Cubs Minor League News: Kilian impressive, Shaw with two homers, Alcantara homers, more |
It was another exciting night on the Diamond for the Cubs minor league system that saw them post a 2-2 record. Take the record away for a minute, and you had plenty of top performances that stood out, which is all that matters this late in the season.
If the Cubs wind up missing the playoffs, which there is a strong possibility that they will, they can look back at this as a series of missed opportunities. Caleb Kilian was flat-out brilliant in his first start back with Iowa, as he not only gave them six innings but six innings of one-run ball. He walked none and struck out seven, as this was one of his best starts of the season. Hats off to Caleb Kilian with another solid pitching performance worthy of tonight's @Therookiedsmia Player of the Game pic.twitter.com/Nm0zfyGmNH He may have done his part, but the offense didn't, as they struggled to get much of anything going, especially off of Quinn Priester, who gave the Indians five innings of relief with nine punchouts. The lone run off of Kilian came in the second off an RBI forceout as the Cubs were playing from behind early, 1-0. That score held up for quite a while as Iowa remained scoreless through six. Once the seventh inning rolled around, you had Luis Vazquez come through with an RBI knock to bring things even 1-1. That was it for the Iowa offense, as an RBI forceout by Miguel Andujar in the eighth was the difference in a 2-1 defeat. Vazquez had two of the team's three hits, while PJ Higgins added one. Tonight's final from Indianapolis. pic.twitter.com/YB39LR4hMb
One night after being embarrassed by the Lookouts, the Smokies' pitching stood out as they shut out their instate rivals 4-0. Walker Powell continues to make an argument to be the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year as he won an organizational best 11th game on Friday. Powell went six innings, striking out five, and lowered his ERA to 3.58 as the offense took care of the rest. Some instant offense from Pablo Aliendo backed Powell as his two-run blast put the Smokies up 2-0 in the second. Little did they know those would be the only runs they would need, but the Smokies knew how quickly a lead like that could change and wanted to add to it. It may have taken most of the game to do so, but with Aliendo adding an RBI double in the seventh to stretch the lead to 3-0, things looked good for the Smokies. Reigning Southern League player of the week, Jordan Nwogu added an RBI single later in the seventh to make things 4-0, as that would be the final score. BJ Murray Jr. led the Smokies offense with three hits, while Aliendo, Nwogu, and Bradlee Beesley picked up three. Aliendo drove in three to outscore the Lookouts by himself.
It has been a long time since the Cubs had an offensive outburst like this, but it sure does feel good when it happens. Led by Brody McCullough and Nick Hull on the mound, the offense erupted in a big way, scoring a season-high 18 runs in the win. Regarding McCullough and Hull, the duo combined to give the Cubs eight innings of two-run ball while allowing four hits. They walked four and struck out five, as they didn't need to be at their best. It doesn't take much for pitchers to settle in when your offense can back you with five runs of support in the first. Matt Shaw opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first to give the Cubs the lead for good. Singles from Josh Rivera and Luis Verdugo brought home three more runs in that inning as the Cubs opened up a massive 5-0 lead early. After Kyler Fedko drove home a run in the second off an RBI triple, the Cubs offense got back after it in the bottom half of the frame as Shaw delivered his second homer in as many at-bats to extend the lead to 6-1. Cubs fans could get used to this! Kevin Alcantara followed that up with a solo shot of his own as the Cubs led 7-1. Homers continued to play a significant role in the Cub's early game success as Verdugo went deep in the third, with Felix Stevens adding one in the fourth. You also had Shaw add another RBI double as the Cubs led 11-1 after four innings of play. The final run of the night for the Kernels came in the sixth as Hull uncorked a wild pitch to make things 11-2. After that, it was all South Bend again, as they scored seven times in the sixth and seventh innings. Four runs came in the sixth as Rivera, Ethan Hearn, and Ezequiel Pagan picked up RBI singles, mixed with a Verdugo double. Verdugo added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, along with a Stevens double, as the Cubs offense rolled to an 18-2 win. It was the Shaw and Verdugo show on Friday as they combined for six hits and eight RBIs in the win. Stevens and Rivera added five hits and six additional RBIs as the Cubs offense wouldn't be denied in this one. Luis Verdugo finished a triple shy of the cycle and drove in 4 runs on an incredible night for the former MWL champ! Walker Powell, @wpowell35, earns his 11th win on the season, striking out five over six innings of work. | @zips3mincarwash #SmokiesBaseball #BestYearEver #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/sFNLFUHAeZ DO NOT RUB YOUR EYES, YOU ARE READING THIS RIGHT!!INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 2 - IOWA CUBS 1
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 0
SOUTH BEND CUBS 18 - CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2
Matt Shaw goes deep once again, and Kevin Alcántara (MLB No. 76) makes it back-to-back homers for South Bend.
Catch the rest of the High-A action FREE: https://t.co/aKtGFgWBY3 pic.twitter.com/YUGISlJLR4
He spoke with Production Manager @ksedlacek0 after the game. pic.twitter.com/Gfr2LBJYR2
WHAT A NIGHT!#NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/laQjMtonva
KANNAPOLIS CANNON BALLERS 10 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8
After back-to-back walk-off wins for the Pelicans, you had to think their luck would run out sooner or later. However, after trailing 10-5, entering the bottom of the eighth only to make it 10-8, you started to get that sense that magic was about to happen for a third straight night. However, this time, the Birds were unable to finish things as they dropped their first game of the week.
Anytime you have a starter allow five runs in less than three innings, you are putting your team in an early hole, which is just what Kevin Valdez did. Despite his five punchouts, Valdez couldn't put hitters away as the Cannonballers came out swinging against him. A Chris Lanzell single in the first game gave them a 1-0 lead before they added three additional runs in the second and one more in the third to chase Valdez.
Had it not been for the Brett Bateman single in the bottom of the first, the Pelicans offense would have been lifeless as they were down 5-1 early. Once the fourth inning rolled around, you started to see the confidence creep back into the Pelicans faces as Pedro Ramirez went deep in the fourth to pull the Birds to within 5-3.
An RBI single from Brian Kalmer in the fifth made things 5-4, but that was as close as things would get the rest of the way. Not only did Jordan Sprinkle pick up one RBI in the sixth, but he was part of the Cannonballers three-run eighth inning that extended their lead to 10-5. Once again, it was the Pelicans battling back as Ramirez connected for his second homer of the game in the bottom half of the eighth to pull the Pelicans within 10-7.
Later in that inning, Cristian Hernandez came through as his RBI double made things 10-8, only to see their comeback effort end by that score. Ramirez, Hernandez, and Bateman all had three hits in the ball game, but it was Ramirez coming through with four RBIs to lead the way.
