Dong-Yub Kim – Born on Third

8/1: Around the Cubs Minor League System

August 1, nightly recap of the minor leagues.

The AZL Cubs had a double header on Wednesday, with each game being seven innings a piece. The pitching did a great job in the first one winning 4-0. The 43rd overall pick in this past years draft Pierce Johnson made his first appearance of the season. He started and pitched one scoreless inning. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino improved to 4-0 pitching four scoreless innings in relief. He gave up three hits, one walk, and struck out three, his ERA on the season is 0.93. Steve Perakslis secured the shutout by striking out five in two scoreless innings. Albert Almora was back in the lineup and leading off on Wednesday. He delivered going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Jorge Soler was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three stolen bases. Ben Carhart had a double and an RBI.

The AZL Cubs had a good time of it in game two as well defeating the AZL Indians 7-2. Ben Carhart was 2-for-4 with twor runs scored and Yasiel Balaguert also had two runs with a run scored. Trevor Gretzky had one hit and an RBI and Neftali Rosario collected two RBIs without getting a basehit. Albert Almora didn’t have a hit, but collected his sixth RBI of the season and Jorge Soler was 0-2, but walked twice and scored two runs. Brian Smith started for the Cubs and thew two perfect innings while striking out two. Loiger Padron improved his record to 3-0 with his win in relief. he gave up two runs, but struck out six in three innings of work. Alvido Jimenez closed out the game striking out three in two scoreless innings.

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Boise was back at it and won again on Wednesday. After getting a big lead early, they gave up nine runs in the last four innings, but held on to win 14-10. There were a lot of good things happening offensively in this one. Xavier Batista was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs. Jeimer Candelario and Dong-Yub Kim each had two hits and drove in three as well. Stephen Bruno hit his first home run of the season, a two run shot in the third inning. Daniel Vogelbach and Trey Martin each two hits with Martin scoring three runs. Lance Rymel had quite a nice night going 3-for-4 with an RBI. It was a tale of two games on the mound. Su-Min Jung started and pitched well allowing one run on three hits in three innings, while striking out three. Nathan Dorris got his first win of the season as he pitched the next two scoreless innings. Unfortunately Tyler Bremer and Willengton Cruz both struggled, but a win is a win.

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Peoria won a crazy one on Wednesday scoring three in the top of the ninth to win 11-10. The day belonged to Dustin Geiger. Geiger was 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs, yes eight RBIs. He stole the show early and finished it late with a two run bomb that turned out to be the game winner. Javier Baez had two more hits, including a double. He also scored two runs and drove one in. Zeke DeVoss and Pin-Chieh Chen each had two hits, with Chen scoring three. Zach Cates started and didn’t have his best stuff, but came away with a no decision. Bryce Shafer got the win striking out four of the five outs he recorded. Austin Reed picked up his first save of the season pitching a scoreless ninth. Congrats to Geiger on just an ubelievable game.

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Daytona scored one in the fifth and one in the seventh to win a pitchers dual 2-1. Lendy Castillo continued his comeback throwing four innings, giving up three hits and allowing an unearned run. He had four strikeouts in the start. Eduardo Figueroa got the win, his third of the season pitching three scoreless innings. Scott Weismann and Jeffrey Lorick combined to pitch the last two innings, with Lorick earning his second save of the season. Rubi Silva was 1-for-4, but drove in the two Cubs runs on Wednesday. Ronald Torreyes continued hitting the ball going 2-for-3. John Andreoli and Taylor Davis each had two hits in the contest. It was a good win for Daytona.

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Because of rain Tennessee had another double header on Wednesday. The first one was a continuation of the night before. The Smokies got two in the fifth, winning 4-2. There were a couple bright spots on the mound. Dae-Eun Rhee started and took a no-decision pitching four solid innings only allowing one run on three hits. Trey McNutt got the win in relief pitching three innings allowing one run on two hits and Kevin Rhoderick recorded his eighth save of the season striking out three in two scoreless innings. Justin Bour was 1-for-4 with another RBI. Greg Rohan went 1-for-2 with an RBI and Nate Samson was 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs.

