Cubs Minor League News: Canario's grand slam, Davis stays hot, Morel homers, Rojas raking |
As the Cubs continue to progress through their minor league season, Tuesday kicked off what should be another week of good competition. While the results weren't great, with the organization going 2-3, several strong performances were worth noting, as help could be on the way to the Northside with more injuries mounting.
Tuesday saw an exciting game in AAA as the Cubs and Mets put on a show. Despite 15 runs scored, 13 of them came in three big innings as both offenses were ready to do damage. Once again, Julio Teheran struggled on the mound, charged with six earned runs in just 3 2/3. All six came in one inning before the combination of Riley Thompson and Brad Weick did a great job quieting the Mets offense. All of the damage against Teheran came in his final inning of work, as he was unable to make it out of the fourth. Former Cub Trayce Thompson started the scoring with a solo blast, which was followed by another one from Mike Brosseau to make things 2-0. Then came the two-run single from Rylan Bannon and an RBI double from Luke Ritter, and the Mets opened up a 6-0 lead. With just one swing of the bat, the Cubs were suddenly back in this game as Alexander Canario unloaded for a fifth-inning grand slam as part of his five-RBI day to make things 6-4. Alexander Canario...CRUSHED ‼️ Speaking of long balls, Brosseau had himself a game as he homered not once, not twice, but three times as he connected for a pair of solo shots in the fifth and seventh innings to push the Mets lead to 8-4. Trailing by that score entering the ninth, the Cubs offense began to mount a furious comeback, which has been the case a lot this season. Brennen Davis stayed hot with his fourth homer of the season, while an error led to another run scoring. Brennen Davis making it interesting in the ninth 👀 pic.twitter.com/dGMlS93MZ0 Canario followed that error up with an RBI single to make things 8-7, but that was it for the Cubs as they fell by that score. The comeback comes up just short. pic.twitter.com/cumUydIfjh
The up-and-down season of Brandon Birdsell continued on Tuesday as he was on the losing end of an 8-2 defeat. Birdsell did his best to keep things close, allowing four runs in five innings, but another rough outing from Cayne Ueckert took a good game and turned it into a blowout. Part of the reason for the Smokies' struggles was Victor Mederos's outing. He scattered five hits in eight impressive innings, allowing just one earned run. That earned run came in the second inning when Pablo Aliendo took him deep for one of the longest homers of his career. Pablo Aliendo CRUSHED the ball! It's 1-0 Smokies in the bottom of the 2nd. #NextStopWrigley #LastYearBestYear pic.twitter.com/ZXcCigmU7r It was a lead that didn't last long as Rocket City responded with four runs the next two innings, including two from former Smokies catcher Tyler Payne, as his RBI single put Rocket City in front for good 2-1. They added to their lead in the fourth on a pair of RBI forceout plays, as that 4-1 lead would've been good enough. Don't tell that to their offense as they connected for a trio of RBI singles off Ueckert in the sixth to open up a 7-2 lead as Mac McCroskey, Myles Emmerson, and Gustavo Campero added those RBIs. Campero added a late-game homer to cap off the scoring, with James Triantos also picking up a sacrifice fly. Yohendrick Pinango makes his AA debut at Smokies Stadium tonight! @ypinango_18 #Cubs #NextStopWrigley pic.twitter.com/Lif21v9tZc Let the rain, wash away, all the pain, from tonight. | @zips3mincarwash
Talk about a drama-filled game; the Cubs finally found a way to win an extra inning game, and one that they had to battle back in to do. Will Sanders put together his best start as a Cub, giving South Bend five innings of one-hit baseball. He gave way to Koen Moreno and the rest of the pen, who started off slow but did finish strong. Opposing Sanders was Enmannuel Pinales, who also pitched into the fifth but wasn't able to finish it as he allowed four runs in 4 2/3 with six strikeouts. After Pedro Ramirez opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third, South Bend broke the game open in the fifth as they pushed across three runs. Rafael Morel started things off with a solo homer while the Jefferson Rojas double and Felix Stevens single made things 4-0. The Cubs maintained their lead until Sanders left, as the Cubs' bullpen wasn't great. With Lucas Dunn picking up an RBI single in the sixth to make things 4-1, a bases-loaded walk later in the inning cut the lead in half. One inning later, Griffin Doersching tacked on another RBI hit, while Devin Ortiz cashed in another one in the bottom of the ninth to tie things up and force extras. In the extra frame, it was all about the Cubs' relentless approach, as they were going to make sure to finish this one off. Morel delivered the go-ahead knock to make things 5-4, but it was the Rojas single that would go down as the winning hit, as two more runs scored. Stevens capped off the four-run 10th with another RBI hit as the Cubs took care of business 8-5. That trio accounted for seven of the eight runs in the victory, with Rojas leading the way with three. Cubs win 8-5 in 11 innings!
