Jeffry Antigua – Born on Third

Riding the Bus: April 30, 2015 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

THURSDAY • APRIL 30, 2015

South Bend closed out April this afternoon with a 6-3 victory over West Michigan, the win moved the Cubs to 11-10 on the season. Erick Leal was solid on the mound, and the Cubs had the bats working just enough to take the matinee.

At the Plate:

Gleyber Torres is not performing like an 18 year old in single A, he went 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored.
Chesny Young was productive without a hit, he went 0-for-3 with a walk, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
Jason Volser had a solid day, he went 2-for-5 with two RBI’s, a double, and a run scored.
Justin Marra has struggled at the plate, but he was productive today, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored.
Gioskar Amaya, and Rashad Crawford each had one hit in the win.

On the Mound:

I mentioned Erick Leal was good, what else is new? Leal worked five innings, giving up two runs on six hits while walking one, and striking out four.
Ryan McNeil picked up a hold, he worked one inning, giving up one run on two hits.
Francisco Carrillo was outstanding today, he worked three scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the year. Carrillo surrendered only one hit, struck out three over said three innings.

Full Box Score

Myrtle Beach looked like they had this one wrapped up before Wilmington struck for four runs in the bottom of the 8th to take this one 6-4.

At the Plate:

Mark Zagunis had a decent night, he was 1-for-4 with a triple, and an RBI.
Jacob Rogers has slowed down, but had a good game, he was 2-for-4 with his fourth double of the season, and a run scored.
Trey Martin has had a good start to his high-A career, he was 1-for-4 with a double, and an RBI in the loss.

On the Mound:

Daury Torrez is the definition of a pitcher that pitches to contact, he worked six innings, giving up two runs on six hits while walking none, and striking out one.
Josh Conway got roughed up in this one, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up three runs on three hits.
James Pugliese worked in and out of some trouble, he tossed two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run, unearned, on two hits.

Full Box Score

The Smokies fell behind early in this one, and couldn’t fight all the way back as they fell to Birmingham 5-3. Things got interesting late as Tennessee scored three times over the final four innings but their rally fell short.

At the Plate:

Jacob Hannemann likes it in double-A, he was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, he’s hitting .357 on the season.
Pin-Chieh Chen had a solid night, he was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, and an RBI.
Kyle Schwarber is rolling, he was 1-for-3 with his fifth double of the year, a walk, and an RBI.
Dan Vogelbach, Willson Contreras, Elliot Soto, and Anthony Giansanti all had one hit in the loss.

On the Mound:

Rob Zastryzny got the start but didn’t last very long, he worked one inning, giving up three runs on two hits while walking two, and striking out one.
Jeffry Antigua took over and was decent, he worked four innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking one, and striking out one.
Michael Jensen was solid, he tossed two scoreless innings, giving up two hits while striking out two.
Starling Peralta was good as well, he worked a scoreless inning to keep the Smokies alive.

Full Box Score

Giving this Oklahoma City team thirteen innings worth of at bats is probably going to end bad, and it did for Iowa tonight. The Cubs didn’t have much working offensively as they only pushed across two runs in the loss.

At the Plate:

Javier Baez returned to the lineup tonight, that’s definitely a good thing. Baez was 1-for-6 with a double.
Christian Villanueva had a good night, he was 2-for-4 with a dinger, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.
John Andreoli was solid as well, he went 2-for-5, and is now hitting .261 on the season.

On the Mound:

Carlos Pimentel got the start, and was outstanding. He worked six innings, giving up one run on just one hit while walking two, and striking out three.
Yoanner Negrin picked up a blown save tonight, he worked an inning, giving up one run on one hit.
Joe Ortiz was solid, he worked two scoreless innings, he surrendered one hit while walking two.
Blake Cooper worked a scoreless inning, he has a 2.31 ERA on the season.
Andres Santiago has been so good this year, he worked two scoreless innings, giving up two hits while walking three, and striking out two.
Michael Wagner took the loss tonight, he worked one inning, giving up two runs on two hits while walking three, and striking out two.

Riding the Bus: April 23, 2015 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

THURSDAY • APRIL 23, 2015

Full Box Score

This one was over before the fans could even get into their seats as New Orleans scored six times in the first en route to a 9-2 victory.

