8/12: Around the Cubs Minor League System

The Cubs minor’s report for Sunday, August 12.

FULL BOX SCORE

The AZL Cubs took a 6-1 lead early, but lost a heartbreaker 10-8, giving up five in the seventh.  Albert Almora continued to impress going 2-for-3 with a double, one RBIs, and two runs scored.  Carlos Penalver and Alberto Mineo each had two hits with Penalver hitting a double and driving a run in.  Garrett Schlect and Trevor Gretzky each had a hit with Schlect knocking one in.  Jacob Rogers and Yasiel Balaguert also drove in a run.  Ryan McNeil started, giving up one run on two hits, while striking out two in two innings.  Jin-Young Kim struck out two and gave up two unearned runs.  After Arturo Maltos-Garcia gave up a run in his one inning the game really took a turn.  Corbin Hoffner took the loss, but didn’t get any help giving up six unearned runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings.  Jasvir Rakkar recorded the last four outs not allowing a baserunner and striking one out.  The Cubs need to be better defensively as they gave up eight unearned runs on Sunday.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Salem Keizer scored five in the seventh and held on to beat Boise 10-9.  Justin Amlung started for the Hawks pitching the first two innings allowing one run on three hits and striking out one.  Michael Heesch gave up two runs in his two innings of work.  James Pugliese was not very good on Sunday giving up seven runs, five earned on eight hits in just 2.2 innings.  Matt Iannazzo gave the Hawks a chance getting the final seven outs not allowing a run and striking out two.  Boise had a few nice nights at the plate on Sunday.  Xavier Batista was 2-for-4 with a two home runs and five RBIs.  Wilson Contreras also got into the fun going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.  Marco Hernandez also had two hits and Stephen Bruno went 3-for-5.  We have come to expect great things from Dan Vogelbach, but tonight was not his night as he went 0-for-5.  Boise will look to get back on track in their next one.

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FULL BOX SCORE

After beating Beloit yesterday Peoria dropped one today losing 6-5.  Zeke DeVoss was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a stolen base, his 34th of the season.  Wes Darvill had his second nice game in a row going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.  Pin-Chieh Chen and Dustin Geiger each had a hit and drove in a run a piece.  Our nightly Jorge Soler watch was back in effect as he went 1-for-3 with a walk.  After his outstanding outing earlier in the week Starling Peralta was back on the mound on Sunday.  He pitched six innings allowing six runs, three earned on five hits and five walks.  Pete Levitt pitched the final two innings, striking out two and not allowing a run.  Soler and the Chiefs will be back in action against the Snappers tomorrow.

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Daytona was cancelled once again on Sunday.

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FULL BOX SCORE

The Tennessee Smokies pitching staff was the story in this one beating Huntsville 4-0.  In his first start Yoannis Negrin pitched great throwing five innings giving up no runs on one hit and striking out four.  Zach Rosscup and Casey Weathers combined to pitch the next 2.2 innings and Frank Batista recorded his 21st save striking out two in 1.1 innings.  A big congrats to Justin Bour as he drove in two runs on one hit bring his RBI total to 100.  Junior Lake went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Logan Watkins had a nice night going 1-for-2 with three walks, three runs scored, and two stolen bases.  Matt Szczur and Jae-Hoon Ha each had a hit of their own.  We’ll see if the Smokies can keep it going.

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FULL BOX SCORE

In a continuation from Saturday Iowa hung on to beat Las Vegas 10-8 in game one.  Greg Rohan was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Dave Sappelt added three hits of his own, including two doubles and a triple.  He also scored two runs and drove two in.  Blake Lalli has been getting some more playing time and has been doing quite well as he added two hits of his own, including a home run and two RBIs.  Jeff Frazier and Brian Esposito each had two hits with Frazier knocking in three.  The Cubs had to use a lot of pitchers in this one as Casey Coleman had to leave early and the game was called when winning pitcher Esmailin Caridad was on the mound when the game was called Saturday.  Blake Parker, Marcus Hatley and Jay Jackson combined to pitch the next 3.2 innings before giving the ball to Jairo Asencio.  Asencio closed out game one recording his second save.

FULL BOX SCORE

Iowa dropped game two to Las Vegas losing 3-2 in a seven inning game.  Frankie De La Cruz started and took the loss giving up all three runs on five hits in five innings.  He also struck out seven and walked four.  In his return to Iowa Scott Maine pitched the final inning of this one.  Alfredo Amezaga was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI.  Blake Lalli and Diory Hernandez each had two hits of their own in game two.  Greg Rohan added a hit and knocked in a run, his 13th since being in Iowa.  It’s good to see Iowa get the split in this one.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

 

8/8: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Sorry this is getting up later than normal, but here is Wednesday’s minor league recap.

