Riding the Bus; Minor League Reports for April 8, 2014

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

 

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The Iowa Cubs are having trouble consistently scoring runs, one night they explode, the next they can’t buy a hit, like tonight.  The I-Cubs could only manage four hits, and one run in the loss tonight.  Chris Valaika, and Chris Coghlan each finished the night going 1-for-4, and that was about it.  Christian Villanueva continued his hot stretch, he went 1-for-3 with a double, and a run scored in the loss.  The only RBI tonight belonged to Eli Whiteside, he was 1-for-3.

On The Mound:

Not a bad job at all from the Cubs staff, they are just in a position where they can’t afford to make any mistakes.  Chris Rusin had a much better second start, but fell to 0-2 on the season.  Rusin worked six innings, giving up three runs, two earned (Baez error), he didn’t walk anyone, and struck out five.  Alberto Cabrera was decent out of the pen, he worked two innings, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out one.  Marcos Mateo finished things up tonight by working one scoreless inning.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

An exciting home opener for the Cougars as they walk off in the 12th inning with a 4-3 victory.  Jacob Hannemann has had a good start to 2014, he was 2-for-5 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored in the win.  Yasiel Balaguert, Daniel Canela, Trey Martin, and Carlos Penalver all finished the night going 1-for-5 as the Cougars could only manage six hits in the twelve inning victory.

On The Mound:

It was an outstanding night for the Cougars pitching, not just the results but who was pitching, very exciting.  Nineteen year old Jen-Ho Tseng got the start and was very good, he just had one rough inning.  Tseng worked five innings, giving up three runs on eights hits, while walking none, and striking out five.  Gerardo Concepcion was the next arm on for the Cougars, and he was brilliant, working three scoreless innings, while walking none, and striking out three.  Both Tyler Bremer, and Zack Godley each worked two scoreless innings out of the pen with Godley picking up the win.

Riding The Bus; Minor League Recaps for April 3, 2014

 

Welcome to “Riding the Bus” —  How about that graphic, eh??  We’re excited, as usual, to bring you recaps of every Cubs minor league game, every night.  Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy it.

 

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The Cougars brought their bats with them in the opener as they pounded Quad Cities pitching to the tune of eight runs on eleven hits.  Jake Hannemann did a nice job out of the lead-off spot tonight, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.  DH for the evening, Ben Carhart was all over the base paths, Carhart was 1-for-2 with three walks (CUBS WAY!), an RBI, and three runs scored.  Dr. Doubles, I mean, Yasiel Balaguert was locked in tonight, he went 4-for-4 with three doubles, and two RBI’s.  The ninth spot in the order also got a spark tonight, Carlos Penalver went 3-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored.

On The Mound:

All in all, a pretty solid effort from the Kane County staff tonight.  2012 first round draft pick Paul Blackburn made his single A debut tonight, and it was hit and miss.  Blackburn worked four innings, giving up four runs on nine hits (not so good), while walking none (good), and striking out three.  The pen was tremendous, Nathan Dorris, James Pugliese, and Jose Arias all had scoreless appearances.  Dorris got the win, as he worked two innings giving up one hit, while walking one and striking out three.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The Daytona Cubs mirrored the Major League club in this one as they dropped a tough 1-0 game to the Manatees.  The D-Cubs could only manage five hits while getting shut out by a quartet of Brevard County pitchers.  Dan Vogelbach was one of the few Cubs to register a hit, he was 1-for-3 in the loss.  Jeimer Candelario, and Marco Hernandez also finished the night going 1-for-3 with a single.  Gioskar Amaya was seeing the ball the best as he went 2-for-2 with a stolen base, and a walk.