At the Plate:

Arismendy Alcantara was 1-for-4 with a run scored, that is his first AAA hit this year, hopefully that gets him going.
Chris Valaika supplied the only offense, he was 1-for-3 with a diner, two RBI’s, a walk, and a run scored.
Christian Villanueva made a couple of costly mistakes in the field (2 errors), and was 1-for-4.
Taylor Teagarden, and Taylor Davis each had one walk, and one hit in the loss.

On the Mound:

Jeffry Antigua got the start, and wasn’t so great, he worked 3.2 innings, giving up nine runs, four earned, on seven hits while walking four, and striking out two.
Andres Santiago did a solid job in relief, he worked 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits while walking two, and striking out two.
Michael Wagner, and Armando Rivero each worked a scoreless inning in garbage time.

Full Box Score

It was all Daury Torrez in this one as the Pelicans starter was outstanding in shutting down Winston-Salem. The Pelicans built a 6-0 lead by the fourth inning, and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way as Myrtle Beach improved to 9-4 on the season.

At the Plate:

Jacob Hannemann had quite the day from the lead-off spot, he was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.
Billy McKinney has been on a roll of late, he was 2-for-4 tonight, and is now hitting .325 on the season.
Jeimer Candelario had a solid game, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored.
Ben Carhart provided some production, he was 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI’s, a walk, and a run scored.

On the Mound:

Daury Torrez got the start and the win tonight, he was outstanding. Torrez worked seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits while striking out one.
Both Michael Heesch, and Jasvir Rakkar tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

Full Box Score

The South Bend Cubs have had issues with blowing leads early in the season, but they figured out a way to resolve that, slaughter their opponent. After scoring sixteen times last night, the Cubs tallied ten times tonight and only allowed Great Lakes to record four hits in the win.

At the Plate:

Trey Martin was in the middle of things again, he was 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Chesny Young continued his hot start, he was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, and a run scored.
Gioskar Amaya has a solid night, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Cael Brockmeyer provided some production, he was 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, a walk, and two runs scored.
Gleyber Torres had another impressive game, he was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
Yasiel Balaguert is getting back into games, and was solid tonight, he went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On the Mound:

Erick Leal got the start, and was stellar, he worked five scoreless innings, giving up three hits while walking one, and striking out six.
Tyler Ihrig might have been better, he tossed four scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the year. Ihrig only surrendered one hit, didn’t walk anyone, and struck out five.

Full Box Score

After falling behind early 1-o, the Smokies outscored Jackson 9-1 the rest of the way en route to a 9-2 victory. A much needed victory for the Smokies as the last two nights they watch late inning leads disappear in horrible fashion.

At the Plate:

Kyle Schwarber had a monster game, he went 3-for-6 with his second dinger of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.
Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-3 with a double, three walks(!), and two runs scored.
Willson Contreras had a solid game, he was 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI, two walks, and two runs scored.
Ryan Dent was great, he went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s.

On the Mound:

Felix Pena got the start and picked up his second win of the season, he worked 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits while walking two, and striking out eight.
Matt Brazis was solid, he worked a scoreless inning, giving up one hit while walking two, and striking out one.
P.J. Francescon, and Michael Jensen each had a scoreless appearance out of the pen.

Riding the Bus: April 17, 2015 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

FRIDAY • APRIL 17, 2015

Full Box Score

The Pelicans didn’t get much in this one, but thanks to Daury Torrez it was enough for a win. Trailing 1-0, the Pelicans scored three times in the second inning to take a 3-1 en route to a 3-2 victory. There were chances all over the base paths in this one, but the Pelicans could only go 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position, hurts less when you win though.

At the Plate:

Billy McKinney is off to a slow start this year, but had a solid game, he was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Jeimer Candelario was a big factor in the win, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and a run scored.
Jacob Rogers has been really good this year, he was again tonight, he went 2-for-4 with a walk, and a run scored.
Daniel Lockhart continues his hot start, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .368 on the season.

On the Mound:

Daury Torrez got the start and was pretty good despite some command issues, he worked five innings, giving up one run on four hits while walking three, and striking out four.
James Pugliese turned in a solid relief effort, he tossed 2.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out two.
Matt Brazis worked the final inning and two-thirds to pick up his first save of the season, he walked two, and struck out one.

Full Box Score

Offensive explosion for South Bend in this one as they pounded out fourteen hits, and scored eleven run to take care of Fort Wayne 11-3. Four different Cubs had multi-hit games, and they were 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position, if you get twenty one opportunities with runners in scoring position you should win. It was 11-0 in the 5th inning so Cubs pitchers had an easy go of it, and cruised through the rest of this one.