FULL BOX SCORE

The AZL Cubs pick up where they left off beating the Dodgers 5-2.  Paul Blackburn started and pitched two innings giving up two unearned runs on four hits, while striking out two.  Chad Martin got his first win of the season pitching two scoreless innings.  Dillon Maples then went to the mound and struck out three in his two innings of scoreless baseball.  Corbin Hoffner then pitched two scoreless followed by Ryan Hartman notching his second save of the season.  Offensively Davie Bote had a really nice game going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Treveor Gretzky was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.  Shawon Dunston also added two hit, including a triple and he drove in a run.  Albert Almora had a hit and an RBI, his seventh of the season.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Another night and another win for Boise beating Everett 8-6.  Dan Vogelbach hit another home run, this one a two-run shot.  Rock Shoulders also hit a home run, his was a grand slam.  Jeimer Candelario had a hit and an RBI of his own.  Wilson Contreras was the only Hawks player to have a multi-hit game ending the night 2-for-4.  Gioskar Amaya only had one hit, but did score three runs.  Jose Arias pitched good enough to get the win, but did allow three runs on four hits while striking out six.  Hayden Simpson pitched three innings allowing three runs, but struck out four and Eduardo Orozco preserved the lead notching his third save pitching a scoreless ninth.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Peoria gave up four in the eighth and one in the ninth to put the game into extra innings.  It took until the 14th when the Chiefs put up two, Burlington came right back and scored three and won the game 9-8.  Timothy Saunders went 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two stolen bases.  Paul Hoilman also had two hits, including a home run and two RBIs.  Dustin Geiger added two hits and three RBIs and Zeke DeVoss went 3-for-7 with two runs scored and a stolen base.  Yao-Lin Wang got the start and pitched outstanding going six strong innings.  he allowed only one run on three hits and struck out 10 without walking a batter.  Luis Liria and Austin Reed both struggled combining to allow five runs in three innings.  Sheldon McDonald pitched three nice innings, but Pete Levitt took the loss allowing all three runs in the 14th.  It really should have never gotten to extra innings, but then to take a lead there and still lose is a tough pill to swallow.

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Daytona was postponed due to rain.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Huntsville scored three in the first and three more in the third and never looked back beating Tennessee 7-2.  Junior Lake was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, he is now hitting .288.  Matt Szczur went 1-for-5 with a triple and an RBI.  In really good new Jae-Hoon Ha was back on the field for the first time since his scary collision with an unpadded wall that led to a concussion.  He ended the night 1-for-4.  Dallas Beeler started and took the loss giving up six runs, five earned in the just three innings pitched.  Casey Harman pitched three nice innings allowing only one run on three hits and striking out two.  Casey Weathers, Tony Zych, and Frank Batista combined to pitch the last three scoreless innings.  It was really nice to see Ha back on the field, hope he can stay there the rest of the way.

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FULL BOX SCORE

The game was tied at one going to the extra innings, but Reno scored four in the 10th and beat Iowa 5-1.  Ryan Rowland-Smith got the start and pitched beautifully allowing one run on only two hits in six innings of work.  Blake Parker continues hit rehab pitching one scoreless inning.  Jay Jackson pitched two good innings, but struggled in the 10th allowing four runs in taking the loss.  Greg Rohan did not have a hit, but drove in the lone Cubs run.  Dave Sappelt was 1-for-4 with a double and Matt Tolbert was the only Cubs player with a multi-hit game going 2-for-2 with a double of his own.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

8/6: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Looking at the Cubs system on Monday, August 8.  Daytona had the day off.

