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Cubs Minor League News: Velazquez homers, Alcantara with 3 hits, Young homers, more

Cubs Minor League News: Velazquez homers, Alcantara with 3 hits, Young homers, more
by - Senior Writer - Fri Jun 09 20:01:07 GMT-04:00 2023

If you have ever watched the Movie Dodgeball before, there was a part in the movie where there were talking about ESPN the Ocho. Granted, that was a made-up channel for the movie, but when you look at the Cubs system on Thursday, Ocho was the number of choices.

Not only were all seven affiliated teams in action but there was a double header going on in St. Paul, which gave the Cubs and their fans eight games to keep tabs on. That is a lot of action, and the Cubs posted a decent 4-4 showing for the day.

IOWA CUBS 13 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 3

The busiest team on Thursday was the Iowa Cubs, who had a doubleheader against the Saints. Game one saw the Cubs make quick work of Saint Paul, as their offense pounded out 13 runs to back a strong pitching performance on the mound. Ben Brown was on the bump for the Cubs and gave the Cubs what he could despite struggling with his command.

Brown pitched into the fifth and allowed two runs on only five hits. His big issue was the walks, as he walked six and struck out seven in a no-decision effort. Thankfully for him, the offense showed up and got him off the hook. Not only did the Cubs score 15 runs, but they all came in the first five innings, which is more impressive.

A fielder's choice in the first gave Iowa the lead for good before David Bote connected for a single to make things 2-0. After the Saints pulled within 2-1 after one, it was all Iowa from there, with Yonathan Perlaza and Jared Young picking up singles in the second to push the lead to 5-1. A Darius Hill double in the third stretched the lead to 6-1 before he came around to score on the Chase Strumpf single.

The big inning for Iowa came in the fourth, which started with a Hill double to make things 8-1. Strumpf delivered the big blow in that frame as his three-run shot extended the Cubs lead to 11-1, with Young adding a two-run shot later in the game to cap off the scoring.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 7 - IOWA CUBS 6 F/8

Looking to complete a huge two-game sweep, the Cubs had their chances to get it done, but they came up short to get walked off in extras. The big story in this one was the continued struggles of Keegan Thompson, who had something seriously wrong with him.

Thompson gave the Cubs one inning, but it was rough as he allowed four runs. Despite striking out three, he also walked three, as this season has been a struggle in every asset. That four-run frame erased what was a 3-1 lead for Iowa as Hill got off to another great start. Along with Hill, Nelson Velazquez picked up his eighth homer of the season while adding an RBI single later in the game.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 7 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 6

When the season started, many thought this Smokies team had a chance to be the best team in the system. When you look at how they have played the past few weeks, you are starting to see that as they have surged into first place in their division. Looking to make it three for three to start the week, the Smokies held a three-run late only to have a four-run eighth inning prove to be the difference.

Porter Hodge got the start and, despite not lasting long, did what he needed to do. Hodge was charged with three earned runs while striking out five as he continues to battle through some things this year. His early struggles put the Smokies in a hole as Brett Kerry was locked in through five, allowing just one run on four hits with five punchouts.

All the damage against Hodge came in the first two innings, with former Cub Tyler Payne giving the Trash Pandas a 2-0 lead with a single in the first. Throw in an RBI fielder's choice in the second, and the Trash Pandas opened up a 3-0 lead with the Smokies offense looking a bit sluggish early.

It took four innings for Tennessee to push their first run across, with Haydn McGeary going deep for the solo shot. Throw in a balk to make things 3-2 in the sixth; it was the seventh inning when the Smokies got rolling as they clawed back to take the lead. That big inning started with a bases-loaded walk to Owen Caissie before McGeary cashed in with an RBI single to put the Smokies in front 5-3.

BJ Murray Jr added a single of his own later in the inning as the Smokies were the ones in control now, 6-3. Looking to close out the game, Samuel Reyes entered to pitch the eighth, and it was a nightmare inning for him. Not only did he allow an RBI single to Kevin Maitan, but Ryan Aguilar tied things up with a two-run shot as the Trash Pandas had the momentum. Rocket City closed out their massive eighth with an RBI fielder's choice as that proved to be the winning run in the 7-6 Rocket City win.

Murray Jr led the way with three hits, while PCA and McGeary added two. McGeary also paced the offense with three RBIs.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - LANSING LUGNUTS 1

Despite their offense continuing to struggle, the Cubs have overcome that in recent days as their pitching has set the tone. One day after Cade Horton came out and dominated the Lugnuts, it was time for Brandon Birdsell to get back to work after a stretch of shaky outings. Birdsell may not have gotten the win, but after holding the Lugnuts to one unearned run in 4 2/3, it was the type of start he desperately needed.