At the Plate:

Chesny Young had an interesting night, he was 1-for-2 with FOUR walks, a stolen base, and a run scored.
Gioskar Amaya had a solid game, he was 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
Cael Brockmeyer is on fire right now (not literally), he went 3-for-4 with a run scored, he’s now hitting .467 on the season.
Jason Volser had a productive day, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.
Jeffrey Baez and the bottom of the order did some work tonight, Baez was 3-for-5 with a run scored.
The eight hitter Charcer Burks finished the night 2-for-5 with two RBI’s, and a run scored.
The ninth hitter Rashad Crawford was 2-for-5 with two RBI’s, and two runs scored in the win.

On the Mound:

Erick Leal got the start, and was pretty solid. Leal worked five innings, giving up one run on six hits while walking two, and striking out three.
Jordan Minch was knocked around a bit out of the pen, he tossed two innings, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one, and striking out two.
Tyler Ihrig cleaned things up in this one, nicely. He worked two scoreless innings, giving up one hit while striking out two.

Full Box Score

Pitching dominated game one in Tennessee as neither team could scratch across a run until the Smokies were able walk-off in the bottom of the 7th (Minor league DH’s are seven innings). The Smokies only had one chance with runners in scoring position, and they capitalized. The pitching was outstanding for Tennessee as they kept Pensacola off the board, and only allowed two hits in the win.

At the Plate:

Kyle Schwarber was back in the lineup tonight, he went 0-for-1 with two walks, he’s hitting .308 on the season.
Dan Vogelbach continues to be the story of the minor league season so far, he was 2-for-3 in this one, which raised his average to .500, that’s on the season.
The lone RBI came from Bijan Rademacher, who was 1-for-3 in game one.

On the Mound:

Ivan Pineyro got the start and was about as good as he could be, he worked six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits while walking none, and striking out three.
Hunter Cervenka earned his first save of the year, he worked a scoreless inning while walking one.

Full Box Score

Much of the same for the Smokies in game two as they were only able to score once while registering six hits in a 4-1 loss. The defense didn’t do much to help out the pitching staff in this one, they committed four errors rendering three of the four runs unearned. Other than that the pitching was outstanding once again, just a sloppy defensive effort.

At the Plate:

Bijan Rademacher had another solid game, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored in the night cap.
Dan Vogelbach is a man possessed right now, he was 3-for-3 in game two, he is now hitting .556 on the season.
Stephen Bruno, who did not start game two, went 2-for-2 but did make two costly errors.

On the Mound:

Jeffry Antigua got the game two start and was pretty good, he worked 3.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out four.
Stephen Perakslis was tremendous out of the pen, he worked 1.1 scoreless innings, surrendering no hits, and striking out two.
Andres Santiago bounced back with a nice outing, he worked two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.
Zach Cates was the hard luck loser in this one, he worked two innings, giving up three runs, all unearned, on three hits while walking one, and striking out one.

Full Box Score

Rough night for the Iowa Cubs as they played their first game AB (After Bryant), and could only manage two runs on five hits in a 3-2 loss. The Cubs really had no answer for Oklahoma City pitching all night, and were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. On the bright side, the Cubs pitching got a healthy Tsuyoshi Wada back tonight, and he threw the ball well.

At the Plate:

John Andreoli had a solid game at the top of the order, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored.
Chris Valaika provided some production in this one, he was 1-for-3 with two RBI’s.
Rafael Lopez, Christian Villanueva, and Mike Baxter all had one hit games in the loss.

On the Mound:

Tsuyoshi Wada made his 2015 debut tonight after some lingering injuiries that lasted through camp. Wada worked 4.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits while walking two, and striking out six.
Yoanner Negrin was knocked around in this one, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one, and striking out one.
Drake Britton was outstanding out of the pen, he worked two scoreless innings, surrendering no hits while striking out two.
Blake Cooper kept this close late, he worked a scoreless inning, giving only one hit in doing so.

Riding the Bus: April 10, 2015 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

FRIDAY APRIL 10, 2015

Full Box Score

The South Bend Cubs moved to 2-0 on the young season tonight as 2014 15th round draft pick Jeremy Null was brilliant. Null got the start and worked five scoreless innings, giving up just two hits while striking out seven, not a single walk. That was more than enough for the SB Cubs offense as they pounded out ten hits en route to a 7-4 victory over Bowling Green.

