Cubs Minor League News: Slaughter raking, Davis homers, Birdsell and Sanders impressive
Slaughter has been slaughtering the ball of late (Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs)

Cubs Minor League News: Slaughter raking, Davis homers, Birdsell and Sanders impressive
by - Senior Writer - Thu Apr 25 09:30:11 GMT-04:00 2024

The Cubs and their organization keep on winning, which is always great for the fans. Not only did the MLB team run their record to 15-9, but their Minor League system posted a third consecutive winning night, including back-to-back 3-1 showings.

IOWA CUBS 8 - BUFFALO BISON 2

With an extra day off on Tuesday due to their rainout, the Iowa Cubs were well-rested, which is never a good thing for their opponent. They then came out with another dominating performance anchored by a five-run third inning to pick up the 8-2 win.

Chris Clarke may not have a win yet this season, but with a 2.00 ERA, he continues to do his job. Clarke struck out seven in four solid innings, and all the runs were scored within the first four innings. That included the Jake Slaughter single in the first that not only put the Cubs in front 1-0, but they never trailed.

Once the third inning rolled around, it was all about the long ball, as Slaughter connected for a two-run shot to push the lead to 6-0.

Prior to that, Brennen Davis made his presence felt in his first AAA game of the season, as his three-run homer gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead.

One inning later, the Cubs cap off their scoring with Owen Caissie adding an RBI single ahead of the Luis Vazquez groundout, opening an 8-0 lead.

The lone runs of the game for Louisville came in the bottom of the fourth, with Will Robertson taking Clarke deep for the two-run blast. The Iowa bullpen took care of the rest, with Sam McWilliams and Richard Lovelady tossing five scoreless frames, allowing two hits, and striking out seven.

The Cubs offense was led by Slaughter and his four hits and three RBIs. Curt Casali added three hits, with Davis, Caissie, and David Peralta adding two.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 4

It didn't come easy, but the Smokies made it two straight against the Trash Pandas with a 5-4 win. Brandon Birdsell delivered his best outing of the game as the Smokies offense scored all five of their runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Birdsell got off to a slow start this season, but after tossing five innings of one-run (0ER) seven-strikeout ball, he appears to be settling in. The only run off of him came off an error in the second, as the Smokies had to play from behind early. It didn't take long for the Smokies offense to tie things up and take the lead as the James Triantos double brought things back to even 1-1 in the fourth.

Later in that inning, it was time for Moises Ballesteros to leave the building as his two-run blast put the Smokies in front for good, 3-1. The hits kept coming in the fifth, with Kevin Alcantara adding an RBI double ahead of the Matt Shaw sacrifice fly as the Smokies opened up a 5-1 lead. Since his horrid start to the season, Alcantara has started to get dialed in, as he has been one of the best hitters in the lineup for the past 10 games.

Despite a comfortable lead, the Smokies offense went cold the rest of the game, and it gave Rocket City a chance to battle back. That all started with former Smokies C Tyler Payne picking up an RBI single in the sixth as things were now 5-2. Tucker Flint then took it upon himself to try and will his team to a victory as he picked up RBI singles in both the seventh and ninth inning to make things 5-4, but that was as close as things would get.

Ballesteros and Alcantara did most of the damage with four hits and three RBIs, while Hayden Cantrelle picked up multiple hits.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 4 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

It looks like it is going to be one of those years for South Bend, as they simply can't buy a win right now. That is surprising when you look at their roster as most of this team knows what it takes to be successful. After a strong start from Will Sanders, who saw the Cubs leading 2-1 after five, the bullpen let it get away, as Quad Cities scored three times in the sixth to double up South Bend.

Thompson didn't last long, going just three innings, but with six strikeouts, he had all of his pitches working. He needed to have those pitches working, as Ben Kudrna was equally as good, allowing just two runs in five innings with six strikeouts. South Bend opened the scoring with a Yohendrick Pinango groundout in the first, only to have Dustin Dickerson tie things up with a single in the second.

Those would be the lone runs for the next several innings until a Reivaj Garcia single in the bottom half of the fifth put the Cubs back in front 2-1. All it took for Quad Cities to win this game was one pitch, and that pitch in the sixth when Omar Hernandez took Angel Hernandez deep for his first homer of the season and capped off the 4-2 victory.

South Bend did pick up 10 hits, with Garcia, Brett Bateman, and Casey Opitz leading the way with two.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 15 - LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 2

It's been a long time since the Pelicans have been able to win a game like this, as they dominated the Hillcats 15-2. What stands out the most about this game was scoring all 15 runs in only three innings, anchored by their eight-run sixth to put the game away.

Anytime you can give your starting pitcher plenty of support, it's a good thing, but the Pelicans took the early support to a brand new level. Nick Dean got the start and allowed one run through four innings with five strikeouts. The same can be said about Ty Johnson in relief, as he pitched 1/3 of an innings less than Dean, but matched him with five strikeouts and one run allowed.

With the score tied 0-0 entering the third, the Pelicans' offense came to life, as the Wally Soto double gave Myrtle Beach the lead for good, 2-0. That was followed by a Jacob Wetzel triple and an Andy Gariola single as the Pelicans opened up an early 4-0 lead. The Wetzel triple will go down as the game-winning hit, as those four runs would be all the offense would need.

As if the four runs in the third weren't enough, why not make it seven as the Pelicans offense tacked on three more runs? Christopher Paciolla started the scoring with a solo blast, while Cristian Hernandez added a two-run double to push the lead to 7-0.

Once the sixth inning rolled around, the Pelicans offense put the clamps on as they added eight more runs to take the 15-1 lead. A Carter Trice homer started that massive inning, while a pair of RBI groundouts from Wetzel and Gariola extended the lead to 11-1. Reggie Preciado added an RBI single, with Leonel Espinoza picking up a two-run triple as the Pelicans offense was in full swing 15-1.

Wilfredo Auntenez ended the shutout with an RBI double in the fourth, while the Juan Benjamin single closed out the scoring in the seventh. Everyone in the Pelicans lineup had at least one hit, with Espinoza leading the way with three hits and Trice adding two. Those two were also two of the five hitters to record multiple RBIs, joined by Soto, Cristian Hernandez, and Gariola.

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