One was all Tennessee needed as Justin Bour was the hero hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh. He now has 12 home runs and 86 RBIs on the season. Dallas Beeler started and was tremendous allowing only one hit in five scoreless innings of work. Brian Schlitter picked up his second win in relief pitching the final two frames. Junior Lake, Nelson Perez, and Matt Cerda all had one hit a piece in the victory. Two wins to start the month is the right way to start it.

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Iowa was able to score six, but an eight run inning was way too much to come back from losing 11-6. We’ll start with the offense in this one. Brett Jackson was 3-for-5 with a double, triple, and a run scored. Josh Vitters hit his 16th home run of the season and had two RBIs. Greg Rohan, who was just promoted from AA was 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs. James Adduci collected two more hits including a triple and an RBI. Ty’Relle Harris got the start and took the loss as he was not very sharp. Michael Bowden did a very nice job striking out six in three innings and recently acquired Jaye Chapman threw a scoreless inning in relief.

All around it was a nice night for the Cubs minor leaguers with the only loss coming in Iowa.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

7/31: Around the Cubs Minor League System

After a busy trade deadline here is what the Cubs minor league affiliates did on July 31.

The AZL Cubs got back on track after a day off beating the AZL Royals 8-2. Ben Carhart and Daniel Lockhart each had two, a run scored, and an RBI. Jacob Rogers was 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Albert Almora was leading off tonight, but left after his first at-bat. He was replaced by Yasiel Balaguert who had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Jorge Soler did not have a hit, but he did drive in his seventh run of the season and he stole his third base. Carl Lang got the start and pitched an impressive four innings allowing no runs on four hits and struck out four. Jasvis Rakkar pitched one scoreless inning striking out one. Ethan Elias got the win, but did not have a great night giving up two runs on five hits in two innings. Daniel Adrian finished the game off striking out two in the last two frames. Obviously we are a bit concerned as to why Almora left the game. When we have an update we will let you know, but it was a nice night for the Cubs.

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After winning a few 1-0 games the Boise Chiefs held on to win a shootout 10-9. It was a wild game as Boise had a big lead, but gave it up and had to win in walk-off fashion. The Cubs had a few nice nights at the plate highlighted by Daniel Vogelbach‘s first home run at Boise, a three run shot with two outs in the third. Stephen Bruno had three hits and two RBIs, raising his average to .324. Jeimer Candelario was the hero going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs including a walk-off double. Dong-Yub Kim and Trey Martin each had two hits on the night and Marco Hernandez connected for his third home run of the season. The Hawks pitching struggled most of the night, but the offense did the the job. Eduardo Orozco blew a save, but ended up getting his second win of the season. it is nice to see Boise maybe turning things around.

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Peoria never got things going against Quad Cities losing 5-1. Michael Jensen got the start and pitched pretty good, although he took the loss. He pitched five innings surrendering two runs on three hits, while striking out six. Jeffry Antigua continued to impress pitching two more scoreless innings. Pete Levitt struggled in his one inning of work. There wasn’t much excitement at the plate for the Chiefs on Tuesday. Javier Baez was one of the few bright spots going 2-for-4 with the Peoria’s lone run scored. Bijan Rademacher also had two hits including his third double of the season. Nothing too exciting happening for Boise tonight.

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Daytona won a close one on Tuesday beating Fort Myers 5-4. Daytona pounded out 14 hits so there were a lot of nice nights at the plate. It was good to see Timothy Saunders get back on track going 3-for-4 with double, runs scored, and an RBI. Ronald Torreyes continued his hot stretch of late adding two more hits, including his 19th double of the season and two RBIs. Matt Cerda, Rubi Silva, and John Andreoli each had two hits with Andreoli driving one run in. Austin Kirk started and got the win allowing four runs in five innings. Kirk was not as sharp as he has been in the past walking five batters, but he did strike out five. The relief was outstanding on Tuesday. Hunter Cervenka and Jeffrey Lorick combined to pitch three scoreless innings, striking out a batter each. AJ Morris closed the deal striking out two in one scoreless inning, notching his fourth save of the season.

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Tennessee’s game was suspended because of rain. The Smokies were winning 2-1 in the fourth and will be continued tomorrow as part of a double header.