At the Plate:

Trey Martin provided the production from the top of the order in this one, he was 1-for-5 with three RBI’s, and a run scored.
Chesny Young has had a good start to the season, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the victory.
Jeffrey Baez was solid yet again tonight, he went 2-for-4, and is now hitting .375 on the season.
Jesse Hodges and the bottom of the order were noticeable in this one, Hodges went 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored.
Charcer Burks, and Rashad Crawford each had a hit, and a walk in the eight and ninth spots respectively.

On the Mound:

The pen didn’t fair as well as Null in this one, Jasvir Rakkar worked two innings, giving up two runs, one earned on five hits while striking out one.
Tommy Thorpe closed things down, he worked two innings, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one, and striking out three.

Full Box Score

Not a whole lot went right for the Pelicans tonight as they fell behind Wilmington 6-0 in the fourth on their way to an 8-3 loss. If was a rough night on the mound for Pelicans starter Daury Torrez, he could only get through 4.2 innings as he picked up his first loss of the season.

At the Plate:

Jacob Hannemann is doing good things early on, he was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base.
Ben Carhart had a solid 2015 debut, he went 1-for-3 with a double, and two runs scored.
Mark Zagunis has been impressive, he was solid in the loss tonight, he went 1-for-4 with a walk, and a stolen base.

On the Mound:

Daury Torrez got knocked around in this one, he worked 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on seven hits while walking one, and striking out five.
I’m excited about Josh Conway, he just didn’t have it tonight, he went 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while walking one, and striking out one.
Gerardo Concepcion is on the comeback trail, he was great tonight, he worked two scoreless innings, giving up no hits while walking one, and striking out two.
Tayler Scott finished this one off, he worked one scoreless inning, giving up one hit while striking out two.

Full Box Score

A weird one in Mississippi as the Smokies jumped out to a 5-0 lead only to see it vanish in an 8-7 loss. The Smokies attempted to mount a comeback in the 8th, but could only close the gap to one run. A tough night for the Smokies pitchers as the Braves worked six walks, and registered nine hits.

At the Plate:

Pin-Chieh Chen provided some production at the top, he was 1-for-4 with a walk, and two RBI’s.
Bijan Rademacher is red-hot, he went 3-for-5 with a double, and three RBI’s.
Dan Vogelbach had a solid game, he finished the night 1-for-3 with two walks.
Willson Contreras smacked the ball all over tonight, he was 3-for-5 in the loss.
Stephen Bruno came off the bench to have a good game, he went 2-for-2 with a run scored.

On the Mound:

Ivan Pineyro got the start and struggled with command, he worked four innings, giving up three runs on three hits while walking three, and striking out four.
Andres Santiago wasn’t much better, and was hung with the loss, he worked just two-thirds of an inning, giving up three runs on three hits while walking two, and striking out one.
Michael Jensen was the lone bright spot tonight, he worked 1.1 scoreless innings, surrendering no hits while walking one, and striking out three.
Fernando Cruz was roughed up as well, he worked two innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out three.

Full Box Score

It hasn’t been the start that the Iowa Cubs, and Cubs fans were expecting. For the second straight night the Memphis Redbirds took it to Iowa, it was especially bad tonight as Iowa trailed 7-0 after two. Some of the big league club’s struggles are rubbing off on Iowa as they can’t seem to find any offense yet.

At the Plate:

Junior Lake is displaying his new approach, he was 1-for-3 with a walk in the loss.
Addison Russell is one guy that is swinging it well, he went 1-for-4 with a double, he’s hitting .375 so far this season.
Chris Valaika, Mike Baxter, and Jonathan Mota were the only other I-Cubs to register a base hit, one each.

On the Mound:

Carlos Pimentel didn’t have it tonight, he worked 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs, five earned while walking four, and striking out five.
Jeffry Antigua was okay out of the pen, he worked 2.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits while walking one, and striking out two.
Zac Rosscup, and Blake Parker were able to stop the bleeding as each guy worked a scoreless inning.