FULL BOX SCORE

The AZL Cubs were able to tie the game at eight in the bottom of the ninth, but gave up two in the 10th to lose 10-8.  Pierce Johnson took the mound for the second time and thew two scoreless innings, striking out two.  As good as Carlos Martinez-Pumarino was in his first 29 innings pitched Monday was a real struggle.  He gave up seven runs, six earned on seven hits in just 1.1 innings.  Jasvir Rakkar struck out two in two scoreless innings.  Alvido Jimenez took the loss, his third of the season giving up two runs in the tenth.  Justin Marra had really nice night at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBIs.  Garrett Schlecht also had three hits on the night and drove one in.  David Bote had two RBIs and Ben Carhart added one.  Albert Almora had one hit and Jorge Soler was back in the lineup going 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Wow, Boise did it again beating Everett 11-7.  The story in this one was the offense as they pounded out 14 hits to go along with the 11 runs they scored.  After a rough game yesterday Gioskar Amaya got back on track, going 3-for-5 with a home run.  Rock Shoulders got the start at first tonight and delivered going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Carlos Escobar had two hits including a home run and two RBIs.  Stephen Bruno also hit a homer and ended with two RBIs as well.  Trey Martin ended the night with two RBIs and Wilson Contreras added a double and an RBI as well.  The staff struggled on Monday.  Justin Amlung started, but only lasted two innings giving up two runs.  Felix Pena did not pitch well in four innings, but did get his first win of the year.  He gave up four runs in four innings, however he did strike out five.  Nathan Dorris secured the win notching his first save of the season, striking out three in 1.1 innings.  The Hawks continue to roll and look to keep it going.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Peoria dropped their fifth in a row losing to Clinton 8-6.  Leading 4-1 after the first, this was not the outcome Peoria had in mind.  The Chiefs did a few good things at the plate on Monday.  Bijan Rademacher, Wes Darvill, and Sergio Burruel all had two hits, Darvill and Burruel driving in a run a piece.  Timothy Saunders was 1-for-5 with a double, but drove in three runs and scored one.  Zeke DeVoss added a hit out of the leadoff spot and also stole his 30th base of the season.  Zach Cates got the start, but did not factor in the decision tossing 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits.  Pete Levitt pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings and was in line for the win.  Justin Berg struggled and took the loss allowing three runs, two earned in two innings.  Jeffry Antigua couldn’t keep it close enough for the Chiefs as he gave up two runs in only one inning.  This was another tough loss for Peoria on Monday.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Tennessee score two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the Smokies lost to Jackson 7-6.  Tennessee did have 10 hits and seven runs, so the offense did a pretty nice job.  What else can you say about Justin Bour.  He hit another home run today, his 15th of the season and ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Junior Lake continued his solid season going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.  Matt Szczur, who has been struggling since moving to Tennessee went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and a stolen base.  Lendy Castillo started and pitched only two innings allowing one run on one hit and striking out two.  Dae-Eun Rhee just didn’t have it tonight, allowing six runs in five innings and taking the loss.  The story in this one was Justin Bour who is just tearing it up right now.

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FULL BOX SCORE 

Iowa gave up a run in the top of the ninth losing to Reno 2-1.  Frankie De La Cruz pitched five innings allowing only one run, while striking out four and walking three.  Blake Parker and Michael Bowden combined to throw three scoreless innings, but Jairo Asencio took the loss allowing one run in the ninth.  Greg Rohan had nice night at the dish going 2-for-4 with the Cubs lone RBI.  Blake Lalli also added to hits, including a double.  Alfredo Amezaga also had a double and Dave Sappelt contributed with a base hit of his own.  Unfortunately I have feeling this is how most games are going to go offensively for Iowa the rest of the way.  Let’s hope I am wrong and they can do something positive going forward.

5/11: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Here is your nightly recap for the Cubs minor league system, enjoy.

FULL BOX SCORE 

The bottom of the order came through in a big way for the Chiefs as the knocked off Beloit 6-2.  Marco Hernandez, and Yaniel Cabezas each went 3-for-4, Hernandez had one RBI, while Cabezas had two.  Michael Jensen was good one again for Peoria going a strong 5 and 2/3rds.  Jensen only allowed one run on five hits to improve to 4-2 on the season.  Jeffery Lorick shut the door once again as he earned his 5th save of the season and lowered his ERA to 0.64.

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Rain outs are dumb.

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FULL BOX SCORE 

The Smokies faced the Generals tonight and I will give you one guess as to what happened.  You’re right, the Smokies were shut down completely, except for a run in the ninth inning on their way to a 2-1 loss.  Brooks Raley did everything he could to get a win for the Smokies, but he ended up getting the loss.  Raley went 7 strong innings, only allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven.  He falls to 1-2 and improves his ERA to 3.50 on the season.  Nate Samson had another big night going 3-for-4, unfortunately he couldn’t get any at bats with guys on base.

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FULL BOX SCORE

Anthony Rizzo continued his unreal 2012 with his 11th home run of the season in a 6-5 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies.  Josh Vitters and Ty Wright also went deep for Iowa as the Cubs pounded out 11 hits and six runs.  Travis Wood was pretty good on the mound going six strong innings to earn his second win of the season.  Blake Parker did some tight rope walking in the 9th inning, but earned his 4th save of the year after giving up two runs to make it close.

Thanks for reading,
– George

5/4: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Here is your nightly recap for the Cubs minor league system, enjoy.

FULL BOX SCORE

The Peoria Chiefs made thing interesting by tying the game in the top of the 9th, unfortunately they lost the game in the bottom half.  Marco Hernandez, and Taiwan Easterling each had two hits in the losing effort.  Kyler Burke was very good for Peoria on the mound going 6 and 1/3rds of an inning, only allowing three runs on five hits, he settled for a no decision.