After Birdsell, it was a trio of relievers that slammed the door, including Didier Vargas and Tyler Santana, who struck out a combined five hitters in three innings. The lone run of the game for Lansing came in the first when Max Muncy stole third and came into score on a costly throwing error. Take that away, and the Lugnuts couldn't do anything as the Cubs pitching held down the fort.

Knowing that, the South Bend offense wasted no time tying things up as a fielding error by the Lugnuts made things 1-1. Two innings later, Bryce Ball came through with the game-winning knock as his RBI double put the Cubs in front for good, 2-1. Kevin Alcantara capped off the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth, as South Bend needed just three runs to get the job done. Already with a four-hit game in this series, Alcantara added three more on Thursday and is starting to get into a nice grove in the leadoff spot.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 10 - AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 2

Don't look now, but the Pelicans are suddenly the best team in the Cubs system and a team no one wants to play. Led by an offense that scored seven runs in the final three innings, Myrtle Beach continued to roll as they took down Augusta for the third-consecutive time.

Marino Santy was on the mound for the Pelicans, and despite lasting just four innings, they were four strong innings. Santy walked three and struck out five in his start, but after allowing no runs on one hit, his ERA fell to 3.95. He was given some early run support as the Felix Stevens homer in the second put the Pelicans in front 1-0.

Not only did they lead from start to finish, but they built on that lead in the third, with Moises Ballesteros and Stevens adding RBI singles to make things 3-0. That was the last of the Pelicans offense until the seventh inning when the offense put together their first of what were two massive innings.

Ismael Mena opened the four-run seventh with an RBI single before Parker Chavers raced around the bases for the two-run triple. Ballesteros closed the frame with a sacrifice fly as the Pelicans now led 7-0. Both of the Augusta runs came in the bottom of the eighth when Cory Acton ended the shutout bid with an RBI double. Those runs didn't matter as Chavers connected for a three-run shot in the ninth to cap off his five-RBI day as the Pelicans won again 10-2.

ACL CUBS 2 - ACL RANGERS 0

It took three games for the ACL Cubs to grab their first win, and they did so in impressive fashion. Anytime you can shut out a team in Arizona, you are doing something right, as the Cubs held the Rangers to three hits on Thursday. Carlos Garcia made the start and struck out seven in 3 2/3 very impressive innings.

From there, it was the combination of Brandon Noriega and Tomy Sanchez who combined to allow just one hit across the final 5 1/3 innings. Given the Cubs' pitching performances on the mound, they wouldn't need a ton of offense as both runs came home in the first. The first of those runs was on the game-winning Adan Sanchez single, while a wild pitch brought home the final run.

DSL CUBS BLUE 7 - DSL PIRATES 6 (F/8)

It has been a tale of two teams going in different directions in the DSL as the Cubs Blue Squad rallied to pick up a 7-6 walk off win against the Pirates. Pitching was not the strong suit for the Cubs in this one, as nearly every pitcher allowed at least one run in their outing.

The command was the biggest problem in the early stages, with the Pirates scoring their first two runs of the game on wild pitches before a Tony Blanco Jr single in the third put the Pirates in front 3-0. It took four innings for the Cubs to break through, with Brailin Pascual picking up a sacrifice fly, but the Pirates responded with the John Zorilla homer in the top of the fifth to push their lead to 6-1. Little did they know that those would be the last of the Pirates runs as the Cubs offense started to heat up late.

Immediately after allowing three runs in the top of the fifth, the Cubs offense needed to respond, with Leonel Espinoza ripping a three-run shot of his own to bring the Cubs within 6-4. The Cubs continued their comeback effort in the sixth when Derik Alcantara picked up an RBI single, while an RBI groundout in the seventh sent the game into extras.

In the extra frame, the Cubs cashed in as a wild pitch allowed the game-winning run to score in the walk-off 7-6 win. Espinoza and Grenyerbert Velazquez led the way with two hits, with Espinoza driving in three. Derniche Valdez continued his rough start to the season and went 0-4 with four strikeouts.

DSL RED SOX 7 - DSL CUBS RED 4

Despite a hot start that saw the Cubs open up a three-run lead, they are still searching for their first win, with the Red Sox coming back to win 7-4. It was the Yidel Diaz coming out party as he led the Cubs offense with three hits while driving in all four runs.

Three of those four RBIs came in the first inning when he connected for his first homer of the season via a three-run shot to give the Cubs an early 3-0 lead. After the Red Sox brought home a pair to pull within one, Diaz came through again as his RBI double in the fifth made things 4-2. Unfortunately, that was the last of the Cubs offense as the Red Sox used a massive fifth inning to take the lead for good.

While a wild pitch didn't help the cause for the Cubs, it was only responsible for one run as Aniel Mendoza added an RBI groundout, with Pablo Guerrero picking up the go-ahead and eventual game-winning single to put the Red Sox in front 5-4. Mendoza added a second RBI later in the game with a wild pitch capping off the scoring in what was another loss to open the year.

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