Sometimes, all it takes is one big inning to win a ball game, which was the case here. Despite a very good showing from their bullpen, which struck out nine in 5 1/3 frames, it was a four-run second inning that did the Birds in as they fell to the Nationals 5-3. Erian Rodriguez was the victim of that rough inning in what was otherwise a promising showing on the mound. Armando Cruz and Cristhian Vaquero accounted for three of the four runs in the second off a pair of doubles, with Everett Cooper single adding the fourth. That came after Alfonsin Rosario put the Birds in front with a first-inning double as the Pelicans trailed 4-1 after two. RBI double by Rosario gets the Birds on the board first‼️#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/h7ceQKsi91 From there, it was pure catch-up mode for Myrtle Beach as their bullpen was doing its part to keep things close. Fabian Pertuz made things a two-run game with an RBI double in the second, only to have Leonel Espinoza add an RBI single to make things 4-3. Keep it rolling!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/3aq3RMLSD3 Those would be the game's final runs for Myrtle Beach as the Nationals tacked on a ninth-inning run off the Brandon Pimentel single to pick up the 5-3 win. We’re back tomorrow with DAY BASEBALL from Pelicans Ballpark.SYRACUSE METS 8 - IOWA CUBS 7
The first I-Cubs grand slam of the year gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/IlPynyqZPQ
ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 8 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2
Box score: https://t.co/LNR4dDUQN5 pic.twitter.com/bwwvTkV4vgSOUTH BEND CUBS 8 - FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 5 (F/10)
Rafael Morel, Jefferson Rojas, and Felix Stevens all record huge RBI hits in the 11th!
(Casey Opitz also bunt of the year candidate!?!)#FlyTheW #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/tcwyGLRRLaFREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 5 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3
First pitch at 12:05.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/xybAlKJ7y7
ACL CUBS 5 - ACL DIAMONDBACKS 4
The Cubs put an end to their three-game skid and head into their off day with a 5-4 win. Considering how Eric Dominguez gave the Diamondbacks four innings of seven punchout baseball, this was an excellent win for the Cubs when you look at how things have gone. Wilme Mora got the start for the Cubs and allowed three runs in three-plus innings before turning it over to Jack Patterson and the rest of the pen.
Mora was given an early first-inning lead off the Derniche Valdez single, only to have the Diamondbacks answer with a sacrifice fly in the second. After retaking a 2-1 lead and entering the third, Alberto Barriga tied things up with an RBI double, only to have an RBI forceout and make things 3-2. Jose Alpuria added another sacrifice fly in the fourth to build the lead, but that was it for their offense for the rest of the game.
Up to the offense to now do their part, Geuri Lubo took it upon himself to do just that as his fourth-inning blast brought things back to even. One inning later saw Angel Cepeda deliver the game-winning single as the Cubs rallied for the 5-4 win.
INDEPENDENT BALL
LAKE COUNTY DOCKHOUNDS 5 - CHICAGO DOGS 3
In Independent baseball, the Dogs traveled north to Wisconsin only to drop their first game of 2024. Narcisco Crook remained hot with a first-inning homer to put the Dogs in front 2-0, as he now has four homers in four games this season.
The Dockhounds responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first to tie things up, only to take the lead for good in the second as the Blake Tiberi single made things 4-2. Jacob Teter did his best to keep things close with an RBI double in the third, but that was it for the Dogs offensively as the Dockhounds tacked on a run late for the 5-3 win.
A tough one in Wisco. Back at it again tomorrow.
— Chicago Dogs (@TheChicagoDogs) May 15, 2024
📺 https://t.co/ZyIk7dOVpK | 🌭 #NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/3zWUf6TFDS
FLORENCE Y'ALLS 1 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 0 (F/10)
The tough start to the 2024 season continued for the Thunderbolts, who fell to 2-3 with a 1-0 loss. Will Armbruster got the start, going five strong innings with five punchouts before handing things over to a flurry of arms. Ryan Watson opposed Armbruster as he also went five scoreless with six strikeouts.
After no runs came across in the first nine innings, this one would go to extras as both sides were looking for offense. All it took was one run as the Alberti Chavez single in the 10th pushed home the winning run in a 1-0 loss for Windy City. Ethan Lopez paced the offense for Windy City as he picked up two of the five hits.
