Cubs Minor League News: Stroman with rehab start, Young homers, Triantos on fire, more |
One the night before the fourth of July, four teams were in action, with all four full-season teams taking the field. Granted, there were plenty of fireworks during the game and postgame to celebrate the upcoming holiday, but those fireworks were not always good.
For the first time in a while, the Cubs organization failed to post a win on the evening, going 0-4 across the Minor League system. Add that to the Chicago Cubs losing 4-2, and wins were hard to come by as losses can be just as contagious as wins.
Although the Cubs dropped the final five games of their series with Columbus, Sunday has to be considered a moral victory as they held the Clippers under 10 runs for the first time since Tuesday. It was an important day for Cubs fans as Marcus Stroman was making a rehab start after missing the last month with shoulder fatigue. Stroman lasted just 2 2/3 innings, but was tagged for five earned runs which is not a good sign. All that matters is he felt good, so look for him to get another start along the way. Matt Dermody and Bryan Hudson took over after Stroman, with Dermody pitching the best, allowing just one run in 4 1/3 innings. For Columbus, a large chunk of their offense came in the first three innings when they scored six times. After neither team came through in the first inning Jose Fremin gave the Clippers a 1-0 lead with a single in the second before Carlos Sepulveda evened things up in the bottom of the second. In the third, Columbus busted things wide open, using five runs to take the enormous lead. Nolan Jones started that with an RBI groundout before a David Fry single, and Gavin Collins double made it 4-1. Trenton Brooks capped off that inning with a homer putting the Clippers up 6-1. It took six innings for the Iowa bats to really start hitting the ball, and they pushed across four runs to pull within 6-5. Jackson Frazier had the big hit that inning with a three-run shot pulling the Cubs within 6-4 before a Nelson Maldonado sacrifice fly made things 6-5. 432 feet later! Jackson Frazier brings us within two against Columbus. pic.twitter.com/56vor72S1X Jared Young continued the comeback bid with his 13th homer in the seventh to bring things back to even 6-6. We're all tied up! pic.twitter.com/mRKQk6wMw9 Looking to strike again, it was Columbus taking the lead for good in the eighth as Alex Call went yard in the eighth to cap off the Clippers 9-6 win. John Hicks had a huge night at the plate, coming away with four hits, while Maldonado was the lone player not to have a hit. Final from Principal Park. pic.twitter.com/kCJXOw5EfO
After Rocket City had their offense rolling in a big way the last few days, Tennessee did a great job keeping them quieter on Sunday. The problem was the Trash Pandas pitching showed up to the party as they doubled up the Smokies 4-2 to take the series win. Walker Powell was on the mound for the Smokies as the hard-throwing right-hander had a solid outing on the mound. Powell went four innings, allowing two runs and striking out three before handing things off to the pen. Max Bain, CD Pelham, and Jeremiah Estrada were the men out of the pen as they allowed two runs in five innings while striking out six. Although the pitching was primarily good, the Trash Pandas pitching was better, which all started with Adam Seminaris. The left-hander got the start and gave Rocket City 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball to earn the win on the mound. His lone run allowed came in the first inning when Jake Slaughter picked up a one-out single before racing home on the Chase Strumpf double. There was an error on that play that appeared to allow Strumpf to score, but after the umpires ruled he would only get one base, Michael Ryan was tossed for arguing his displeasure. Immediately after the run scored, Rocket City came to life offensively as they tagged Powell with his earned runs in the second. Kevin Maitan evened things up with an RBI single before Jordyn Adams put Rocket City in front for good 2-1. The lead was extended to 3-1 in the fifth after a missed strike three before Rocket City added a Zach Humphries single in the sixth to make things 4-1. Down, but not out, the Smokies continued to chip away, with Slaughter adding an RBI single in the seventh to make things 4-2. That would be the game's final run, with the Smokies falling by that score. Slaughter paced the offense with three hits and one RBI, with Strumpf and Bryce Ball adding two hits. We lost, but dangit, we LOVE America. pic.twitter.com/zMyEVlhBpk
The Cubs saw their 10-game winning streak come to a halt on Sunday, with Beloit dominating the series finale. Manuel Espinoza had a night to forget on the mound, tagged with eight earned runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. Apart from that, the rest of the South Bend staff was good, but they dug a massive hole to climb out of. A homer from Cody Morissette in the first inning put the Sky Carp in front for good 1-0 before adding two more runs to make things 3-0. Jose Salas would add a double in the second to extend the lead to 5-0, followed by a three-run fourth anchored by the Victor Mesa single and Will Banfield triple to make things 8-0. It took South Bend five innings to get on the board, with BJ Murray Jr putting South Bend on the board with an RBI single. Add in a Jake Washer homer in the sixth, and a Jordan Nwogu single in the eighth, and South Bend was within 8-3 before falling 9-3 in the end. Nwogu had the hot hand as he added three hits with his RBI to lead the way, with four other Cubs adding hits. Couldn't finish off the sweep, but we can't wait to see you back at home Monday!
Despite the loss on Sunday, the Pelicans did their part to take the series as they took four of six from Charleston. Porter Hodge got the ball and, despite a no-decision, pitched well again. In four innings, Hodge allowed four hits, but managed to allow three runs with only two earned and seven punchouts. Hodge was backed by two runs of support in the first inning, with James Triantos picking up an RBI groundout followed by a wild pitch to give the Pelicans a 2-0 lead early. That lead would hold until the fourth inning when the River Dogs took the lead and scored six times across the next three innings. Three of those runs came in the fourth, with Shane Sasaki and Nathan Perry picking up singles to make things 3-2. Myrtle Beach clawed back to take the lead with a Jacob Wetzel homer in the fifth, but it was the three-run sixth off the Logan Allen homer that saw the River Dogs back in front 6-4. Still holding that two-run lead entering the ninth, Charleston picked a great time to bust the game wide open as they started to burry the Pelicans. Sasaki started that huge ninth inning with a two-run double before coming home to score on the Oneill Manzueta homer to lead 10-6. Triantos would add a homer of his own in the ninth, but it wasn't enough with the Pelicans falling 10-7. James Triantos did it again. ??????
Charleston takes the series finale.COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 9 - IOWA CUBS 6
ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 4 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2
BELOIT SKY CARP 9 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3
It's going to be a great Independence Day, with a smile :) pic.twitter.com/fvXbtUL7BCCHARLESTON RIVER DOGS 10 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7
The No. 4 @Cubs prospect goes deep for the third straight night for @Pelicanbaseball. pic.twitter.com/VczI25RnT9
We’ll play on the Fourth of July in Columbia tomorrow.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/KKH2COtimB