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Iowa dropped another to New Orleans losing Tuesday 5-3. Frankie De La Cruz started and took the loss giving up three runs in four innings. Jairo Asencio and Marcus Hatley did a nice job in relief both throwing a scoress inning. Dave Sappelt was the main bright spot for the Cubs offense going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Brett Jackson hit his 21st double of the season and drove in his 46th run as well. James Adduci had another hit and is hitting .375 since his promotion to Triple-A. As I have said recently Iowa just can’t seem to get things going in the right direction.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

7/25: Around the Minor League System

The July 25th Chicago Cubs Minor League recap.

The most exciting team in the history of the Universe was off tonight, that’s right no Almora or Soler tonight.

The Boise Hawks and Yakima Bears went toe-to-toe with each other and Yakima was the last one standing. The Boise Hawks were in comeback mode all night as they trailed 6-3, and 8-6 before tying the game each time. The Hawks scored twice in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game at eight but gave both runs right back in the top of the ninth and fell to Yakima 10-8. Felix Pena got the start for Boise and struggled. He gave up six runs, four earned on seven hits while walking none and striking out two in four innings of work. The loss however went to Matt Iannazzo who gave up four runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings of work. Daniel Vogelbach is at a new, higher level in the Cubs system but continues to pound the baseball. Vogelbach was 3-for-5 in the loss with a double and an RBI. Rock Shoulders, Dong-Yub Kim, and Gioskar Amaya all had two hits for Boise in the loss, Kim hit is fourth home run of the season.

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Another game and another outstanding effort from Peoria Chiefs starter Joseph Zeller as he weathered a rough first inning to earn his second win of the season as the Chiefs hung on to beat Cedar Rapids 8-6. The Chiefs used an enormous seven run third inning to break this one open, but had to fight to hang on as Cedar Rapids scored twice in the 8th and 9th to make it close. Zeller went six strong innings giving up two runs, both unearned on seven hits while walking one and striking out two. He lowered his ERA to 1.32 on the season. Javier Baez was the only Chiefs player with multiple hits as he was 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Pin-Chieh Chen had the only extra base hit for the Chiefs as he was 1-for-3 on the night with a triple (8), two walks, an RBI, and a run scored.

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Busy day for the Daytona Cubs as they had a double-header against the Brevard County Manatees, and game one didn’t get the day off to a great start. P.J. Francescon had a rough outing, and has been shaky since his promotion to Daytona which is to be expected. It’s not like Francescon has been terrible, but today he just didn’t have it as he gave up six runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings while walking four without a strikeout. The Daytona offense couldn’t keep up as Brevard County took game one 6-4. It was the Elieser Bonne show in game one for Daytona as the right fielder was 4-for-4 at the plate with two doubles (8,9), unfortunately no one was on base for him. Rafael Lopez had a solid game going 1-for-2 with a home run (1), two walks and two RBI’s in the losing effort.

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Game two was a pitching duel right from the get go, unfortunately for Daytona the result was the same, as Brevard County won the second half of the double-header 3-0. Frank Del Valle got the start for Daytona and was outstanding going five scoreless innings giving up only one hit while walking three and striking out four, but had to settle for a no decision. Jeffrey Lorick pitched a scoreless inning of relief before Scott Weismann got lit up in the 7th to take the loss. Matt Szczur had a solid game at the plate going 2-for-3 to raise his average to .292 on the season, he also stole his 38th base of the season. That was it as Daytona couldn’t push across any runs and only managed three hits as this was a lost day all around.

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The Smokies came out swinging against the Suns in a wild one and broke through late to register a 7-5 victory. Dae-Eun Rhee who has not been very good (understatement) all year, pitched well enough in this one to earn his seventh victory of the season against five losses. Rhee was the beneficiary of an offensive explosion that was led by Junior Lake. Lake was 2-for-5 with two home runs (6,7), a walk, and four RBI’s. Lake wasn’t alone in the destruction of Suns pitching as Nelson Perez went 2-for-5 as well with his fourth home run of the season, and two RBI’s. Justin Bour continued his solid 2012 season going 3-for-4 with a double (29!) and an RBI, Bour is now hitting .297 on the campaign. Trey McNutt has had a down year, that includes his recent performances out of the pen, but he was excellent tonight going two strong innings giving up nothing and striking out three.