Minor Matters – June 1, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – Rough one for the Iowa Cubs as they built a 6-1 lead by the third inning and ended up losing 7-6 in thirteen innings, what’s worse is they gave up two runs in the ninth to let a win get away. Brett Jackson was 1-for-5 with a walk, third home run of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored. Brent Lillibridge had a great game going 4-for-6 with his fourth double of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Ian Stewart played! He also had a decent day going 1-for-3 with his fifth double of the season, and two RBI’s.

On The Mound – Weird night for the Iowa pitching as they missed a lot of bats, and found a lot of them too. Guillermo Moscoso was beat up but did alright I guess, he worked 5.2 innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking two and striking out ten (see?). Hisanori Takahashi worked two-thirds of an inning, he walking one and struck out one. Casey Coleman is quietly settling in at Iowa, he worked 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out two. Eduardo Sanchez is officially a Cub, he worked the ninth inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out one to register the blown save. Marcus Hatley was recently promoted to Iowa from Tennessee and had his best outing tonight; he worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out three. Jeffry Antigua suffered the loss in this one but didn’t pitch poorly, he worked two innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out four.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies got knocked around pretty good in this one as the Barons built a 5-0 lead en route to cruising to a 9-3 victory. Matt Szczur did his thing at the top of the lineup going 1-for-2 with three walks (CUBS WAY!), and his fourteenth stolen base of the season. Arismendy Alcantara, or as I like to call him “Scoresheet” was 1-for-3 with a walk, his ninth home run of the season, and two runs scored. Christian Villanueva provided some pop in this one as well going 1-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Aside from Matt Loosen the Smokies pitching wasn’t half bad, unfortunately Loosen started this one. Loosen took his second loss of the season after going 5.1 innings giving up eight runs, four earned, on six hits while walking four and striking out three. Frank Batista was solid out of the pen going 1.2 scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out one. Trey McNutt worked an inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one, if McNutt can harness his stuff and cut down on the walks his ERA will dwindle as well.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Offensive explosion time for Daytona as they pounded out twenty hits, and scored fourteen runs beating Brevard County 14-5. This might be the longest “at the plate” recap that I write all year, and really, I’m okay with that. Ben Carhart was fantastic today, going 3-for-6 with two doubles giving him fourteen on the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Javier Baez won the night, end of discussion, that’s it; he was 5-for-6 with three doubles, his ninth home run of the season, SIX RBI’s (ZOMG!), and three runs scored, wow. Jorge Soler also had a solid night going 2-for-5 with his eighth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Dustin Geiger was slugging as well going 2-for-5 with two doubles, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Chadd Krist was also productive in this one going 2-for-3 with his sixth double of the season, and three RBI’s. Wes Darvill and Taylor Davis contributed as well, with Darvill having three hits, and Davis adding two.

On The Mound – P.J. Francescon found some of his 2012 magic in this one, helps having a ginormous lead, but it was nice to see him have a nice outing. He worked six innings giving up one run on five hits while striking out six, with no walks (that’s important). Austin Reed was roughed up a bit out of the pen as he worked two innings giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out three. Sheldon McDonald closed the door in this one, he worked one inning giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Nightmarish night for the floundering Cougars as they were obliterated by the Kernels 15-2, yes, a team named after corn scored fifteen runs tonight (they are good, I know). Nice to see Albert Almora in the lineup and healthy after a hamstring scare, he was 2-for-4 with a run scored; he’s now hitting .444 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4 with two singles, kind of shocked that he didn’t hit any doubles in this one. The Cougars could only manage seven hits and two runs tonight as their entire lineup is struggling at the same time, which usually results in losses.

On The Mound – Taylor Scott isn’t used to being roughed up, but he didn’t have it tonight. Scott suffered his second loss of the season as he worked four innings giving up seven runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out four. Ian Dickson wasn’t much better, he worked three innings giving up five runs on four hits while walking five (NO!), and striking out two. Nathan Dorris was solid in this one, working one scoreless inning giving up one hit; his ERA is now 2.78 on the season. David Bote, the second baseman, worked the ninth inning and well, looked like a second baseman pitching. Bote gave up three runs on three hits while walking two in his inning of work.

