Cubs Minor League News: PCA and Murray at Futures game, Howard and Alcantara raking, more
Photo courtesy: Chicago Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: PCA and Murray at Futures game, Howard and Alcantara raking, more
by - Senior Writer - Sun Jul 09 09:30:15 GMT-05:00 2023

Saturday was ugly, to say the least, as the Cubs limped to a 1-6 overall record. That hasn't been the case a ton this week, but with one day left until the All-Star break, which gives all the full-season teams some extended time off, the Cubs would like to end the week with better results.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 5 - IOWA CUBS 2

The Saints have given the Cubs a battle all week, and they finally broke through with a win on Saturday. That was primarily due to the Cubs bullpen falling apart late after a promising start from Nick Niedert. Niedert has now put together four consecutive good starts, giving the Cubs five innings of one-run six, strikeout ball.

Jeremiah Estrada took one on the chin as he gave up three runs in the seventh to take the loss. St. Paul cracked the scoreboard first when Austin Martin ripped an RBI double in the third to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. It took five innings for Iowa to get on the board, with Luis Vazquez going deep for the third time this season to tie things up 1-1.

That score remained intact until the seventh inning when the Saints began to tee off on Estrada. Anthony Prato delivered the big blow in that inning with a two-run shot, while Matt Wallner added an RBI single to push the lead to 4-1. St. Paul would add another run on the Chris Williams homer in the eighth to push the lead to 5-1 before the Yonathan Perlaza single in the ninth capped off the scoring in the 5-2 loss.

The Cubs outhit the Saints 10-6, with Perlaza leading the way with three. Nelson Velazquez and Vazquez added two hits.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 3

The lone team to grab a win on Saturday was the Tennessee Smokies, who continue to have their way with Birmingham. Even without Pete Crow-Armstrong and BJ Murray Jr, who were in the MLB Futures game, the Smokies offense did what they needed to do while the pitching held up.

Manuel Espinoza continues to impress on the mound, giving the Smokies five innings of two-run, four-strikeout ball. He gave way to Carlos Guzman and Cayne Ueckert, who took care of the rest from there. Espinoza was backed by some first-inning support when Owen Caissie ripped an RBI double for the 1-0 lead in the first.

Both runs charged to Espinoza came in the third when Ben Norman singled to tie things up before the sacrifice fly put the Barons in front 2-1. It didn't take long for the Smokies offense to respond, with Scott McKeon tying things up with an RBI double in the fourth before a wild pitch put the Smokies back in front.

The Smokies continued to build on their lead in the sixth, with Andy Weber picking up the sacrifice fly and Cole Roederer delivering a solo shot as they took a 5-2 lead into the later innings.

Birmingham would add an eighth-inning run off a bases-loaded walk from Alexander Womack, but that was it as the Barons fell to the Smokies 5-3.

PEORIA CHIEFS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1

The Cubs have given the fans plenty of excitement this week, but that was not the case on Saturday. Ian Bedell was a big reason why, as he gave the Chiefs five innings of work and allowed one run in the process. Bedell was opposed by Luis Devers, who was nearly as good as he gave up two runs in four innings to keep the Cubs close. Max Bain took the ball after Devers allowed two runs of his own before the back end of the pen gave up an additional run.

Both runs off of Devers came off one swing as Osvaldo Tovalin got into one for his second homer of the series to put the Chiefs in front 2-0 in the second. Little did they know that would be the only runs they would need as the Cubs offense was quiet. South Bend cut the deficit in half in the fourth on the Ed Howard single, but they could not get anything going after that.

A Nathan Church double in the fifth extended the Chief's lead to 3-1 before a pair of late-game wild pitches brought home the final two runs in the 5-1 loss for the Cubs.

Howard led the way with two hits and the RBI, with Kevin Alcantara staying red-hot with two more hits.

Alexander Canario picked up the final hit for the Cubs in the loss.

AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 6 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 5

What looked to be another win for the Pelicans went south quickly as the Greenjackets rallied for four late-game runs. That included a run in the bottom of the eighth that proved the difference and lifted Augusta to the win. Jackson Ferris may not be giving the Pelicans much length, but he is turning out quality starts.

Ferris pitched into the fourth and allowed two runs (1ER) in 3 1/3. He walked none and struck out five before the bullpen let the game get away. After Andy Garriola put the Pelicans in front 1-0 with a first-inning sacrifice fly, the Greenjackets responded as Francisco Floyd tied things up in the second with a sacrifice fly of his own.

A Reivaj Garcia homer gave the Birds a 2-1 lead in the third before an error in the bottom of the inning allowed Augusta to tie things up again. Once the fourth inning rolled around, it looked as if the Pelicans were starting to pull away as Garriola connected for a solo shot to give Myrtle Beach a 3-2 lead.

That was followed by RBI singles from Parker Chavers and Miguel Pabon in the sixth to put the Pelicans in front 5-2. Holding that lead into the seventh, it was time for Augusta to rally again as the Nick Clarno double made things 5-3 before another double by Ambioris Tavarez tied things up 5-5. Augusta kept the pressure on in the eighth, with Clarno adding his second double in as many innings to put the Greenjackets up 6-5.

Augusta would then have to work around a mini jam in the top of the ninth as Myrtle Beach had the tying run on second only to come away empty. Garcia and Jefferson Rojas led the way with two hits for the Birds.

ACL ATHLETICS 14 - ACL CUBS 3

This game was interesting for the Cubs, even if the final score doesn't show it. With the game tied 3-3 in the fifth, it was an 11-run inning for the A's that did the Cubs in as they busted things open for the 14-3 win. Trailing 3-0 in the third, Wally Soto put the Cubs on the board as his RBI double made things 3-1.

Two innings later, it was Bradlee Beesley kicking off his rehab assignment with a two-run blast, and just like that, it was 3-3. That was when things went south for the Cubs as the Athletics scored 11 times in the bottom of that frame to bust things open.

DSL PIRATES 7 - DSL CUBS BLUE 1

Led by plenty of late-game offense, the DSL Pirates proved too much for DSL Blue and cruised 7-1. Most of the damage came after the fifth inning as a pair of sacrifice flies in the first and second inning gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead early.

The lone run for the Cubs came in the bottom of the first when Edward Vargas delivered a sacrifice fly to tie things up before the Cubs fell behind for good in the second. The Pirates put the game away in the fifth as the two-run triple from Antonio Pimentel made things 4-1 with a wild pitch extending the lead to 5-1. The Pirates would add two more runs in the sixth to cap off the scoring.

DSL RED SOX 3 - DSL CUBS RED 2 (F/10)

While most of the Rookie games were lopsided, to say the least, this one was not, as the Cubs played the Red Sox to a 1-1 tie in regulation before getting walked off in the 10th. David Bracho and Jostin Florentino set the tone as the duo allowed one run and combined for eight strikeouts in six innings.

Compare that to the Red Sox starter Juan Henriquez who struck out six in five scoreless frames, with Daniel Nunez adding seven strikeouts in four innings, and the Cubs struck out 16 times which isn't a recipe for winning games. With the score tied 0-0 heading into the sixth, Angel Cepada put the Cubs in front as his RBI single made things 1-0.

A Franklin Arias double-tied things up in the bottom of the sixth, as those were the only runs scored in regulation. With the game shifting to extras, Oferman Hernandez came through for DSL Red as his single put the Cubs in front 2-1. Needing just three outs to finish things off, the Red Sox got the last laugh as Jose Liriano connected for the walk-off two-run shot to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win.

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