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The Iowa Cubs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead against Oklahoma City, but if we have learned anything we know that there is no lead too big for Iowa to blow. It happened again tonight as OKC scored in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th to take a 7-4 lead on their way to a 10-8 victory. The I-Cubs made things somewhat interesting in the ninth inning by scoring four times but it was way too late. Chris Rusin got roughed up again as he gave up seven runs on ten hits in five innings of work to record his 7th loss of the season. James Adduci, Dave Sappelt, and Adrian Cardenas all had two hits in the loss. Adduci had a great game at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with a double (3), an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored.

Thanks for reading,
– George

7/13: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Recapping July 13th, 2012 in the Cubs minor league system, enjoy.

The AZL Cubs have a way of punishing their opponents, and more often than not Daniel Vogelbach is leading that charge, tonight was more of the same as the Cubs beat the Rangers 7-3. Vogelbach was a man possessed tonight as he went 3-for-4 with his 6th home run of the season, two doubles, an RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. Vogelbach now has 10 doubles on the season, the man doesn’t now how to hit singles, he’s a slugging machine right now. Ben Carhart and Jacob Rogers made sure Vogelbach had plenty of help as each guy had two hits, Carhart is now hitting .340 while Rogers is now hitting .429 on the season. Timothy Saunders had a shocking 0-for-4 dropping his average all the way down to .475 on the season, please catch that sarcasm, I’m laying it on pretty thick. Anthony Prieto started for the Cubs and only went one inning, he didn’t give up any runs but gave up one hit and issued three walks before departing. Hunter Ackerman came on in relief and earned the win after going three innings giving up one run on two hits, while walking two and striking out two. Nathan Dorris came on in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

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A late inning collapse can be blamed for Boise’s loss as they seemingly had this one wrapped up leading 4-2 heading to the 8th. Vancouver scored four in the 8th and one more time for good measure in the 9th to take beat Boise 7-4. Tayler Scott started for Boise and was his typical solid self going four strong innings allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out one. Hayden Simpson chipped in 3.2 innings of relief but was on the mound for Vancouver’s comeback. The defense behind Simpson didn’t help as he allowed three runs on six hits but only one was earned. Gioskar Amaya continued his solid season at the plate going 2-for-5 with his 3rd home run of the season, he his now hitting .298 on the campaign. Dong-Yub Kim also had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a run scored and Rock Shoulders continued showing patience at the plate as he was 0-for-1 with three walks.

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For all the press the Chiefs offense gets, and well deserved, the pitching has shown flashes of brilliance as well, tonight Joseph Zeller dazzled. Zeller was perfect in his six innings of work, that’s right, no hits or walks in six innings while striking out four en route to his first win of the season. The Chiefs couldn’t finish off the perfect game eventually allowing one run on two hits in an 8-1 victory over Dayton. Chadd Krist is becoming a story, the 2012 draft pick has already been promoted to Peoria and he is swinging the bat well. Krist was 2-for-4 again tonight with his first home run as a Chief, he also had a double, two RBI’s and two runs scored. Paul Hoilman and Wes Darvill each chipped in with two RBI’s a piece.

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Losses can’t get much harder to take than this one. The Daytona Cubs were well on their way to a victory behind P.J. Francescon leading 7-0 heading to the 6th inning, then the wheels fell off. Palm Beach blitzed the D-Cubs for seven runs in the sixth inning, and three in the seventh to take a 10-7 lead, eventually winning 11-8. Francescon was brilliant for the D-Cubs, he went five innings allowing no runs on two hits, while striking out three, but had to settle for a no decision. Matthew Spencer, Ryan Searle, Scott Weismann, and Frank Del Valle were really bad, no other way to put it as they tossed a combined four innings giving up 11 runs, all earned, on 11 hits while walking three and striking out three. Rubi Silva had a solid day at the plate going 3-for-6 with a triple, his ninth, yes ninth of the season, and an RBI. Ronald Torreyes and Rebel Ridling each had two hits in the loss, as six different D-Cubs had RBI’s.