Minor Matters – May 26, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – Iowa is on a roll, they have now won four games in a row, and seven of their last eight. The Cubs could only manage four hits, and two runs but it was enough for the victory over Oklahoma City. Brian Bogusevic, and Brent Lillibridge each had one hit, and one stolen base in the victory, both hits were singles. It was the Edwin Maysonet show offensively for the Cubs, he was 2-for-2 with his fourth home run of the season, an RBI, a double, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Barret Loux finally got things in order and was outstanding to earn his third win of the season. Loux went six strong innings giving up one run on three hits while walking three and striking out six. Blake Parker was solid as usual to close this one out; he worked one scoreless inning while striking out one to earn his seventh save of the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Make that five wins in a row for Iowa, and eight wins in their last nine games as they finished off an impressive double-header sweep over a good RedHawks team. The Cubs struck for three runs in the first inning and that lead held up until the sixth inning when Oklahoma City tied things up, but the Cubs bounced right back in the bottom half to win it 4-3. Logan Watkins was 1-for-3 with his fifth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Brian Bogusevic, Brett Jackson, and Brad Nelson each had one hit in the victory, Bogusevic and Jackson also had a stolen base. Donnie Murphy was 1-for-2 with his fourth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Yoanner Negrin got the start in this one, he normally does most of his work out of the pen, but he was solid. Negrin worked 4.1 innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking three and striking out five. Marcus Hatley worked 1.2 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two, which was good enough to give Hatley his first win of the season. Zach Putnam worked a scoreless seventh inning to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies pounded out ten hits and five runs en route to a 5-2 victory over Huntsville on Sunday Night. Matt Szczur was 2-for-4 with his ninth double of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with his ninth double of the season in the win. Tim Torres is having a solid 2013, he was 1-for-3 with his second home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Arismendy Alcantara continues to hit, he was 1-for-3 with a walk (that’s great to see from him), and he made his seventeenth error of the season.

On The Mound – Eric Jokisch is putting together quite the solid season; he was good again in this one as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Jokisch worked 5.2 innings giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out six, he lowered his ERA to 3.44 on the season. Trey McNutt bounced back with a solid performance out of the pen, he worked a scoreless inning while striking out the side. Zach Rosscup was solid as well going 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two. Frank Batista worked a scoreless inning as well while striking out one; he has a sparkling 2.14 ERA on the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Daytona fell behind 4-0 early and couldn’t ever get back in this one as they fell to Lakeland 5-3. Zeke DeVoss had a solid day from the leadoff spot going 3-for-4 with a walk, all three hits were singles. Javier Baez was 1-for-3, he also made his twenty-third error of the season, he’s now hitting .266 this year. Jorge Soler was 1-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Chadd Krist was 2-for-4 with his fourth double of the season in the loss.

On The Mound – P.J. Francescon got the start in this one, and was roughed up as he suffered his fourth loss of the season. Francescon worked six innings giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out six. Yao-Lin Wang was solid going 1.2 innings giving up one run on no hits while walking one and striking out two. Jeffrey Lorick was good out of the pen going 1.1 scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out two.

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At The Plate – The Cougars did everything but win this game as they built a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning only to see it disappear in the sixth en route to a 6-5 loss. Pin-Chieh Chen was solid out of the leadoff spot going 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Albert Almora continues to hit, he was 2-for-5, which actually lowered his average to .538 on the season. Marco Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two singles, and an RBI in the loss. Gioskar Amaya was 1-for-4 with his first home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Taylor Scott was roughed up, but really only had two bad innings as he earned a no decision. Scott worked 5.2 innings giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two. Eddie Orozco added fuel to the fire in the fateful sixth, he worked 2.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out three. Jeffry Antigua was solid going one scoreless inning giving up one hit while striking out one.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Minor Matters – May 18, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – The losing ways continue for the Iowa Cubs and they can blame themselves as they made four errors in the loss. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, and a run scored, he also made his fourth error of the season. Ian Stewart got a rare start and made it count going 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored. Donnie Murphy was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound – Chris Rusin got the start and didn’t help himself as he made on of the errors, but he battled. Rusin went 6.2 innings giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out three. Zach Putnam worked out of Rusin’s trouble in the seventh getting the final out on strikeout. Rafael Dolis worked a scoreless inning in relief giving up two hits while striking out one. Blake Parker worked a scoreless inning as well giving up on hit while walking one and striking out one.

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At The Plate – The Smokies are on a roll again, with the win they are now three game above .500 for the season. Matt Szczur shows up in every recap, he was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .304 on the season. Ronald Torreyes was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Arismendy Alcantara was all over the scoresheet in this one, he was 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, two doubles, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he also made his fourteenth error of the season. Anthony Giansanti also had a big day, and has been awesome since he was promoted to Tennessee, he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .353 on the season.