On The Mound:

Nothing but good things from the Daytona staff in this one, unfortunately it wasn’t good enough.  Felix Pena got the opening day start and was great, he worked six innings giving up one run on three hits, while walking one and striking out three.  Zach Cates, and Arodys Vizcaino each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Grumble, grumble, grumble.  A tough opening day loss for the Smokies as they built a 5-0 lead early, then lost it late.  Zeke DeVoss, a personal favorite, went 2-for-5 out of the lead-off spot with a triple, and an RBI.  Kris Bryant!  Bryant, making his AA debut tonight went 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Fun fact here, Bryant went deep off Reds starter Mat Latos who was making a rehab start, then Bryant swung at a 3-0 pitch later in the game, then Latos hit him, sucks getting torched in AA doesn’t it, Mat?  Jorge Soler was 1-for-1 with a double in this one, he left early, and I think that was the plan ahead of time as he is coming back from a couple of injuries.

On The Mound:

Tough go of it for the Smokies pitching in this one as they seemed to lose their command as a group.  Dae-Eun Rhee got the start and was solid early, then the plate started jumping around on him.  Rhee worked four innings giving up three runs, two earned, on two hits while walking four, and striking out four.  Ryan Searle took over and was actually pretty good, he worked three innings giving up one run on one hit, while walking three, and striking out five.  Tony Zych took the loss in this one as he worked one inning, giving up two runs on five hits, he didn’t walk or strikeout anyone.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Not a lot went right tonight for the Iowa Cubs as they had trouble scoring, and keeping Memphis from scoring.  Javier Baez made his triple A debut tonight, going 0-for-3 with a walk, and an error.  A rededicated Josh Vitters has a solid night, he went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Christian Villanueva, the new Iowa third baseman went 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored in the loss.

On The Mound:

Not so good.  Chris Rusin, who just lost out to Carlos Villanueva for the number five start spot in Chicago, struggled.  Rusin worked 3.2 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, while walking four, and striking out two.  Yoanner Negrin was lights out tonight, he worked 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit, walking none, and striking out four, stellar.  Casey Coleman, yes, he’s still here, wasn’t sharp, he worked one inning, giving up five runs, four earned, on four hits while walking two, and striking out one.  Mop up duty belonged to Marcus Hatley, and he did a fine job, working one scoreless innings while striking out two.

Thanks for reading!

Cubs Organizational Schedule – 4/3/2014 (MiLB Opening Day!)

It’s opening day again!  Here is the schedule for today…

TRIPLE-A

6:35 PM CST

Memphis Redbirds (0-0) @ Iowa Cubs (0-0)

Memphis – Boone Whiting (0-0; 0.00)
Iowa – Chris Rusin (0-0; 0.00)

 

DOUBLE-A

6:30 PM CST

Tennessee Smokies (0-0) @ Pensacola Blue Wahoos (0-0)

Tennessee – Dae-Eun Rhee (0-0; 0.00)
Pensacola – Mat Latos (0-0; 0.00)

 

CLASS-A (ADVANCED)

5:35 PM CST

Daytona Cubs (0-0) @ Brevard County Manatees (0-0)

Daytona – Felix Pena (0-0; 0.00)
Brevard – Tyler Wagner (0-0; 0.00)

 

ClASS-A

7:00 PM CST

Kane County Cougars (0-0) @ Quad Cities Bandits (0-0)

Kane County – Paul Blackburn (0-0; 0.00)
Quad Cities – Andrew Thurman (0-0; 0.00)

 

Check back tonight for recaps!

Cubs Lose Slop-fest, But Baez Homers!

Yeah, slop-fest.  I wasn’t quite sure how to spell that in the title, but it seemed appropriate given that this was, indeed, a slop-fest.  The Cubs only had one error on the day, but the Rockies really messed things up and had five, yet still won the game.  But the news of the day, as it is almost every day, is Javier Baez showing off his unfathomable power, everyone is really excited.

At the Plate:

• Josh Vitters, hello.  Vitters entered the game in the sixth and ended the day going 2-for-2 with a run scored, and a dropped fly ball, filling up the score sheet.
• Javier Baez (!), Baez went 1-for-3 with his second home run of the spring season, an opposite field shot which continued to fuel the inter-webs desire for him to start with the Cubs… sorry, won’t happen, hooray team control!
• George Kottaras has the backup catching spot locked down in my opinion, not only because we share the first name.  Kottaras was 1-for-2 with his first home run of the season, which immediately followed Baez’s shot.

