Minor Matters – April 18, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – The Smokies trailed 3-0 early but fought their way all the way back to win this one 5-3.  Arismendy Alcantara continues to be a threat in the Smokies lineup, he was 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base (his 5th in the last two games), and a run scored.  Jae-Hoon Ha was 1-for-4 with a two walks, and two runs scored.  Justin Bour had the biggest hit of the day, and he was the most productive, he was 1-for-3 with three walks, and three RBI’s.

On The Mound – The Smokies nearly exhausted all their options on the mound as they used six pitchers in the victory.  Kyle Hendricks got the start, he only made it through two innings giving up three runs on five hits while walking one.  The next five Smokies pitchers went nine scoreless innings combined, giving up just two hits, they did walk six guys, and struck out four.  Trey McNutt got the win out of the pen going two scoreless innings giving up one hit and walking one.

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At The Plate – Another high scoring wild game for the Daytona Cubs, unfortunately the D-Cubs came out on the short end last night.  Zeke DeVoss had another solid game from the lead-off spot going 2-for-4 with a walk, and an RBI.  Javier Baez is starting to get locked in at the plate going 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .226 on the season (six hits in the last three games).  Jorge Soler made his return to the D-Cubs lineup after serving his five game suspension, he went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.  Stephen Bruno continues his hot start going 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s hitting .407 on the season.

On The Mound –  P.J. Francescon got beat up again but didn’t get the loss, he worked three innings giving up seven runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out two.  Eduardo Figueroa took the loss in this one, as he worked three innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out two.  Austin Reed was beat up as well, he worked 1.2 innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking four as well, and striking out two.  Sheldon McDonald worked 1.1 scoreless innings, he walked two and struck out one.

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At The Plate – Kane County trailed 5-0 early but came right back to take a 8-5 lead by the 4th inning but stumbled late in losing 9-8 to the River Bandits.  Five different players had at least two hits for the Cougars.  Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-5 with two doubles, and two runs scored from the lead-off spot.  Marco Hernandez was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, with a caught stealing.  Willson Contreras was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI’s, a walk, and a run scored.  Daniel Vogelbach was 2-for-5 with an RBI, and a run scored in the loss.

On The Mound – Lendy Castillo was roughed up in this one, as he worked four innings with five runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out six.  Justin Amlung didn’t fare much better out of the bullpen going 3.2 innings giving up three runs on three hits while walking two and striking out one.  Steve Perakslis took the loss going 2.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out one.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 17, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – The Smokies could only manage six hits, but worked seven walks en route to beating Huntsville 4-1.  Arismendy Alcantara had quite the day at the plate and on the base paths.  Alcantara was 1-for-1 with three walks, four(!) stolen bases, two errors (oops), and a run scored.  Christian Villanueva had the big blow in this one going 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run, three RBI’s, and a run scored.  Justin Bour was 1-for-2 with two walks, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Eric Jokisch was outstanding today going six scoreless innings giving up three hits with no walks while striking out seven to earn his second win of the season.  Zach Rosscup was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one.  Brian Schlitter had trouble with his command in the ninth giving up one run, unearned, on no hits while walking two.

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At The Plate – After giving up fifteen runs on twenty-seven hits a day ago the D-Cubs got some payback today.  Daytona scored thirteen runs on twelve hits with seven different players registering at least one hit, the Cubs also walked eleven(!) times.  Zeke DeVoss got things started at the top going 1-for-2 with three walks, a stolen base, a caught stealing, a double, and two runs scored.  Javier Baez looks to be coming around at the plate as he had a monster game today going 3-for-6 with a home run, two RBI’s and three runs scored.  Dustin Geiger continues to pound the ball as of late, he went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBI’s and two runs scored.  Ben Carhart was 2-for-5 with two RBI’s in the win.

