Cubs Minor League News: PCA blasts 440-foot homer, Mervis homers, Caissie raking, more

Cubs Minor League News: PCA blasts 440-foot homer, Mervis homers, Caissie raking, more
by - Senior Writer - Wed Aug 09 12:00:24 GMT-04:00 2023

Tuesday marked another full slate of Minor League action as all seven Cubs affiliates took the field. With DSL Red playing DSL Blue, six games took place, with five counting toward the win-loss record for the night.

Overall, the Cubs played well and posted a 3-2 record to start the week, as their offense was alive and cooking all night. That is all you can ask for as they look to take that momentum and carry it through for the next five days.

IOWA CUBS 8 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 2

Remember when Omaha was one of the Cubs' nemesis that they couldn't beat? Well, those days appear to be over, at least for this season, as Iowa continues to play well against Omaha in 2023. With Nick Niedert putting together an impressive start that saw him allow just two runs in 5 2/3, their offense came to life late, scoring all eight of their runs after the fifth inning, with four coming in the ninth.

Matching Niedert pitch for the pitch was Max Castillo, who not only held the Cubs scoreless through four but struck out eight in 5 2/3 to earn a no-decision. Whenever you play a game in Omaha, the home run ball is an important factor which was the case early with Adeiny Hechavarria going deep in the third to give Omaha a 1-0 lead.

Trailing by that lone run in the fifth, Pete Crow-Armstrong got every bit of his second homer and pounded it 440 feet to tie things up 1-1.

Homers from Matt Mervis and Devin Mann followed in the sixth as the teams remained tied 2-2.

Fortunately for the Cubs, those would be Omaha's last runs while their offense was about to come to life.

With one swing in the seventh, Yonathan Perlaza provided the game-winning runs as his homer gave Iowa a 4-2 lead.

They held that lead until the ninth, scoring four times to bust the game wide open. A costly error allowed the first of those runs to score as all four runs were unearned, with Alexander Canario clearing the bases with a bases-loaded RBI double to give the Cubs an 8-2 win.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 14 - BILOXI SHUCKERS 1

When you talk about offense, the Smokies offense stood out as they not only pushed across 14 runs on Tuesday but did so in the first five innings. That made life much easier for the pitching staff as Joe Nahas started what was a bullpen day for the Smokies.

Nahas started things off with 3 1/3 innings allowing the game's only run. He was followed by several other arms, including Brailyn Marquez and Porter Hodge, who struck out six of the 10 batters in the game. Christian Mejias and the Shuckers staff were not quite as lucky as he was rocked for seven runs in two innings, setting the tone for the rest of the day.

It didn't take the Smokies long to open the scoring, with Owen Caissie putting them in front for good with a first-inning RBI single. Later in that inning, Haydn McGeary came through with the big blow as his three-run shot gave Tennessee a 4-0 lead. As if a four-run first wasn't good enough, why not add three more runs in the second as a pair of RBI singles from Levi Jordan and Caissie led to two runs, with McGeary making things 7-0 with his sacrifice fly.

The Smokies were just getting started offensively, with Jordan Nwogu and Jordan adding to the lead with an RBI double and sacrifice fly in the top half of the third, while the Pablo Aliendo single in the fourth made things 11-0. The game's lone run for the Shuckers came in the bottom of the fourth when Ernesto Martinez picked up an RBI single to make things 11-1.

That was as close as they would get the rest of the way as Tennessee added three more runs in the fifth to close out the scoring as Caissie and BJ Murray Jr belted a pair of homers as the Smokies rolled 14-1. Caissie set the tone for the offense, picking up four hits and four RBIs as he now leads the organization with 21 homers, tying him with Felix Stevens.

Murray Jr added three hits, with Jordan and Nwogu picking up a pair to pace the Smokie's offense. McGeary had one hit but drove in three as their offense was as relentless as ever.

LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 7 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 5

The lone full-season team to lose a game on Tuesday was South Bend, which came from a bullpen meltdown. After another great start from Brody McCullough, who struck out six in his five innings of one-run ball, the Cubs bullpen fell apart as they allowed five runs in the seventh to give Lake County the comeback win.

After allowing an RBI double to Jorge Burgos in the second to give Lake County the 1-0 lead, South Bend responded in the top half of the third and backed McCullough with a huge inning. Ezequiel Pagan started things off with an RBI single to tie things up before Matt Shaw ripped an RBI double to make things 3-1. Shaw would come around to score on the Moises Ballesteros double as the Cubs took a 4-1 lead.

Leading 4-2 in the seventh, Pagan added another run for South Bend with an RBI groundout to put the Cubs back in front by three. That was it for their offense, but little did they know it was the bottom of the seventh that would be their demise as Lake County was about to erupt offensively. A bases-loaded walk started things off and had the Captains within 5-3.

