Cubs Minor League News: PCA homers, Bote bomb, Smyly dominant, Stevens sizzling, more
Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Cubs Minor League News: PCA homers, Bote bomb, Smyly dominant, Stevens sizzling, more
by - Senior Writer - Wed May 22 11:30:09 GMT-05:00 2024

The Cubs couldn't have for a better start to the week as there was a lot of winning on Tuesday. Not only did the Chicago Cubs walk off the Atlanta Braves, but they also saw their Minor League System post a 4-1 record in what was a near-perfect night on the diamond.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 18 - IOWA CUBS 6

The lone loss in the Cubs system came in AAA as the Cubs had an ugly showing. This was by far the worst showing of the season for Thomas Pannone, who allowed six runs (4ER) in just two innings. That alone would've made it challenging for the Cubs, but the Indians scored at least four runs in an inning three separate times to blow this one wide open.

If there were some positives to take away, it would be seeing Pete Crow Armstrong immediately make an impact after getting sent down. He picked up a pair of hits, one of which was a homer, and drove in two.

He wasn't alone in having a big day as Alexander Canario, Brennen Davis, Owen Caissie, and David Bote had multi-hit games, with Canario and Bote connecting for three hits.

Like PCA, anytime you have a taste of the majors, it always makes going back to AAA that much harder as Matt Mervis continues to crush AAA pitching with another homer and two RBIs. He is a classic case of a guy who is too good for MILB pitching but, for whatever reason, has had a hard time hitting MLB pitching.

Indianapolis was led by Matt Gorski and his two homer and five RBI night to lead the way for the Indians.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 0

The Smokies kicked off a new week of competition with a positive showing as they blanked the Blue Wahoos 3-0. Chris Kachmar set the tone with 4 1/3 shutout innings on the mound, as he struck out four and scattered four hits. He gave way to a plethora of relievers, including the recently signed Trey Supak, who picked up the win following two scoreless frames.

Although tagged with the loss, Jonathan Bermudez threw five strong innings, allowing three runs and striking out seven. Two of those runs came on the Kevin Alcantara third-inning double, with Matt Shaw pushing across the final run in the fifth on a single.

Shaw went through a horrendous slump for most of May, but he is starting to figure things out again as he led the way for Tennessee with two hits.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 7 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1

All eyes were on the South Bend Cubs on Tuesday as they kicked off a new series with Drew Smyly taking the ball on a rehab start. The left-hander couldn't have asked for a better outing as he gave the Cubs three perfect innings with five strikeouts before handing things over to Aaron Perry, who struck out three in five strong relief outings.

Although Wisconsin starter Mark Manfredi was charged with six runs in four innings, only three were earned as the bases loaded Pedro Ramirez triple in the third would be all the offense the Cubs would need. South Bend tacked on three more runs in the fourth, with the first coming off an error before a two-run Casey Opitz homer as the Cubs opened up a 6-0 lead.

Felix Stevens would add a homer later in the game to bring his season total up to nine as he is knocking on the door of a promotion.

In terms of the offense, only Brian Kalmer managed to pick up more than one hit, but it didn't matter as the Cubs bats produced when given the chance.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 5 - CAROLINA MUDCATS 2

You always want to start a series, especially on the road, with a win, which is exactly what the Pelicans did on Tuesday against Carolina. Marino Santy has very quietly started to get into a nice groove, and with four shutout innings of five-strikeout baseball, he continued that groove.

He benefitted from a pair of solid outings, including Andy Gariola who went a 3-4 at the plate with three RBIs. Two of his three hits were homers, with a solo shot opening the scoring in the fourth before homering in his next at-bat in the sixth.

The rest of the RBIs came from Reggie Preciado, who delivered a pair of hits from the leadoff spot, with both coming as RBI singles.

Yophery Rodriguez was the offense for the Mudcats as he connected for a two-run shot in the fifth as those were the lone Mudcats runs. Joining Preciado and Gariola were Cristian Hernandez and Ismael Mena, who added two hits to provide all the hits for the Birds.

ACL CUBS 11 - ACL GIANTS 3

The Cubs have come out guns a-blazing to start the week, opening things up with a pair of wins. This one was all about the offense, as the Cubs pushed across 11 runs on 11 hits. Talk about efficiency at the plate, as Anderson Suriel had a massive showing with two hits and five RBIs. Three of those RBIs came on a first-inning homer, and the Cubs never looked back.

You also had multi-hit performances from Geuri Lubo, Angel Cepeda, and Yahil Melendez as the Cubs offense came out strong. Not only was the hitting strong, but the pitching was also very good, with Miguel Cruz getting the start and allowing two runs in three innings. Jack Patterson took over from there as he continued his rehab to get back to full-season ball, with a pair of scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 2.45.

The Giants scored two of their three runs in the third, with Dario Reynoso picking up a sacrifice fly ahead of the Lisbel Diaz single. They would also score the game's final run in the seventh, courtesy of the Mauricio Pierre single.

INDEPENDENT BALL

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 6 - CHICAGO DOGS 1

The Dogs traveled north of the border to open up a series in Winnipeg as they got set to take on the Goldeyes. Despite his shaky start when he allowed two runs in the first, Jason Bilous went on to pitch six innings, allowing three runs and striking out seven. Had it not been for that Max Murphy double in the first, he could've gotten a no-decision, but with Colton Eastman dealing on the other side, runs would be challenging to come by.

Eastman pitched into the seventh before coming out after 6 2/3. He was charged with one earned run on three hits while striking out five, lowering his ERA to 2.45. That lone run came in the fourth inning on the Johnni Turbo homer in what was otherwise a quiet night for the Dogs. Ryan Holgate put the game away in the eighth with a two-run single.

FRONTIER LEAGUE

LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS 4 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 1

In what was some afternoon baseball to kick off the week, the Thunderbolts got off to a slow start and dropped one to the Crushers. All of the offense came before the fourth inning in what was otherwise a well-pitched game.

Taylor Sugg took the loss, allowing four runs (3ER) in six innings to go with six strikeouts. Matt Valin got the win as he battled through command issues to record seven strikouts in 5 2/3 and only one run allowed. That run came in the bottom of the first after Vincent Byrd Jr put the Crushers up 1-0 in the top of the first.

Christian Kuzemka was credited with that RBI as his grounder brought things back to even 1-1. That would be all the offense for the Thunderbolts as the Scout Knotts double put the Crushers in front for good, 2-1 before the Byrd homer capped off the three-run third.

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