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The Smokies never really allowed Birmingham into this one as they jumped all over the Barons with four in the first, then tacked on three in the fifth and sixth to take a 10-0 lead. The Barons tried to save face by pushing across three runs in the final two innings but it didn’t help as the Smokies rolled to a 12-3 victory. Erik Jokisch was nearly perfect going five innings allowing no runs on one hit while walking four and striking out six. Jokisch struggled with his command, see the six walks, but was untouchable otherwise in earning his 5th win of the season against one loss. Trey McNutt made his debut as a reliever, after officially being moved to the pen yesterday. He was solid going two innings in relief giving up no run on one hit and striking out two. Justin Bour had a stellar game at the plate going 2-for-6 with a double, four RBI’s and a run scored. Logan Watkins wasn’t going to let Bour have all the fun as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI’s, two walks, and three runs scored. Junior Lake, Jae-Hoon Ha, and Michael Burgess all had two hits in the blow out win. The Smokies managed to pound out 14 hits and 12 runs and did it all without a home run.

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A late rally from Iowa fell just short as they dropped a close one to Omaha 4-3, the I-Cubs scratched across two runs in the ninth unfortunately it was too little too late. Brooks Raley was really good for the I-Cubs going five innings and allowing two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out four. Unfortunately that wasn’t good enough to avoid a loss as Raley fell to 4-5 on the season with a 3.57 ERA. Adrian Cardenas continued his recent stretch of outstanding play, proving that he is a play every day kind of guy, he won’t reach that max potential by coming off the bench. Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double, triple, a walk, and a run scored in the loss. Welington Castillo was 3-for-4 with a run scored, but that was the extent of the I-Cubs offense as they were a horrendous 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight guys on base.

Thanks for reading,
– George

7/5: Around the Cubs Minor League System

July 5 Cubs minor league recap.

AZL Cubs played a very entertaining game on Thursday winning 12-11 in ten innings. After giving up ten runs in the first three innings and being down by five the Cubs came storming back to tie the game and eventually win. There were a lot of good things that happened on the offensive side of things. Leading off Timothy Saunders was 5-for-6 with a home run, double, three RBI’s and four runs scored. Rafael Lopez was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and one batted in. Izaac Garsez also had three hits including a double, a run scored, and one batted in. Garrett Schlecht and Daniel Lockhart each had two hits and Lockhart had two RBI’s and two runs scored. Justin Berg got the start and wasn’t very good pitching only one inning and giving up six runs, three earned on four hits. Nathan Dorris pitched three scoreless innings and Steve Perakslis recorded the win pitching two innings. It was a wild game and it is nice to see the the Cubs come out on top.

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Boise scored two in the ninth to win 7-6. Down by one going to the bottom of the ninth The Hawks were trailing 6-5. After a Dong-Yub Kim and Xavier Batista walk Darien Martin bunted them to second and third. Gioskar Amaya delivered a single to tie the game. After a fielders choice up stepped Stephen Bruno who came through with a single to win the game. Amaya also had three hits and scored two runs and drove in one. Bijan Rademacher was 2-for-3 including his first home run of his professional career. Marco Hernandez and Kim each had two hits and Hernandez had two RBI’s. Bryce Shafer got the win in relief, despite giving up an unearned run in the top of the ninth. Starter Jose Arias pitched quite well, giving up one run on seven hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He was in line to get the win, but Michael Hamann struggled in relief. All in all it was a nice win for Boise on Friday.

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Peoria scored two runs in the second and the pitching staff was able to make it stand winning 2-1. Zach Cates got the start, but did not factor in the decision as he was only able to pitch 4.2 innings. Zachary Rosscup came in relief and pitched three great innings striking out five and only allowing a hit. Luis Lira came in to close the game and recorded his fourth save of the season. Dustin Geiger started off where he left off hitting a solo home run in the second. After the homer, Javier Baez stepped to the plate and delivered a single. He then stole his 12 base of the season and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. Wes Darvill drove him in on a ground out. Zeke DeVoss and Pin-Chieh Chen each had a hit and DeVoss stole his 21st base of the year.

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Kyler Burke pitched ok on Thursday, but took the loss nonetheless. He gave up three runs, two earned on seven hits in five innings of work. Offensively John Andreoli had a really nice day. He was 3-for-4 and stole his 29th base of the season. Matt Cerda also reached base three times with a double and two walks. He also drove in two runs and scored one. Arismendy Alcantara led off and was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Brian Schlitter pitched an effective two innings in relief not allowing a run and giving up two hits while striking out one. His ERA is now down to 1.33.