On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got the start and his fourth win of the season as he was solid. Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out six. Trey McNutt got back on track working one scoreless inning giving up one hit while striking out two. Kevin Rhoderick continues to struggle, he worked one inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out one. Brian Schlitter worked the ninth for his second save of the season, he went one inning giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while striking out one.

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At The Plate – Nice response the last few days from Daytona as the bats have woke up in a big way, fifteen more hits today in the victory. The D-Cubs were only 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position in this one, but having twenty chances is rather impressive. Zeke DeVoss has been struggling but had a solid game going 2-for-5 with two singles, he was picked off as well. Javier Baez had another solid game going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Jorge Soler picked up right where he left off from yesterday, he was 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Dustin Geiger also kept things rolling going 2-for-5 with yet another double, and a run scored. Ben Carhart supplied the power in this one going 1-for-5 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Zach Cates got the start and picked up his fourth win of the season going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one. David Cales was solid out of the pen going 2.1 innings giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits while walking one and striking out four. Hunter Cervenka was solid again working a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season.

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At The Plate – Another solid game between the Cougars and the high-powered Kernels, this time Kane County got the best of them winning 4-0. Dan Vogelbach was 2-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, he’s now hitting .288 for the year. Rock Shoulders has been coming back down to Earth as of late, can’t really blame him, but was solid in this one going 2-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Oliver Zapata provided some surprising offense out of the nine spot going 3-for-4 with his third home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Pierce Johnson was brilliant in this one as he shut down the prospect laden Kernels. Johnson went six scoreless innings giving up six hits while walking one and striking out nine to earn his second win of the season. Justin Amlung was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings while walking two and striking out three. Jeffry Antigua closed the door in the ninth working a scoreless inning giving up on hit while striking out two.

Minor Matters – May 16, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – Iowa didn’t really have a lot going offensively, but they didn’t need it as the one run they scored in the second inning was enough for the win. Brent Lillibridge was 1-for-3 with a walk in the win. Dave Sappelt, Brian Bogusevic, and Josh Vitters all had base hits in this one. Donnie Muphy had the biggest one, a run scoring single in the second, he finished the night 1-for-2 with said RBI.

On The Mound – Matt Garza is just about ready to return to the Cubs and he showed it tonight. Garza was brilliant going six scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out six, he threw 75 pitches, 53 for strikes. Brooks Raley took it from there as he worked three scoreless inning out of the pen for his first save of the year, he gave up two hits while walking one and striking out three.

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At The Plate – The Smokies broke through with two runs in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and eventually win 6-4, the win pushes them one game over .500 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-4 with a double and a runs scored in the win. Ty Wright had a huge night for the Smokies going 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI’s, and two runs scored, Wright came into this one with no home runs on the season. Jonathan Mota was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Rafael Lopez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

On The Mound – Matt Loosen never really found his command in this one as he worked four innings giving up four runs on three hits while walking six(!), and striking out five. Then the bullpen took over for the Smokies and won the game. A.J. Morris was perfect going three scoreless innings while striking out three to get his second win of the season. Marcus Hatley worked a scoreless eighth inning giving up one hit. Frank Batista worked a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save of the season while striking out one.

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At The Plate – The Daytona bats finally woke up, unfortunately that wasn’t enough to win tonight as they drop another disappointing one to Charlotte. Daytona scored seven times but left a lot out there as they were only 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Dustin Geiger is putting together a solid season and had another good night going 3-for-5 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .298 on the season. Ben Carhart was 1-for-4 with a walk, and two runs scored in the loss. Huge night for Chadd Krist, he went 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, and five RBI’s, not bad for his second game with Daytona.

On The Mound – Probably the worst outing you will ever see P.J. Francescon have, he had nothing. Francescon went five innings giving up ten runs, eight earned, on nine hits while walking five and striking out three, his record fell to 3-3 on the season. Jeffrey Lorick was decent out of the pen going 1.2 innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out one. David Cales was okay out of the pen going 1.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Hunter Cervenka worked a scoreless inning giving up one hit, he has a sparkling 1.62 ERA on the season.

