Cubs Minor League News: Cubs go 2-4 as walk-off losses sting

Patrick Gorski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · Saturday, July 26 2025

For the second consecutive night, wins were tough to come by for the Cubs as they have struggled in most areas of the game. Tonight, it was the offense that struggled in most cases, resulting in a 2-4 record on the day.

LOUISVILLE BATS 6 - IOWA CUBS 5

Of all the losses on Friday, this is the one that stings the most as the Bats walked off the Cubs in the ninth to grab the win. It has been a long time since Brandon Birdsell toed the rubber in AAA, but now that his first AAA start of the season is over, he will look to build off it.

The right-hander pitched into the sixth inning, allowing three runs and striking out three in what was a solid first start. Birdsell was backed by a first-inning error that gave the Cubs the lead, but with Edwin Rios taking him deep in the second, this was a 1-1 game early. The back-and-forth affair continued the next few innings with Christian Franklin putting the Cubs on top 2-1 in the third before another homer from Rece Hinds made things 2-2 through four.

Once again, the Cubs had an answer to the Bats and their offense as their big blow came in the fifth when Ben Cowles cleared the bases with an RBI triple to make this a 5-2 game. That was it for the Cubs and their offense, as it was going to be up to the pen to hold the Bats off. All three of the runs Birdsell allowed came on the long ball, with Rios touching him up for the second time in the sixth to pull the Bats within 5-3.

Then came the seventh, where Luke Little pitched himself into trouble only to have Hector Rodriguez cash in with a massive single that brought things back to even 5-5. That score would hold until the ninth when Francisco Urbaez delivered the game-winning and walk-off single against Gavin Hollowell to hand the Bats a 6-5 win. Cowles, Greg Allen, and Jonathon Long led the Cubs with two hits.

PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 5 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 1

When things are going well for the Smokies, it's the pitching that leads the way, but when things go south, they go south in a hurry. Take tonight, for example, where the Smokies found themselves in a 0-0 tie through six innings before the Blue Wahoos scored four times in the seventh en route to a 5-1 win.

Grant Kipp was about as good as you can be in his five innings, walking two and striking out five while allowing just one hit. The same can be said about Orlando Ortiz-Mayr, who also went five scoreless innings on the mound, walking two and striking out four. With things knotted up 0-0 entering the seventh, it was the Blue Wahoos breaking the scoreless tie as the Ryan Ignoffo double put the Blue Wahoos on top for good, 1-0.

Shane Sasaki followed that up with a double of his own to push the lead to 3-0 with a passed ball leading to the fourth run of the inning. Pensacola would add a run in the ninth off a balk to extend their lead to 5-0, only to have the Smokies put an end to the shutout with a run in the ninth before falling 5-1. Pedro Ramirez and Reivaj Garcia paced the Cubs with two hits.

DAYTON DRAGONS 4 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1

For the second straight game, it was the Cubs' offense that was held in check as the Dragons evened up the series with a 4-1 win. Brooks Caple took the ball for the Cubs, giving up three runs in 3 2/3 innings as he wasn't at his best on the mound.

That alone was far too much to overcome as Luke Hayden struck out seven across 5 2/3 strong innings. It took three innings for the game's first runs to score as the Dragons manufactured a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead. Carlos Jorge delivered the game's first run with a sacrifice fly, while a bases-loaded walk led to the game-winning run.

Jorge added to his game with an RBI single in the fourth as the Dragons opened up a 3-0 game. Still trailing by that score in the sixth, it was the Cubs cashing in for the first and only time as Cristian Hernandez came home on a wild pitch to pull the Cubs within 3-1. That was as close as they would get as the Carlos Sanchez RBI forceout put an end to the scoring in a 4-1 Dragons win.

Hernandez had one of the two hits for the Cubs, joining Rafael Morel.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 5 (F/10)

The lone win of the night for the full-season teams came on the beach, where the Pelicans took care of the Fireflies in extras 6-5. It was a whirlwind of emotions for Walker Powell, who was taking a full season mound for the first time in what seems like forever.

Powell wasn't perfect, but with three strikeouts across four innings and two runs allowed, he showed the promise he had before the injury. Powell was backed by an offense that gave him four runs of support early as the Pelicans opened up a 4-0 lead after two.

The first of those runs came on a first-inning error while a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Christian Olivo extended their lead to 2-0 in the second. That was the beginning of what was a three-run second inning as an Alexey Lumpuy RBI forceout and the Leonel Espinoza fielder's choice gave the Birds a commanding 4-0 lead.

It was in the third inning when the Fireflies' offense started to get rolling as Angel Acosta's double pulled the Fireflies within 4-1, followed by Colton Becker's single to make this a 4-2 game. Becker was just getting started, as he added a second RBI single in the fifth, and just like that, this was a 4-3 game.

That score would hold until the eighth when Yahil Melendez made his presence felt as his RBI single pushed the Pelicans' lead back to 5-3. Down to their final three outs, it was the Fireflies who began to rally late as another Stone Russell single pulled Columbia within 5-4, only to have a bases-loaded walk tie things up and send the game into extras.

In the extra frame, it was the Pelicans who had the last laugh as Derik Alcantara made his presence felt with a walkoff single to lift the Pelicans to the 6-5 win. He was one of five players to record a hit as Angel Cepeda led the way with two.