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The Tennessee Smokies game was postponed on Friday. It will be made up as a doubleheader tomorrow. Each game will be seven innings.

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Iowa was shutout on Thursday 3-0. Brooks Raley got the start and took the loss pitching 6.2 innings and allowing three runs, one earned on five hits. Offensively there isn’t much to talk about. Diory Hernandez was the only Cubs player to have a multi-hit game going 2-for-3. Alfredo Amezaga, Dave Sappelt, and Josh Vitters, and Brian Esposito all had one hit a piece on Friday. Alberto Cabrera and Ryan Rowland-Smith each pitched well in relief. Nothing too exciting about this one.

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Thanks for Reading,
Mark

7/1: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A look at the Cubs minor leaguers on Sunday, July 1.

The AZL Cubs held on to beat the AZL Athletics 9-7 on Sunday. Dan Vogelbach kept up his torrid pace going 4-for-5 with a triple, homer, two runs scored, and three RBI’s. He is now hitting .471. Timothy Saunders had two more hits and and also drove in one run. His average now stands at .483. Carlos Escobar and Izaac Garsez each had two hits and a run scored on Sunday. Ben Carhart and Carlos Penalver each had an RBI in the victory. Nathan Dorris got the win pitching a scoreless inning in relief and Alvido Jimenez recorded his first save of the young season.

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In a well pitched game Boise came up short losing 2-1 to Tri-City in ten innings. Rafael Diplan struggled with his comand walking three in .2 of an inning to take the loss. James Pugliese got the start and struck out five in four scoreless innings. Eduardo Orozco and Michael Heesch each pitched two scoreless inning on Sunday. Not much to talk about offensively in this one as Boise could only plate one. The lone RBI came off the bat of Dong-Yub Kim who was 2-for-4 with game-tying solo homer in the seventh. Jeimer Candelario and Chadd Krist continued their hot hitting as Candelario had two hits and Krist had three.

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Starling Peralta pitched eight solid innings allowing three runs, two earned on four hits, but took the loss as Peoria lost to Kane County 7-2. As good as Peralta was Larry Suarez was not so good in relief giving up four runs in one inning of work. The offense didn’t do much damage, but Taiwan Easterling was 3-for-3 and Dustin Geiger had two hits of his own. Chiefs got RBI’s from Zeke DeVoss and Wes Darvill. Top prospect Javier Baez collected a hit and scored a run.

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Matt Loosen and Daytona fell to Lakeland 5-3 on Sunday. Loosen started and gave up four runs, three earned in six innings pitched. A.J. Morris pitched well in relief striking out two in two innings of work. From an offensive standpoint Daytona couldn’t get much done recording only four hits. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI. Matt Szczur also had a double, scored a run, and drove one in. The other Cubs hit came from Elieser Bonne and the other RBI came off the bat of John Andreoli.

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Tennessee couldn’t get much going at the plate and fell to Chattanooga 3-0. Nicholas Struck pitched well enough to win, but took the loss, giving up two runs, one earned in five innings pitched. Casey Harman and Casey Weathers each pitched in relief. Not too much excitement from the offense, but Justin Bour was 3-for-4 with two doubles. Nate Samson had two hits of his own and Jae-Hoon Ha and Juan Apodaca each had a hit on the night.

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Iowa’s frantic rally comes up short on Sunday dropping a high scoring game to Nashville 13-12. At one point the Cubs were down by nine runs headed to the sixth, but after scoring eight runs in three innings, they failed to score in the ninth. Offensively Iowa pounded out 16 hits and 12 runs. Adrian Cardenas and Josh Vitters each had three hits, including two doubles a piece, two runs scored, and an RBI. Blake Lalli also had three hits including a double, two runs scored, and three RBI’s. Dave Sappelt hit his fourth home run of the year and Matt Tolbert drove in two runs and also two hits. Brett Jackson raised his average to .261 going 2-for-5 with a double, triple, two runs scored, and two RBI’s. Frankie De La Cruz got the start and, but didn’t last long giving up nine runs, seven earned in just 4.1 innings pitched. Jay Jackson threw another scoreless inning out of the bullpen and also struck two out. Michael Bowden struck out three in a scoreless inning.

