Cubs Minor League News: South Bend walks Off, Smokies slip again, more |
Dustin Riese
· · Wednesday, August 20 2025
It was more of the same for the Cubs and their Minor League system on Tuesday. The ones in the playoff hunt took care of business and kept on rolling, while the ones on the outside looking in continued to struggle. All that put together makes another 2-2 day down on the farm, 3-3 if you count the conclusion of Rookie League Ball.
For the first time since they became a AAA franchise, the Sugarland Space Cowboys, formally known as the Skeeters, faced off in Des Moines to take on the Iowa Cubs. In what was a competitive game start to finish, it was the Cowboys getting the job done 4-3. After dominating AA pitching the past two seasons, Antonio Santos got the bump to AAA and made his first start on Tuesday. While the final line doesn't look great with four runs allowed in five innings, only two of those were earned as he also struck out six. Pedro Leon delivered the first blow of the game for Sugarland as his two-run shot in the third put the Space Cowboys on top for good, 2-0. Sugarland added to their lead in the fourth off an error, leading to the other two runs, and opened up a 4-0 Space Cowboys lead. That would be it for the Sugarland offense as Zach Pop, Tyson Miller, and Porter Hodge took care of business, setting things up for the offense to potentially battle back. They started to do that in the fifth with James Triantos narrowly missing a homer to settle with a double, and then raced home on the Carlos Perez double. Kevin Alcantara kept the line moving as his RBI single brought home another run to make this a 4-2 game. That score would hold until the ninth when Perez added a sacrifice fly to pull Iowa within one, but they would fall by that score.
For the first time in five seasons, the Smokies don't appear to be heading to the postseason, and that comes as a shock given what they have done since 2021. Tuesday was more of the same for the Smokies as they were never able to settle in, falling to Montgomery 5-2. With Santos getting the bump to AAA, Knoxville had an opening in their rotation and chose to fill it with Chase Watkins, as he gave the Smokies four innings of two-run (0ER) baseball. Watkins was backed by a third-inning homer off the bat of Ethan Hearn to put the Smokies on top 1-0, but that was all the offense Ty Cummings would allow as the right-hander struck out five across six strong innings. Immediately after taking the lead, the Smokies served it up as a Kenny Piper single made this a 2-1 game and put the Biscuits in front for good. Montgomery added to their lead in the later innings with Homer Bush Jr picking up a pair of RBIs off a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly, while Jadher Areinamo delivered a late single. You also had Jordan Nwogu come through with an RBI single in the seventh that made this a 3-2 game, before the Biscuits pulled away for the 5-2 win. Brett Bateman paced the Smokies with two hits as his average is a steady .262 for the season.SUGARLAND SPACE COWBOYS 4 - IOWA CUBS 3
MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 5 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 2
SOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2
It's hard to believe that the Cubs have been one of the worst teams in the Midwest League since the start of the season. Yet, here we are with just over two weeks remaining, and the Cubs are in a battle for first place as they continue to fight for a playoff spot.
Their second-half surge continued on Tuesday as another strong pitching performance, mixed with timely hitting, gave the Cubs a massive 3-2 win. Connor Schultz took the ball for the Cubs as he was looking to continue his recent improvement on the mound. With 5 2/3 innings of six strikeouts, two-run baseball, that run continued as his ERA has fallen to 4.06 after hovering around 6.00 most of the first half.
Both teams managed to pick up a run in the first two innings, with the Cubs scoring first on a double play while the Kernels answered with an error in the second. That 1-1 score would hold until the fifth inning when an Eduardo Tait single put the Kernels on top 2-1, which wound up being the final run they would score.
With Ty Langenberg striking out six across seven dominant frames, it was looking like two runs would be enough, only to have Ariel Armas come through with another clutch double in the sixth to bring things back to even 2-2. Things would remain tied entering the ninth as the Cubs were down to their final three outs with extra innings lingering.