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At The Plate – Game one was all Cougars, they didn’t break it open until late but they only needed one as they beat the Chiefs in game one 5-0. Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored from the lead-off spot. Gioskar Amaya had a big game going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI’s, and a run scored. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a double, and an RBI in the win. Willson Contreras is locked in right now, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, he is now hitting .307 on the season. Marco Hernandez was perfect in game one going 3-for-3 with a double, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Brian Smith was awesome for the Cougars, in fact he was almost perfect. Smith worked four scoreless, and hit-less innings while walking two and striking out two. Eddie Orozco took over and was very good, he worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out one to earn his second win of the season. Jeffry Antigua came on to close this one out, he worked a scoreless inning while striking out one.

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At The Plate – The Chiefs got payback in game two as they routed the Cougars 8-2, the Cougars could only manage three hits in this one. What’s worse is they committed six errors in seven innings, that usually doesn’t end well. Jeimer Candelario was one of the few Cougars who had a strong game two at the plate, he was 2-for-3 with two doubles, he also committed three errors. Marco Hernandez proved to be the only offense for the Cougars going 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, a run scored, and you guessed it, an error.

On The Mound – As you could imagine the Cougars pitching didn’t get a lot of help from their defense. Michael Heesch got the start and took the loss, he worked three innings giving up six runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two. Steve Perakslis was solid out of the pen working three scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out two. Bijan Rademacher, the Cougars starting right fielder, worked one inning giving up two runs, unearned, on two hits while walking one.

Minor Matters – May 13, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – Nice comeback win for the Cubs as they trailed for most of the game and really couldn’t generate any offense. They only needed one inning to get the job done as they scored six times in the sixth en route to a 6-4 win. One small note, that was big in this game was the Cubs turned five double plays, FIVE, that’s hard to do. Josh Vitters was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored in the victory. Brad Nelson was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .278 on the season. Donnie Murphy had a big game going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, a double, and a run scored.

On The Mound – The Cubs gave up twelve hits in this one but held the Aces (get it?) to only four runs thanks in large part to those five double plays I mentioned. Nick Struck got the start and battled to earn his first win of the season while not having his best stuff. Struck went six innings giving up four runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out four. Esmailin Caridad worked two scoreless innings out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one. Zach Putnam was solid as well, he worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

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At The Plate – What a thrilling win for the Smokies as they trailed 4-2 heading to the ninth where they scored four times to take a 6-4 lead, and get the victory. Matt Szczur came into this year with a lot to prove, and so far he’s proving an awful lot. He was 2-for-5 with a double, his thirteenth stolen base of the year, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .291 on the season. Rafael Lopez has been on fire of late, he was 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the victory. Anthony Giansanti who was recently promoted from Daytona was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got the start and had another solid outing, Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out three. Tony Zych walked a fine line in his inning of work giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while walking two and striking out one. Trey McNutt struggled a bit with command, but was also overpowering in his inning of work, he walked two and struck out three to earn his second win of the season. Kevin Rhoderick had one of his best outings of the year to nail down his first save; he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two.

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At The Plate – Daytona had nothing going in this one, and really I can’t blame them as they haven’t seen game action for five days. The D-Cubs could only manage five hits in the shutout loss, the Stone Crabs tried to help them as much as possible with three errors but Daytona couldn’t take advantage as they were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Only three guys were able to record hits in this one, Zeke DeVoss went 2-for-4, Ben Carhart went 2-for-4, and Chadd Krist went 1-for-3, all singles.

On The Mound – The Daytona pitching was good enough to win in this one, but had to work around some trouble, they got a lot of help from their defense as the D-Cubs turned four double plays, and ahad two outfield assists. Zach Cates got the start and took his fourth loss of the season, he worked six innings giving up three runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out three. Frank Del Valle was his usual solid self, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two. Luis Liria worked a scoreless inning as well, giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two. David Cales worked a scoreless ninth inning to keep Daytona close.

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At The Plate – The Cougars couldn’t get anything going all day long, and when they did threaten they couldn’t come through as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with his fourth stolen base of the season. Dan Vogelbach continues to hit as he was 2-for-4, he is now hitting .295 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-4 with his tenth double of the season in the loss.

On The Mound – Pierce Johnson was solid once again in this one; unfortunately he was hung with the loss which drops his record to 1-3 on the season. Johnson went six innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out six. Jeffry Antigua was just about perfect out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings while striking out five.

The Cubs Venezuelan Summer League opened yesterday, things didn’t go so well. The VSL Cubs lost 22-11 to the VSL Rays, you can view the box score here.