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A rough day for the Cubs minor leaguers dropping every game except the AZL.

Thanks for reading,
Mark

6/28: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Your nightly trip around the bases for June 28th, 2012.

AZL Cubs had a nice night winning 11-2. Jacob Rogers had a great night at the plate going 4-for-4 with two home runs, four runs scored, and four RBI’s. Trey Martin had three hits and three RBI’s on Thursday. Ben Carhart and Carlos Penalver each had two hits. Dan Vogelbach and Justin Marra each had a double and drove in a run. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino got the win pitching five innings in relief giving no runs on three hits while striking out five. Nathan Dorris and Ryan Hartman each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Hope to see more nights like this from the Cubs as the summer goes forward.

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We have been waiting, and Boise finally delivered beating Spokane 12-2. Chadd Krist was 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored, and one driven in. Wilson Contreras also was 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and three driven in. Stephen Bruno had two hits with a run scored and an RBI. Dong-Yub Kim hit his second home run of the season, a grand slam. Ian Dickson was the beneficiary of all those runs earning his first win of the season pitching five innings, giving up two runs, one earned on four hits, while striking out six. Eduardo Orozco, Rafael Diplan, and Su-Min Jung all pitched well in relief. All in all it was a very good night for the Hawks.

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Gerardo Concepcion was roughed up early, giving up four runs in the first, but settled down as he pitched six inning giving up five runs on six hits. He took the loss and is now 2-6 with a 7.39 ERA. Javier Baez had a great night at the plate going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and three stolen bases. Dustin Geiger, Taiwan Easterling, and Oliver Zapata all had RBI’s on the night and Paul Hoilman had two hits. Larry Suarez also struggled in relief giving up two runs on four hits in two innings of work.

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It was a great night for the Daytona offense beating Dunedin 14-4. Cubs got home runs from Ronald Torreyes, Arismendy Alcantara, and Rebel Ridling. Arismendy went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI’s. Rubi Silva was also 3-for-5 including two doubles and drove in two. Lead-off hitter Matt Szczur was on base five times. He was 3-for-3 with two walks, two RBI’s, three stolen bases, and three runs scored. Robert Whitenack got the start but didn’t get the win pitching only four innings while giving up three runs, only one earned on six hits while striking out four. A.J. Morris got the win in relief pitching two scoreless innings while striking out one. Brian Schlitter threw another good outing in relief pitching a scoreless ninth.

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Trey McNutt was not able to get out of the first inning on Friday pitching only .2 inning and giving up eight runs, four earned on six hits. Ty’relle Harris threw four quality innings of relief giving up two runs, one earned on five hits, while striking out two. The Smokies were pretty good at the plate scoring six runs on twelve hits. Jae-Hoon Ha, Junior Lake, Michael Brenly, and Elliot Soto all had two hits on the night. Nelson Perez and Brenly each hit a home run. The Smokies also had RBI’s from Ha, Lake, Justin Bour, and James Adduci.

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Chris Volstad pitched pretty good on Friday, but it wasn’t enough for Iowa losing 3-1. Volstad gave up three runs, two earned on six hits in seven innings. He also struck out seven and walked zero. Matt Tolbert was great at the plate going 4-for-5 with a double, triple, and a run scored. Adrian Cardenas, Ty Wright, and Blake Lalli each had two hits. Josh Vitters was finally held hitless and Brett Jackson went 1-for-5. Jay Jackson struck out two and didn’t allow a baserunner in one inning of work out of the bullpen.

Thanks for reading,
– Mark, and George

6/19: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A look at the minor leagues on June 19.

After getting their first win of the season Boise dropped the game on Tuesday 4-1. Offensively the Hawks had eight hits, but could only plate one run. Marco Hernandez, Wilson Contreras, and Dong-Yub Kim all had two hits. Contreras drove in the only Hawks run on the day. Gioskar Amaya and Brian Inoa also had hits on Tuesday. Wellington Cruz got the start and was pretty good in his five innings of work. He allowed one unearned run on only three hits and struck out six. Felix Pena got the loss as he allowed three runs only one of which was earned in three innings.