On The Mound – The D-Cubs pitching bounced back nicely today.  Yao-Lin Wang got the start going four innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking two.  Austin Kirk came out the pen today and actually went more innings than Yao-Lin in this one.  Kirk went five innings to get the win, he gave up one run on three hits while walking two and striking out four.

NOTES:  Kane County and Iowa were both rained out

Thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 16, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – You wouldn’t know it by the hit totals, but the I-Cubs won this one rather handily 4-3.  Iowa only had three hits, and gave up ten, but that’s not what decides games.  Ty Wright was 1-for-4 with a run scored.  Ryan Sweeney had one of the other hits and it was a big one, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple, and an RBI.  J.C. Boscan had the biggest hit of the day as he was 1-for-3 with a double, and two RBI’s, definitely an odd game at the plate, but drawing four walks definitely helped.

On The Mound –  Plenty of hits given up by the Cubs staff, but they didn’t walk anyone, and that was a huge reason they pulled this one out.  Brooks Raley had a tremendous outing getting his first win of the season going six scoreless innings giving up six hits, and striking out seven.  Yoanner Negrin continues to be untouchable out of the pen, he worked two scoreless innings only giving up two hits.  Cory Wade worked the ninth and gave up one run on two hits while striking out two.

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At The Plate – A back and forth game in Huntsville ended with the Smokies hanging on to win 4-3 over the Stars.  Matt Szczur continues to be productive out of the lead-off spot, he went 2-for-3 with a home run, a stolen base, a caught stealing, an RBI, and a run scored.  Justin Bour also joined in on the fun going 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and a run scored.  Rubi Silva has been scorching hot all year and it was no different last night, he was 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s hitting .405 on the season now.

On The Mound – Alberto Cabrera got the start and his second win of the season as he went six innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out five.  A.J. Morris was solid out of the pen going two scoreless, and hitless innings while striking out three.  Frank Batista worked the ninth for his second save, although he made it exciting, he worked one inning giving up one run on one hit while walking one.

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At The Plate – All sorts of offense from Daytona but it wasn’t nearly enough in this one.  Seven out of the nine players in the lineup had at least one hit.  John Andreoli was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, two stolen bases, and one run scored.  Javy Baez connected on his second homer of the season, he finished the day 1-for-5 with an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Stephen Bruno was 2-for-2 with two walks with a double, and a run scored.  Dustin Geiger continues to stay hot going 2-for-3 with an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .310 on the season.

On The Mound – I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything like this in just nine innings.  The D-Cubs staff gave up fifteen runs, that was low in my opinion seeing that they gave up twenty-seven hits, twenty-seven!  Ryan Searle has been great this year, not last night, he went 4.2 innings giving up seven runs on fifteen(!) hits while striking out five, his ERA sits at 4.85 right now, a small miracle given how many runs he gave up.  Hunter Cervenka and Luis Liria gave up a combined seven runs in 2.1 innings.  Taylor Davis, a catcher, worked one inning giving up one run on four hits.

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At The Plate – The Cougars had a thrilling comeback win in game one as they scored twice in the last two innings to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3.  Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.  Daniel Vogelbach was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored, with that two hit game his average climbed to .302 on the season.  Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-3 with a big two run double to help the Cougars come all the way back.

On The Mound –  Errors got the best of the Cougars early on and it showed in the pitching staff”s numbers.  Jose Arias got the start and went four innings giving up three runs, all unearned, on four hits while walking three and striking out three.  Jeffry Antigua was great out of the pen and was rewarded with his first win of the season.  Antigue went three scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out three.