On the Mound:

• Jeff Samardzija got the start today and was roughed up a bit, but was able to escape with a no decision.  Shark went three innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking one, and striking out one.
• Jose Veras, the new Cubs closer, worked a scoreless inning, which was a nice rebound after his not so great debut.
• Pedro Strop also worked a scoreless inning, and didn’t walk or strikeout anyone, madness.
• Chris Rusin was having a pretty solid outing until he lost command in the fateful seventh inning.  Rusin worked 2.2 innings giving up three runs on three hits while walking two, and striking out one.
• Armando Rivero continues his push to make the Cubs bullpen with another solid outing, but he did have some trouble to work out of.  Rivero worked a scoreless inning giving up three hits while striking out one.

Thanks to Brett at Bleacher Nation for the video

February 28th Cubs Preview; Lineups, Etc.

The Cubs travel to Tempe today to take on the Los Angeles Angels, who will be making their 2014 spring training debut.  The Cubs are coming off a 5-2 loss to the D-Backs yesterday, and are ready to trot out a completely different lineup today.  Chris Rusin gets the start for the Cubs and he will be opposed by Angels ace, Jeff Weaver.  Javier Baez makes is long awaiting 2014 debut hitting 7th, and playing shortstop.  No TV today, but the game can be heard on WGN72o beginning at 2:00 PM CST, go Cubs!

 

Born on Third: Minor Matters – July 8, 2013

SPOTLIGHT GAME

Full Box Score

At The Plate – I know this is the “at the plate” section, but I have to talk about what you have already noticed, that big fat ZERO in the hit column for Dunedin.  That’s right, Daytona started Matt Loosen tossed a no-hitter today, more on that below.  The D-Cubs offense gave Loosen plenty of support early on as they scored seven times in the first three innings.  Zeke DeVoss was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Dustin Geiger continued his solid season going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .282 on the season.  Bijan Rademacher was productive today as he went 1-for-2 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, two walks (Cubs Way!), and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Two words, Matt, Loosen.  Loosen was brilliant (understatement, I know) as he was almost perfect going nine no hit innings while walking two and striking out nine.  Shortest “on the mound” recap in the History of ever.

The final out of Matt Loosen’s no-hitter!

SCORES

Full Box Score

Full Box Score Game One / Full Box Score Game Two

Full Box Score

TOP PERFORMERS

• Boise Hawks – Shawon Dunston was 2-for-4 with two walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Boise Hawks – Jacob Rogers was 2-for-3 with an RBI, three walks (Cubs Way!), and three runs scored.
• Boise Hawks – Daniel Lockhart was 3-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored.
• Boise Hawks – Dae-Eun Rhee was solid going three scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out three.
• Tennessee Smokies – A.J. Morris was good in game two, he went five innings giving up one run on six hits while striking out three.
• Iowa Cubs – Logan Watkins was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Iowa Cubs – Brad Nelson was 3-for-4 with a double, and two RBI’s.
• Iowa Cubs – Luis Flores was 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Iowa Cubs – Chris Rusin got the win for Iowa, he worked six innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out two.

Notes: AZL Cubs had the day off, and Kane County was rained out.

Minor Matters – June 7, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Iowa had plenty of opportunities in this one but finished the night 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and on the wrong end of a 3-1 final.  Brent Lillibridge was 3-for-5 out of the leadoff spot with three singles in the loss.  Welcome back Junior Lake, since returning from the injury Lake has been on fire, he was 2-for-3 in this one with a walk, a double, and an RBI, he’s hitting .429 on the season.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin was brilliant in this one and still wound up with his sixth loss of the season, he has a 3.67 ERA, doesn’t seem right to be 4-6.  Rusin worked eight strong innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out seven.  Brian Schlitter worked one inning out of the pen giving up one run on two hits while striking out one, he now has a 1.35 ERA on the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Tennessee was never really in this one as they fell behind 4-0 by the fourth inning and could only manage one run on eight hits in the loss.  Matt Szczur continued his solid season going 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot, all three hits were singles, Szczur is now hitting .296 on the season.  Jonathan Mota was 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored in the loss.

On The Mound – Austin Kirk, who has been pitching for Daytona all year was promoted to Tennessee and made his debut tonight, it was a rough one.  Kirk worked six innings giving up six runs on ten hits while walking two and striking out four, he took the loss.  Tony Zych was solid out of the pen working one scoreless inning giving up one hit while striking out one.  Hunter Cervenka is starting to settle down for Tennessee, he has struggled since his promotion but was solid in this one working one scoreless inning while striking out two.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Daytona Cubs fought back in the eighth and ninth but came up just one run short, losing 7-6 to Brevard County.  Tim Saunders who has struggled this year had a solid game going 2-for-4 with three RBI’s in the loss.  Javier Baez continues to improve at the plate; he was 2-for-5 with a run scored and is now hitting .281 on the season.  Zeke DeVoss had an outstanding game going 3-for-3 with three singles, three stolen bases, and three runs scored (THREE).  Wes Darvill was 2-for-4 out of the ninth spot with an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Matt Loosen struggled at Tennessee so he was demoted to Daytona and made his 2013 debut tonight, it didn’t go so well.  Loosen struggled working five innings giving up six runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out four, he took the loss.  Jeffrey Lorick worked two innings giving up one run on two hits out of the pen.  Austin Reed was solid going two scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out one.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Kane County was able to push across a run in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 deadlock and eventually beat Burlington 3-2.  Jeimer Candelario continues to have a strong 2013, he was 1-for-4 with his second home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Bijan Rademacher continues to hit, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .324 on the season.  Carlos Escobar had a solid night going 2-for-4 with his first triple of the season, and two huge RBI’s.

On The Mound – Tayler Scott, the newly named all-star showed why he belonged on that roster tonight as he was outstanding.  Scott worked seven innings giving up two runs, on earned, on eight hits while walking three, he didn’t strike out anybody, how odd is that?  Steve Perakslis was solid out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking two and striking out two.

Minor Matters – June 2, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – After a stretch of some really solid baseball, and wins, the Iowa Cubs have found themselves struggling again.  Iowa couldn’t really put anything together in this one; sure they scored three runs on eight hits but were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.  Dave Sappelt had a solid day going 2-for-4 with his first stolen base, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .276 at Iowa.  Brent Lillibridge accounted for part of the offense; he was 1-for-4 with his fifth double of the season, and an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin was knocked around a bit in this one, but still managed to get deep into the game, unfortunately he was still hung with his fifth loss of the season.  Rusin worked seven innings giving up five runs on twelve hits while striking out four.  Michael Bowden was solid, as he was with the big league club for the most part, he worked 1.2 scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one and striking out three.  Casey Coleman worked just one-third of an inning in this one, and did it in a scoreless fashion.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Thanks to the weather Daytona only needed seven innings to take care of Brevard County 5-0.  The top Cubs prospects are really starting to heat up at the plate; Javier Baez is one of those guys.  After a monster day on Saturday Baez had a solid Sunday, he was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored and is now hitting .281 on the season.  Ben Carhart had a solid game as well going 2-for-3 with a walk, and two runs scored.  Jorge Soler was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, that gives him thirty on the season, and he is now hitting .294 for the year.