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Matt Loosen has been good this year, but he took the loss on Tuesday dropping his record to 5-2. He pitched six innings allowing four runs, three earned on seven hits, while he striking out five. Joseph Zeller, Jeffrey Lorick, and Scott Weismann all pitched well in relief as they combined to pitch three innings of perfect baseball while striking out five. From an offensive standpoint Arismendy Alcantara went 3-for-4 with a double. Taylor Davis went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Rubi Silva drove in the other Cubs run on Tuesday as he also had a double. Alcantara also stole his 20th bag of the season.

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Iowa had 13 hits, but could only score three runs as they lost to Round Rock 6-3. Alfredo Amezaga and Blake Lalli each had three hits and Lalli drove in a run. Dave Sappelt and Ty Wright had two hits a piece and Wright drove a run in. Josh Vitters hit his 10th home run of the season. Rodrigo Lopez took the loss Tuesday giving up six runs in five innings of work. Esmalin Caridad and Rafael Dolis each pitched well in relief.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark

6/18: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A look at the minor leagues on Monday.

Boise got their first win of the season on Monday winning 6-4 in 11 innings. Rafael Diplin got the win as he pitched 3.1 innings scoreless innings in relief. Bryce Shafer closed out the game striking one batter in perfect inning of work. The offense was powered by the bottom of the order as Jeimer Candelario went 2-for-5 and catcher Justin Marra went 3-for-5. Dong-Yub Kim launched his first home run of the year as well. The Hawks got a bunch of help from the Volcanos defense as Boise got both there runs on errors in the 11th inning. Rock Shoulders scored the winning run after he walked for the third time.

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Daytona was back in action on Monday losing 6-3. Robert Whitenack to the loss pitching three innings and giving up four runs. Eduardo Figuerora, Ryan Searle, and AJ Morris all threw well out of the bullpen. From an offense standpoint Greg Rohan had a hit and two RBI’s bringing his season total to 57. Ronald Torreyes had one hit, scored two runs, and drove one in. John Andreoli and Taylor Davis each had two hits on the day. This was not the way the Cubs wanted to start the second half, but they will be back at it tomorrow.

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Tennessee and Peoria are at there All Star break while Iowa had the day off.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark

6/16: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A look around the Cubs minor leagues system on Saturday June, 16.

Boise got the scoring early, but saw the lead slip away in the middle innings. Catcher Wilson Contreras and first baseman Rock Shoulders each hit their first home run of the year on Saturday. Gioskar Amaya had a triple and Dong-Yub Kim added a double. Marco Hernandez and Eduardo Gonzalez each had RBI’s for the Hawks. Starting pitcher James Pugliese took the loss as he gave up three runs on six hits in five innings of work. Amaury Paulino struggled in his two innings giving up four runs on five hits. Roderik Pichardo pitched a scoreless inning for Boise.

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Peoria was trailing 5-2 when play was suspended by rain. The game will pick up where it left off in the bottom of the fourth. Peoria went down by five early, but will have the bases loaded and one out with Yaniel Cabezas coming to the plate looking to continue their comeback against Clinton. The game will be followed by a seven inning game on Sunday.

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The struggling Rebel Ridling launched his eighth homer of the year to give Tennessee a 2-1 win on Saturday. The story of the game was the pitching performance of the Smokies. Eric Jokisch was outstanding once again as he pitched six strong innings giving up one run on four hits. His ERA now stands at 1.42. Not to be outdone Marcus Hatley pitched two scoreless innings as he earned his third win of the year. Frank Batista closed the game in the ninth recording his 10th save of the season. The only other run the Smokies scored was driven in by James Adduci. Michael Burgess and Logan Watkins also had hits on the night.

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Iowa got down early and never could rebound as they lost 9-1. Chris Rusin was not good on Saturday as he gave up eight runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings. The bright spot for the Cubs tonight was Josh Vitters as he went 4-for-4 including a double and a run scored. Brett Jackson also had a double and drove in the Cubs only run of the day. Anthony Rizzo played again on Saturday also adding a double. In relief Jay Jackson struck out five in 3.2 innings and Jeff Beliveau threw a scoreless inning.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark