue to have their way with Omaha to make up ground.

This is refreshing when you consider how Omaha has had its way with the Cubs the past two seasons before the tables were flipped this year. The Cubs had to go with a bullpen day for the second straight day as Tyler Duffey got the start and struggled through his 2 2/3. He was tagged with all four runs. Apart from him, the Iowa bullpen was solid, as Keegan Thompson, Brendon Little, and Samuel Reyes all had scoreless outings. For Reyes, it was his AAA debut as he gave the Cubs three scoreless frames.

The Iowa offense has been on a roll all series long, and they continued that with a pair of first-inning runs to take a 2-0 lead.

PCA leads off the game with a hustle double. pic.twitter.com/OUDirCW4nI
— Brad (@ballskwok) August 12, 2023

Miles Mastrobuoni continued to play well and picked up an RBI double to make things 1-0, with Yonathan Perlaza extending the lead with a sacrifice fly.

Miles Mastrobuoni keeps scorching the ball too. pic.twitter.com/9j5n5GakBC
— Brad (@ballskwok) August 12, 2023

Clay Dungan kept things close with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, only to see Pete Crow-Armstrong unload for a long solo shot in the second to extend the lead to 3-1.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is now 2-for-2 with a double and a home run through two innings in Omaha! pic.twitter.com/bCq3DnjTYB
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 12, 2023

After Alexander Canario extended the lead to 4-1 with his single in the third, the Omaha offense started to get to Duffey and played long ball to tie things back up. Nick Loftin was first as his two-run blast made things 4-3 before the Tyler Gentry solo shot brought things back to even 4-4. Those would be the final runs of the night for Omaha as the Cubs ben tightened up late.

It didn't take long for the Cubs to retake the lead, with Perlaza providing the winning run with an RBI single in the fifth to make things 5-4. Canario followed that up later in the inning with a massive two-run blast to cap off the scoring as the Cubs picked up another win 7-4.

Alexander Canario brings our lead back to three with this two-run blast. pic.twitter.com/nq6ChiX0EP
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 13, 2023

Canario was one of three players to record two hits but led the way with three RBIs. Mastrobuoni and Crow-Armstrong were the other two.

🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️🖐️ pic.twitter.com/3KbXwAqjf4
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) August 13, 2023

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4 - BILXOI SHUCKERS 2

Although the Smokies still have a month to go, they are trying to win the division this week as they doubled up the Shuckers for another win. This time it wasn't the offense leading the way but instead, an outstanding pitching performance that made life easier.

Walker Powell was the man on the mound, and despite walking three compared to one strikeout in five innings, it was five scoreless innings as his ERA fell to 3.84. Scott Kobos and Brailyn Marquez followed him as Marquez was tagged for both runs allowed in the game. Opposing Powell was TJ Shook, who was shaken in the early going. He would last just four innings allowing all four runs before the Shuckers pen did their job to keep things close.

Most of the damage came in the first inning, as the Smokies wasted no time getting a big lead. Owen Caissie continues to do his thing as his sacrifice fly gave the Smokies the lead for good, 1-0. However, the BJ Murray Jr homer later in the inning provided the winning runs as his two-run blast gave the Smokies a 3-0 lead, and they never looked back.

BJ Murray Jr. goes oppo again for his 14th HR. pic.twitter.com/aTOSeWN9MZ
— Brad (@ballskwok) August 12, 2023

While most of the attention has gone to PCA and Cade Horton this season for a good reason, Caissie is well on his way to being a top-five, if not a top-three, prospect next season. He has been the best hitter in the Cubs organization by a wide margin this season and continued that with an RBI double in the third to make things 4-0.

Despite those being the final runs of the game for the Smokies, their pitching was good enough to hold on as Biloxi scored a pair of runs off Marquez in the eighth, with the first coming on a wild pitch and the second via an RBI single from Carlos D Rodriguez before falling 4-2. Murray Jr. led the way with two hits and two RBIs as Bradlee Beesley and Andy Weber joined him.

Go, Cubs, Go!
Go, Cubs, Go!
Hey, Chicago, what do you say?
The Cubs are gonna win today🎶 | @zips3mincarwash pic.twitter.com/2ueNF9au4G
— Tennessee Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) August 13, 2023

SOUTH BEND CUBS at LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS (Cancelled)

In what was supposed to be a doubleheader, mother nature continued not cooperating as more rain forced another game to be called, and this one will not be made up.

We’re gonna need a bigger window…

No baseball tonight. Our suspended game from Friday will be finished tomorrow and it resumes at 4 pm. A 7-inning game will follow. pic.twitter.com/enqAhEb8Jk
— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) August 12, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 15 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3

For the most part, the Pelicans have had a dominating week, but Saturday was far from that. Drew Gray had a rough showing on the mound as he fell to 0-3. The bullpen was terrible, and the offense struggled to get much of anything done. All that equals a 15-3 loss.

Considering how the first inning started, you had to think this would be a back-and-forth game, as both offenses showed up in a big way. Gray didn't do himself any favors as he walked five hitters in less than an inning which was a big reason for his struggles. The result was a three-run first for the Woodpeckers as a pair of walks led to the first two runs while the Dauri Lorenzo single gave Fayetteville a 3-0 lead.

Not to be discouraged, the Pelicans responded and did their best to keep things close. Parker Chavers played a significant role in that, as his two-run single put the Pelicans on the board and made things 3-2. That would be as close as things would get as the Woodpeckers scored 12 of the next 13 runs, including seven in the fourth, to take a commanding 10-2 lead.

Leosdany Molina opened the massive inning with a solo shot while a hit by pitch a wild pitch pushed the lead to 6-2. The big blow in that frame came from Jackson Loftin as he got every bit of a ball and connected for a grand alam to make things 10-2. Loftin would add an RBI single in the seventh along with Lorenzo as the lead grew to 13-2.

After allowing 10 unanswered runs, the Pelicans got back on the board in the bottom of the seventh when Cristian Hernandez singled home the final of the game for the Birds. Fayetteville added two more runs after that and closed out the 15-2 beatdown of the Birds.