On The Mound – Austin Kirk was all that Daytona needed as he went the distance for a “complete game” victory to improve his record to 6-2 on the season.  Kirk worked six scoreless innings giving up five hits while walking three and striking out seven, he lowered his ERA to 4.50 in the victory.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Really nice win for the Cougars who have been struggling as of late, they needed extra innings but they got the job done.  Big day from the big names in the Kane County order as the two through four hitters were a combined 8-for-13 with two doubles, a home run, and one RBI.  Albert Almora looks to be back to 100% health as he was 3-for-4 with a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .475 on the season.  Dan Vogelbach had a productive day going 2-for-4 with a double, his eight home run of the season (VIDEO), a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.  Jeimer Canderlario is really coming around as of late, he was 3-for-5 with three singles, he’s now hitting .259 on the season.

On the Mound – The Cougars pitching was outstanding in this one as they shut down a very good Cedar Rapids lineup.  Michael Heesch got the start and did not factor in the decision, but was solid and kept Kane County in it.  Heesch worked six innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out four.  Steve Perakslis was brilliant out of the bullpen going three scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out three.  Eddie Orozco worked a scoreless tenth inning to earn his third win of the season as the Cougars walked off in the bottom half.

Minor Matters – May 28, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Iowa Cubs are on to something as they continue to play some solid baseball, and more importantly get wins.  Brett Jackson had a solid game going 1-for-3 with a walk, his fourth stolen base of the season, and a run scored.  Donnie Murphy is putting together a solid season, he went 2-for-4 with his fourth double of the year, and a run scored.  Edwin Maysonet was 1-for-3 with his fifth home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.  Brent Lillibridge has found his power at triple A, I didn’t think he could ever hit a home run, but he was 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin was absolutely brilliant and has really found a groove as of late, he earned his fourth win and lowered his ERA to 3.55 on the season.  Rusin worked eight strong innings giving up one run on six hits while striking out eight, and no walks, outstanding.  Eduardo Sanchez worked the final inning giving up one run on three hits while striking out one.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Really good game between two solid teams, and it ended with the Smokies hanging on for a 3-2 victory.  Arismendy Alcantara was 1-for-4 with his eighth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Christian Villanueva padded his slugging numbers in this one, he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a run scored.  Anthony Giansanti was 1-for-4 with a run scored, and two huge outfield assists in the win.

On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks was solid yet again, and is turning into the ace of the Smokies staff.  Hendricks went 6.2 innings giving up two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out six, he improved his record to 5-2 with the win, and lowered his ERA to 2.47 on the season.  Kevin Rhoderick continued to struggle with his command, but was able to pitch around it, working one scoreless inning while walking two.  Frank Batista was solid again in picking up his seventh save of the year; he worked 1.1 scoreless innings giving up one hit.

Full Box Score

At The Plate –Outstanding comeback win for Daytona as they scored once in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, then walked off in the eleventh.  John Andreoli continues to have a solid 2013, he was 2-for-6 with a run scored, he’s now hitting .312 on the season.  Javier Baez was the hero last night, he went 2-for-6 with a game winning, walk-off homer in the eleventh, his seventh of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  Ben Carhart had a solid game going 1-for-3 with a walk, and two runs scored in the win.

On The Mound – Austin Kirk struggled a bit with his command but was still able to work around most of the trouble, he went five innings giving up three runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out three.  Austin Reed was okay out of the pen working two innings giving up one run on two hits while walking one.  Eduardo Figueroa, Larry Suarez, and Frank Del Valle were solid the rest of the way, shutting down the Yankees over the final four innings.  Del Valle worked the final two innings to get the win, his third of the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Tough luck for the Cougars as their rally was cut short by Mother Nature, they scored three times in the fifth to make it 7-5 then the skies opened up and the game was called after five and a half innings.  Pin-Chieh Chen was 1-for-3 with his second triple of the season, and two RBI’s in the loss.  Gioskar Amaya had a solid game going 1-for-1 with two walks (Cubs Way!), a double, and a run scored.  Dan Vogelbach had a productive day going 1-for-3 with his seventh home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Dillon Maples has been having a rough go of it since returning from injury, last night the walks got him into big trouble.  Maples worked three innings giving up seven runs on four hits while walking five (see?), and striking out five.  Lendy Castillo took over and was solid, going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two.