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At The Plate – No such comeback luck in this one from the Cougars as they were done in by a seven run second inning.  Marco Hernandez was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, an error, and two runs scored.  Wes Darvill was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Bijan Rademacher was 2-for-2 with a walk.  The top three guys in the Cougars order went 0-for-10 in game two, and the Cougars went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

On The Mound – Michael Heesch got the start and didn’t get much help from his defense.  Heesch went 1.2 innings giving up six runs, two earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out two.  Brian Smith got beat up a little bit as he went 2.1 innins giving up two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out two.  Steve Perakslis and Nathan Dorris each tossed a scoreless inning in the loss.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 13, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – Logan Watkins showed off his tremendous skill set once again last night.  Watkins was 1-for-3 with two walks, a home runs, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.  Watkins now had ten walks in ten games so far this season.  Darwin Barney made his first rehab start and looked decent at the plate going 1-for-4 with a run scored, and two strikeouts.  Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with an RBI, J.C. Boscan also went 2-for-4 in the loss, he had an RBI and a run scored as well.

On The Mound – Barret Loux got the start and was much better this time out.  Loux went five innings giving up one run on six hits while walking two and striking out five to earn his first win of the season.  Yoanner Negrin has been outstanding once again as he went three innings only allowing two hits while striking out eight, eight!  Blake Parker tossed a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one.

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At The Plate – The Smokies jumped out to an 8-1 lead and just barely held on for an 8-6 victory.  Ronald Torreyes made his return to the lineup, his first appearance of 2013 and was solid going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored from the lead-off spot.  Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI’s and two runs scored.  Rubi Silva also had a breakout game going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .320 on the year.  Justin Bour only had one hit, but was productive, he finished the day 1-for-4 with three RBI’s.

On The Mound – The Smokies were good, and not so good late.  Kyle Hendricks got the start and the win, he went six innings giving up one run, unearned, on five hits while walking three and striking out one.  A.J. Morris struggled out of the pen going 1.1 innings giving up five runs on three hits while walking two hits while striking out one.  Frank Batista settled things down to earn the save, he went 1.2 innings giving up no runs on one hit while striking out one.

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At The Plate – The D-Cubs fell behind early and just couldn’t generate enough offense to get back into this one.  Javier Baez is starting to show signs of breaking out as he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and two runs scored.  John Andreoli was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, he’s now hitting .364 on the season.  Stephen Bruno was 2-for-4 with two RBI’s and a run scored.  Dustin Geiger was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI’s in the loss.

On The Mound – A rare bad outing from P.J. Francescon, he got the loss going five innings giving up six runs on eight hits while walking none and striking out five.  Eduardo  Figueroa didn’t get much help from his defense as he worked three innings giving up three runs, all unearned, on two hits while walking four and striking out none.

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At The Plate – The Cougars built a 4-0 lead by the top of the third, by the bottom of the fourth it was gone.  The Cougars mounted a late comeback, but they ran out of time in game one.  Daniel Vogelbach continued his hot start to the season going 1-for-2 with two walks, his first home run, an RBI and two runs scored.  Rock Shoulders is even hotter at the plate right now going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .455 on the season.  Jeimer Candelario finally had a solid game going 1-for-2 with two walks, a double, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Ian Dickson hasn’t had the best start to the 2013 season, that continued in this one.  Dickson went five innings giving up seven runs on eights hits while walking none and striking out three.  Brian Smith tossed a scoreless inning in relief only giving up one hit.

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At The Plate – It took eleven innings but the Cougars were able to split the double-header with the Timer Rattlers.  Jeimer Candelario had a solid second game as well going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.  Willson Contreras was great coming off the bench and ended up with the game winning home run, he was 2-for-2 with a home run, two RBI’s and a run scored.  Wes Darvill was 2-for-4 with a caught stealing, and an error, so a good and bad day for him.

On The Mound – Felix Pena was outstanding in this one going six innings giving up one run, unearned, on five hits while walking one and striking out three.  Justin Amlung, who has been roughed up in the early going had an outstanding outing yesterday.  Amlung went four scoreless innings out of the pen giving up only two hits while walking one and striking out one.  Eduardo Orozco earned his first save of the season tossing a scoreless inning giving up one hit and striking out one.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 10, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

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At The Plate – Hey! A Win!  The I-Cubs got their first win of the 2013 season on Wednesday night.  Ryan Sweeney was 2-for-5, the Cubs newcomer is now hitting .438 on the season.  Edwin Maysonet was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.  Luis Flores was 1-for-4 with his first home run of the season.