The Khalil Wilson RBI single followed that, and just like that, it was a 5-5 game. Dayan Frias came through with the biggest hit of that inning as his two-run single not only capped off the four-run seventh but it gave the Captains the 7-5 lead as they would hold on by that score.

Yohendrick Pinango paced the Cub's offense with two hits, with Pagan and Shaw driving in a pair.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 14 - FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 2

It has been a while since the Pelicans had an offensive outburst like this, but coming off a rough week, it was a pleasant site to see. Nick Hull was back on the bump for the Birds, and despite throwing just four innings, they were four good innings as he allowed one run with six strikeouts. He was followed by a trio of relievers, including the winning pitcher Koen Moreno who struck out six in three innings.

While the Pelicans pitching helped set the tone, the offense carried the load as they got to Alimber Santa and company early. After spotting the Woodpeckers with a run in the first, Parker Chavers put the Pelicans on top for good in the bottom of the first as his RBI double made things 2-1.

The following two frames saw the Pelicans score five more runs, with three coming home in the second and two in the third. Pedro Ramirez was part of the second inning with an RBI triple, while Chavers added an RBI walk to his line before a pair of Fayetteville miscues in the third made things 7-2. Already with a massive lead, the Pelicans put the game away in the fifth as they pushed across six runs to open up a 13-1 lead.

Rookie Brian Kalmer added an RBI single to make things 8-1, but the three-run blast from Chavers extended the lead to 11-1, as he should be on the way to South Bend soon. Fresh off his promotion from the ACL Cubs, fellow rookie Jonathan Long went deep for his first homer with the Birds as the Pelicans opened up a 13-1 lead before winning 14-2.

Chavers was one of four players joining Kalmer, Ramirez, and Reivaj Garcia with two hits. Chavers also single-handedly beat the Woodpeckers as he drove in a career-high seven runs.

ACL GIANTS 4 - ACL CUBS 3

Despite a three-run inning by the Cubs and their offense, it was the Giants who got the last laugh as they used a pair of two-run innings, including one in the seventh to walk off the Cubs 4-3. Rookie Sam Armstrong made his Cubs debut and tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout. He was followed by Nick Burdi, making his first rehab appearance of the season as he allowed two runs in just 1/3.

The most impressive showing on the mound came from Brandon Noriega, who not only tossed two scoreless frames but struck out four in the process. The Giants benefitted from only having to use two arms as Carlos Molina and Lysander De La Cruz went all seven. Despite taking a no-decision, Molina gave the Giants five innings allowing three runs and striking out four.

Tied 0-0 in the second, the Giants scored first, with Bryce Eldridge taking Burdi deep to make things 1-0. A Jack Payton single would be added later in the inning to double the lead as the Cubs trailed 2-0 early. Immediately after surrendering the lead, it was the Cubs offense that took it back as Reggie Preciado laced a game-tying triple in the top of the third. He would eventually come home to score on the Jefferson Encarnacion single as the Cubs took a 3-2 lead.

The Cubs made that lead hold until the final inning when Jean Carlos Sio came through with a massive two-rbi single as that hit walked off the Cubs 4-3.

2023 6th round Alfonsin Rosario led the offense with two hits as the Cubs offense picked up eight in the game.

DSL CUBS RED 2 - DSL CUBS BLUE 1

This didn't seem possible a few weeks ago, but the DSL Red squad is making a serious charge to get back to .500. With a 2-1 win against the DSL Blue squad on Tuesday, DSL Red will head into their off day with a 20-21 record. Tuesday was all about the pitching, as both teams saw terrific pitching across the board.

Emannoel Madeira got the ball for DSL Red and tossed three perfect frames with four strikeouts. He gave way to Melvyn Amador, who struck out four in his two innings as the DSL Red held the DSL Blue bats in check. Regarding DSL Blue, Yafrerlyn Vasquez was on the mound and, despite struggling with his command, gave Blue a solid start. He allowed two ones on two hits in 3 2/3, with only one of those runs coming as an earned run.

With the game tied 0-0 in the second, DSL Red took the lead for good as a costly throwing error put DSL Red in front 1-0. Two innings later saw the Red squad get a little tricky as Yidel Diaz and Josias Ramirez pulled off the double steal to give DSL Red a 2-0 lead. Those would be the only runs they would need, as the pitching took care of the rest.

Holding that 2-0 lead in the sixth, Derik Alcantara ended the shutout bid as he connected for an RBI double to make things 2-1. Blue was unable to do anything else the rest of the way as DSL Red fends off DSL Blue 2-1.

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