Minor Matters – May 23, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – The Cubs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and that’s all they would need in this one, they tacked on two more to take a 4-0 and that’s how it ended.  Logan Watkins had a good day from the leadoff spot going 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and one run scored.  Dave Sappelt was 2-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI, he also had a caught stealing, he’s now hitting .308 since his demotion to Iowa.  Josh Vitters had a solid day as it was good to see him back in the lineup, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin was outstanding in this one to earn his third win of the season against four losses, despite a solid 3.88 ERA.  Rusin went six scoreless innings giving up six hits while walking two and striking out four.  Yoanner Negrin was solid per usual going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out two.  Eduardo Sanchez made his organizational debut and was good going one scoreless inning while walking one and striking out two.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies couldn’t get much going offensively but they didn’t need to in order to get the win, they only managed four hits and two runs in the 2-0 victory.  Arismendy Alcantara was 1-for-2 with two walks (Cubs Way!), sixth home run, an RBI, and a run scored.  Rafael Lopez, Tim Torres, and Jonathan Mota were the other Smokies to record hits and with Torres’ being an RBI double.

On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks was outstanding, and really has been all year, quite an impressive start.  Hendricks worked seven scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking one and striking out seven to earn his fourth win of the season and lower his ERA to 2.44, wow.  Brian Schlitter doesn’t give up runs, ever, or at least it seems that way.  Schlitter worked a scoreless inning in relief giving up two hits; his ERA is now 0.90 on the season.  Marcus Hatley worked a scoreless ninth inning for his second save of the season giving up one hit while walking one and striking out one.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Daytona pounded out twelve hits but could only manage to score four times as they lost 8-4 to Jupiter, the Cubs were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.  Wes Darvill was 1-for-3 with two walks, a double, and a run scored, he’s having a rough go of it, only hitting .167 on the season.  John Andreoli continues to have a solid season, he was 3-for-5 with his sixth (!) triple of the season, and two runs scored.  Jorge Soler was 1-for-3 with a walk, his tenth double of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Dustin Geiger is making a case for a promotion with his play, he was 2-for-3 with an RBI, his 40^th of the season, he’s played in 44 games.  Tim Saunders was 2-for-4 with his thirteenth stolen base of the season in the loss.

On The Mound – Zach Cates didn’t have his best stuff in this one, he worked five innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out four.  Jeffrey Lorick, who very rarely gives up anything, worked one inning giving up one run on one hit while walking three.  Sheldon McDonald was also touched up; he worked two innings giving up three runs, one earned, on two hits while walking one.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Long, odd night in Peoria that resulted in the Cougars losing 9-8 in fourteen innings.  Here’s the odd part, the score was 8-8 after four, the Cougars couldn’t score over the next ten innings and the Chiefs only scored once for the win.  Pin-Chieh Chen had a solid night at the top of the lineup going 1-for-5 with two walks, two RBI’s, and three runs scored.  Albert Almora has returned to Kane County swinging the bat, he was 4-for-7 in this one with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s 7-for-11 since returning from injury.  Jeimer Candelario had a productive night going 2-for-7 with his sixteenth double of the season, and four RBI’s, he’s got his average on the rise, it’s now at .267 on the season and he is hitting .333 over his last ten games.  Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-6 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored in the loss.

On The Mound – Rough start for Dillon Maples, his worst one since returning to the Kane County rotation, his offense bailed him out so he did not factor in the decision.  Maples worked 3.2 innings giving up eight runs, five earned, on six hits while walking three and striking out four.  Lendy Castillo was about as good as you could be, he worked 5.1 scoreless innings out of the pen giving up five hits while walking two and striking out nine.  Jeffry Antigua was also solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings while striking out four.  Justin Amlung did everything he could to keep this one going but ended up suffering his second loss of the season.  Amlung worked 2.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while striking out three.