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FULL BOX SCORE

 All of the action took place early and often in this one as all 11 runs were scored in the first four innings, unfortunately Daytona came out on the short end of this one 6-5.  Rubi Silva, Greg Rohan and Nelson Perez did most of the damage for the D-Cubs.  They finished a combined 4-for-11 with three doubles, four RBI’s and four runs scored.  Zach Cates was beat up a bit in his three innings of work as he gave up five runs, four earned as he took a no decision.

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FULL BOX SCORE

 A wild one in Tennessee saw the Smokies build a 5-1 lead early in the game only to fall 8-7 to Montgomery.  The Smokies pounded out 12 hits, with all but one starter joining the party.  Logan Watkins, Michael Brenly, Matthew Cerda, and Nate Samson all had two hits in the losing effort.  Matthew Cerda and Justin Bour contributed with home runs as well.  Dallas Beeler scattered 11 hits through 5 and 1/3rds of an inning giving up six runs but only three were earned as he walked away with a no decision.

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FULL BOX SCORE

 Now that’s the definition of a good old fashion pitchers duel right there.  In a game that featured only one run, and nine hits, the Iowa Cubs walked off on a wild pitch.  Luis Valbuena had 3 of the I-Cubs’ six hits with Anthony Rizzo adding two more.  Rizzo scored the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth on said wild pitch.  The I-Cubs staff was stellar, Rodrigo Lopez, Frankie De La Cruz, and Blake Parker held New Orleans to three hits on the night with Parker getting the victory.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Around the Minors – April 16, 2012

Due to some technical difficulties I was not able to post each game separately last night like I usually do.  Instead here is a recap of last nights events.

I-Cubs Survive Late Scare, Beat Round Rock

That finish was sketchy to say the least.  The game was all but over heading into the bottom of the ninth but Iowa pitchers could not find the plate and the result was Round Rock almost pulling off the upset.  It was a headliner night for the Cubs big prospects as Castillo, Jackson, and Rizzo had solid efforts.  Brett Jackson was back in the lineup after a day off yesterday and delivered with a solo home run late in the game which turned out to be an important run.  Welington Castillo continued his hot start going 3-for-4 with a home run, and Rizzo went 3-for-4 with two home runs on the night.  That brings Rizzo HR total to five in just nine games so far.  Jay Jackson had a solid outing going 5 innings and only allowing two runs on five hits.  Full box score after the jump.

Rizzo Powers I-Cubs to Victory

Anthony Rizzo continues his assault on triple-A pitching Monday night going 3 for 3 including tow homers and three RBI’s in Iowa’s 10-6 victory.  Adrian Cardenas and Josh Vitters both had two hits on the night as Iowa pounded out 12 in total.  Not wanting to be left out, Iowa’s starting pitcher Travis Wood hit a two run homer to go along with his solid start on the mound.  Wood gave up three runs on four hits over six innings of work, he only walked one and struck out six to earn the win.

FULL BOX SCORE

Iowa Cubs
Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Tony Campana	LF	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.381
Brett Jackson	CF	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.381
Luis Valbuena	SS	3	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	.500
Anthony Rizzo	1B	3	2	3	0	0	2	3	1	0	.474
Welington Castillo	C	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.182
Adrian Cardenas	2B	3	2	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	.278
Dave Sappelt	RF	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	.150
Josh Vitters	3B	4	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	.357
Travis Wood	P	2	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	.500
Manuel Corpas	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Esmailin Caridad	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a- Ty Wright	PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Blake Parker	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Iowa Cubs
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Travis Wood (W, 1-0)	6.0	4	3	3	1	6	0	4.50
Manuel Corpas	0.1	2	3	2	2	0	0	7.71
Esmailin Caridad (H, 1)	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Blake Parker	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00

Thanks for reading,
– George Cotugno

Mather Lines Game Winning HR Against Rangers, Volstad Great Again

Joe Mather made another huge statement on Sunday, hitting a game winning solo shot in the top of the 9th inning against the Rangers.  A home run that might have cemented his spot on the Cubs bench for the upcoming season.  Mather has been fantastic this Spring, hitting .379, with 2 HR’s, and 7 RBI in 29 Spring at bats.

Cubs Watch Five Run Lead Disappear in Loss

Cubs radio play-by-play voice Pat Hughes hit the nail on the head entering the sixth inning when he said it’s a completely different team out there.  Such is spring training, the longer the game goes the earlier in the Spring the more players are swapped in and out.  The Cubs dominated for the first six innings today, as they built up a 6-1 lead by the bottom of the 4th inning behind a three run shot by Blake Dewitt in the second, and run scoring singles by Clevenger and Barney in the fourth.  The Cubs were clicking on all cylinders as they were working counts where necessary and jumping on fastballs early in the count when the situation called for it.