Cubs Minor League News: PCA smacks first Double-A homer, Pelicans with walk-off, more |
Following their weekly Monday off due, which is used as a Travel day in Minor League Baseball, the Cubs affiliates were back on the diamond Tuesday a net set of series' were set to begin. Overall, it was a successful day on the diamond, with the Cubs posting a 2-1 record.
Anytime you come away with a winning record on the diamond, you are doing something right, and the Cubs minor league system has done many things exemplary. Hopefully, that trend will continue through the end of the season.
At some point, the Iowa Cubs will play a baseball game again, as they last hit the field Friday. Hopefully, those days off don't affect the rhythm of guys like Christopher Morel, Nelson Velazquez, and Matt Mervis. UPDATE: Today's game against the @IowaCubs has been postponed.
Tuesday saw the Smokies do something they haven't done yet this season: win a series-opening game. Credit Ryan Jensen for that, as he set the tone with his performance on the mound. The hard-throwing righty delivered one of his best AA starts, going five innings and allowing just one earned run with five strikeouts. While his performance helped set the tone, the relentless offense stole the show, which started with a leadoff homer from Pete Crow-Armstrong in the bottom of the first for the 1-0 lead. Pete Crow-Armstrong with a leadoff HR to put the Smokies ahead early! This dude is on 🔥🔥🔥 #NextStartsHere #BestYearEver #Cubs pic.twitter.com/lwGfbswRpr The Lookouts tied things up in the top half of the third on a Jacob Hurtubise single before a passed ball in the bottom of the third gave the Smokies the lead for good, 2-1. Jordan Nwogu continued his hot start to the season as his third homer of 2023 put the Smokies in front 3-1 in the fifth. Jordan Nwogu with an absolute BOMB!! Smokies lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 5th. #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/w869iJubia Tennessee would add two more runs in that inning, with one coming on a wild pitch and the other on a Bryce Ball double to stretch the lead to 5-1. RBI doubles are just falling out of the sky! @bryceball_05 #ChickenLittle #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/vXMzYV4l9u Whenever it looked like Chatanooga would mount a comeback, the Smokies had answers, with BJ Murray Jr connecting for a solo shot in the sixth with Nwogu adding an RBI single. BJ Murray with a solo shot in the bottom of the 6th! Smokies now lead 6-2. pic.twitter.com/WC76Kp0Fo9 Holding a 7-2 lead in the seventh, the Lookouts suddenly made a game of things again as RBI doubles from Quincy McAfee and Nick Quintana made things 7-5. That would be as close as they would get as Tennessee closed out the game with a Nelson Maldonado single in the seventh and a Miguel Amaya double in the eighth for the 9-5 win. Miguel Amaya with an RBI double! Smokies lead 9-5 in the bottom of the 8th. #Smokiesbaseball #NextStartsHere @mamaya_9 pic.twitter.com/16chFKIZzo PCA was one of four hitters to tally two hits, with Nwogu, Murray Jr, and Luis Vazquez as the other three. Ryan Jensen and BJ Murray shine in the home opener against Chattanooga! pic.twitter.com/WQKO9kJK3D
Of all the games on Tuesday, South Bend hard the hardest one to swallow as they let this one get away. Kohl Franklin delivered his second consecutive strong start as he struck out six in 3 2/3 innings. His ERA remains 0.00 for the season. Franklin was followed by Adam Laskey, who also had a scoreless outing as the Cubs and Loons were deadlocked 0-0 after five. In the sixth, South Bend finally broke through as Kevin Made laced an RBI double to left to make things 2-0. Unfortunately for the Cubs, their lead didn't last long as Joe Nahas allowed a bases-loaded RBI double to give the Loons a 3-2 lead. Great Lakes continued to take it to the Cubs pen in the bottom of the eighth as they pushed across three more runs to bust things wide open. Yunior Garcia started that inning with a solo shot, while Jake Vogel added an RBI single ahead of a bases-loaded walk. The Cubs had their chance to make things interesting in the ninth, but only managed to score on a bases-loaded walk by Casey Opitz to fall 6-3. With three hits, the offense was hard to come by as the South Bend bats were quiet. Along with the Made double, Bradlee Beesley and Haydn McGeary picked up hits. Great Lakes takes the opener tonight. pic.twitter.com/738fFSibzk
If you like a good pitching matchup, Myrtle Beach was the place to be on Tuesday. This was a massive win for the Pelicans, as their pitching hasn't been as good as they would have liked it to be early on. Enter Michael Arias, who was lights out on the mound. Across his four innings, Arias scattered a pair of hits, but struck out eight. He was the first of four Pelicans pitchers who combined to strike out 19 in the game. Despite the performance by Arias, Cedric De Grandpre was equally as good as he struck out six in four innings. It took six innings for someone to finally break through, with Augusta striking first on the David McCabe sacrifice fly. One inning later, it was the Pelicans turn to get on the board, with Reggie Preciado connecting for an RBI triple. With both pitching staffs dominating from the first inning on, nine innings was not enough as it would take extras to decide this one. In the extra frame, the Pelicans got the last laugh, with Rafael Morel delivering the walk-off single to lift the Pelicans 2-1. That was fun! Morel was one of five Pelicans to pick up a hit joining Cristian Hernandez, Parker Chavers, Preciado, and Moises Ballesteros.IOWA CUBS vs. BUFFALO BISONS (PPD Cold)
Wednesday: 1 game (6:05pm)
Thursday: Single-Admission DH (G1: 5:35pm)
Exchange info: https://t.co/ZPOWLF6Qqp pic.twitter.com/PgBfLPZ5IkTENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 5
GREAT LAKES LOONS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2 - AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 1 (F/10)
We're having fun!
See y'all tomorrow!#MBPelicans | #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/ilNmB3iEsw