On The Mound – Really nice night from a staff that has been beaten up in the early going.  Drew Carpenter got the start and also walked away with the win going five innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out four.  Yoanner Negrin was great out of the pen going 2.2 innings giving up no runs on two hits while walking one and striking out two.  Blake Parker was stout as well in earning his first save of the season going 1.1 innings giving up only one hit while walking none and striking out two.

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At The Plate – Not a whole lot of offense in this one for the Smokies as they could only manage two runs on six hits.  Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with a double.  Justin Bour was solid tonight going 1-f0r-2 with two walks, a home run, an RBI, and a run scored.  Arismendy Alcantara was 1-for-4 with a double and three strike outs in the loss.

On The Mound – Dallas Beeler had a really good outing, unfortunately he was still hung with the loss.  Beeler went six innings giving up two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three.  The normally reliable Kevin Rhoderick had a rough go of it as he gave up four runs on two hits in 1.1 innings of work, he also walked two.  Frank Batista was solid out of the pen going 1.2 innings giving up no runs on two hits while striking out one.

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At The Plate – Well, this one will be talked about for one thing, the incident involving Soler, I wrote about it earlier, you can read about it here, just going to recap the game now.  Crazy game not counting fights as Daytona blew a two-run lead in the ninth and ended up losing by 5 in eleven.  Zeke DeVoss had another solid night at the top of the lineup going 2-for-6 with a home run, an RBI, and a run scored.  John Andreoli stayed red-hot going 3-for-6 with a double, he’s now hitting .478 on the season.  Jorge Soler did some good work with the bat…at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a run scored.  Stephen Bruno, Ben Carhart, and Taiwan Easterling all had two hits in this one.  Dustin Geiger and Easterling both went deep for their first home run of the season.

On The Mound – Some good, some really bad for the D-Cubs.  Ben Wells got the start and struggled with his command which cut his outing short.  Wells went four innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking four and not striking out anyone.  Austin Reed didn’t fare much better as he could only go one-third of an inning giving up three runs on two hits while walking two.  Ryan Searle was outstanding again going 3.2 innings giving up no runs on one hit while walking one and striking out four.  Luis Liria not only got the blown save but the loss as well as he went 2.2 innings giving up seven runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out three.

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At The Plate – The Cougars had an awesome approach at the plate today as they walked eight times, unfortunately they were only 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.  Jeimer Candelario didn’t have a hit in this one but he was able to walk three times.  Daniel Vogelbach was 1-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI.  Another day, another two hits for Rock Shoulders, he went 2-for-5 and is now hitting .467 on the season.  Bijan Rademacher was 1-for-2 with two walks, and two runs scored in the loss.  Trey Martin found some production today going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBI’s.

On The Mound – Remember how I mentioned how great the Cougars approach was because of the eight walks?  Well Cougars pitching issued ten free passes, not good.  Tayler Scott got the start and went two innings giving up four runs on three hits while walking five, he was slapped with the loss.  Nathan Dorris was outstanding in this one going four scoreless innings giving up only one hit and striking out five.  Steve Perakslis couldn’t keep things close as he went two innings giving up five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out three.  I mentioned Bijan Rademacher already, well he got to pitch as well, he worked one inning giving up one run, unearned, on no hits while walking three, it was that kind of day.

What a weird day, thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 7, 2013

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At The Plate – Not a whole lot going on for the Iowa Cubs in their fourth straight loss to start the season.  They could only manage three runs on four hits as they were swept by the Isotopes.  Ryan Sweeney had his second straight solid game going 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and RBI, and a run scored.  Brett Jackson was 1-for-4 with a runs scored, the I-Cubs were o-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

On The Mound – 2012 minor league pitcher of the year Nick Struck got the start, and also the loss in this one.  Struck went five innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking none and striking out one.  Casey Coleman worked two innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out two.  Jensen Lewis also gave up a run in an inning of work on two hits.