Leave it to Brian Kalmer to change that as he came through with a walk-off sacrifice fly as the Cubs picked up a walk-off win over the Kernels 3-2. South Bend only had five hits in the game, but they made those hits count, which is all you can ask for.
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 2
The beat goes on for the Pelicans as another complete game performance leads to another win as they continue to dominate the Carolina League in the second half. Should they keep this pace up, they will have a playoff spot clinched by the end of next week, as it's becoming more likely that there will be postseason ball for the Cubs this season.
This was one of those outings that Alfredo Romero would like back as the right-hander was far from at his best. Sure, he allowed just one run in 3 2/3, but with five walks and five punchouts, he didn't make things easy for himself. Alfredo was backed by an Alexey Lumpuy first-inning single that put the Pelicans in front 1-0 as they were off and running again.
Romero single-handedly gave the lead back as his lack of command gave him issues in the fourth with a wild pitch leading to the game-tying run. Immediately following that run, it was the Pelicans' offense putting the game away as they erupted for three runs to open up a 4-1 lead. Angel Cepeda and Christian Olivo started the damage with a pair of RBI singles, while Ty Southisene worked a bases-loaded walk.
With Charleston picking up another run in the fifth off a bases-loaded hit by pitch, this game was far from over as the Riverdogs were hanging tough 4-2. Fortunately for the Pelicans, that was the final run of the day for Charleston as a four-run seventh broke the game open in what was an 8-2 Birds win.
Eli Lovich played a role in that seventh inning with an RBI single, but it was Cepeda's big fly that provided most of the damage as his three-run homer capped off the scoring in the win. Cepeda was one of three players to record multiple hits and drove in four in the win. Lumpuy and Lovich added the other two hit games.
DSL CUBS BLUE 6 - DSL REDS 2
Although the season as a whole wasn't what the Cubs were hoping for, they did manage to end the season on a positive note, downing the Reds 6-2. Chaily Ramirez got the start for the Cubs, going three innings and allowing just one run as the Cubs' quick-strike offense took care of business.
All it took for DSL Blue to put the game away were a pair of two-run innings to open the game as Ronnyel Espinoza kicked off the scoring with a two-run triple in the first that put the Cubs on top for good, 2-0. The Reds managed to pull within 2-1 with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, only to have Ezequiel Pena deliver a two-run single in the second to push the lead to 4-1.
That was only the start for what was to come for the Cubs as Julio Acosta tacked on an RBI single in the third to make this a 5-1 game with Luis Sanchez closing out the scoring in the fourth with a solo shot. Diego Munoz added a sacrifice fly of his own in the bottom of the fourth, but it wasn't enough as the Cubs handled the Reds 6-2.
DSL PIRATES 8 - DSL CUBS RED 3
Despite a fast start to the game that saw the Cubs score three times, that was it for their offense as the Pirates' pitching held them in check the rest of the way. Pair that with some late-game offense, including a four-run seventh inning, and you're looking at a season ending 8-3 loss as another miserable season came to an end.
While most of their offense came late, the Pirates couldn't have asked for a better start to the game as a pair of RBI doubles from Victor Marquez and Victor Familia opened up a quick 2-0 game in the first, with Luis Cruz tacking on a third run in the second on a triple. Before that triple, it was the Cubs' offense responding as they took the Pirates' initial blow and flipped the script with a massive first inning of their own.
All it took for the Cubs' offense to get rolling was an RBI double from Luis Leon, and just like that, this was a 2-1 game. That triple was followed by a pair of RBI singles from Jeury Ramirez and Ivan Cespedes as the Cubs stormed back to take a 3-2 lead. That was it for the Cubs offense as both pitching staffs settled to make things difficult the rest of the way.
After tying the game in the second inning, this remained a 3-3 game until the sixth, when the Pirates grabbed the lead for good as Yoander Santana's single made this a 4-3 game. One inning later, it was the Pirates delivering the knockout blow as they tacked on four runs to break things open 8-3. Hyun Seung Lee started things off with a two-run single, while Antonio Pimentel's double closed out the scoring for the Pirates.