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At The Plate – The Smokies staged a late comeback that came up one run short.  Matt Szczur was 1-for-4 from the lead-off spot with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .368 on the season.  Justin Bour was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.  Jae-Hoon Ha was 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, he is now hitting .389 on the season.

On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks got the start, and had a rough go of it.  Hendrick went five innings giving up five runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out five, he took the loss.  Tony Zych (1.2 innings) and A.J. Morris (1.1 innings) each had scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.

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At The Plate – The D-Cubs are finding a grove right now, they are winning convincingly, and now have won three straight.  It was the Jorge Soler show again as he went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two RBI’s, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .438 on the season.  Stephen Bruno continued his hot start to the season going 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s hitting .385 on the season.  John Andreoli tops them all however as he went 2-for-3 with two walks, a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s hitting a robust .467 on the season.

On The Mound – P.J. Francescon was outstanding this afternoon, he went five scoreless innings, he gave up only one hit while walking one and striking out six.  Yeiper Castillo (2.0 innings), Luis Liria (1.0 inning), and Austin Reed (1.0 inning) all had scoreless appearances to close this one out.

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At The Plate – Pitchers duel in this one, only thirteen combined hits in thirteen innings as Kane County dropped their fourth straight.  Oliver Zapata had another solid game going 2-for-5 with a walk and a caught stealing, he’s now hitting .357 on the season.  Rock Shoulders continues his torrid start going 2-for-3, he’s now hitting .471 on the season.  Willson Contreras was 1-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound – Michael Heesch was outstanding this afternoon, he went 6.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking two and striking out five.  Felix Pena was just as solid out of the pen going 5.2 scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking one and striking out five.  Eduardo Orozco got the loss as he gave up two runs in his inning of work on two hits while walking one.

Thanks for reading,
– George

Minor Matters – April 5, 2013

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At The Plate – Logan Watkins had an excellent day at the top of the order, he was 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored, and two walks.  Four different Cubs had two hits in the loss, Brian Bogusevic, Brad Nelson, Luis Flores, and Edwin Maysonet.  Brad Nelson supplied the power today, both of his hits left the yard, he added a walk, and had three RBI’s.

On The Mound – Nothing good at all from the Iowa Cubs pitching today.  Drew Carpenter got the start and was lit up, giving up five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out one in four innings of work.  Jaye Chapman worked one inning giving up two runs on three hits while walking none and striking out one.  Cory Wade worked 1.2 innings, he gave up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out one.  Blake Parker gave up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out three in 1.1 innings.

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At The Plate – The Smokies did some major work at the plate in this one as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit.  Jae-Hoon Ha was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Christian Villanueva was awfully productive going 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI’s.  Justin Bour was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.  The Smokies had six doubles in the victory.

On The Mound – Alberto Cabrera was outstanding tonight, he went six strong innings giving up two runs on four hits, he didn’t walk anyone and struck out nine. Zach Rosscup was inspired by Cabrera and tried to one up him, Rosscup went two innings and only gave up one hit and struck out five.  Trey McNutt tossed a scoreless frame to close things out.

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At The Plate –  The D-Cubs mashed the ball all over the place tonight, something this team most definitely can do.  Zeke DeVoss had a big night at the top of the order going 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a walk, two RBI’s, a stolen base and a run scored.  Javier Baez was 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBI’s and a run scored.  John Andreoli, and Ben Carhart each had three hits, and Jorge Soler was 1-for-5 in the victory.

On The Mound – Quite the combo on the mound for the D-Cubs tonight.  Starling Peralta got the start and went 4.1 scoreless innings, he gave up only one hit while walking three and striking out five.  Ryan Searle followed that up with 4.2 scoreless innings, he gave up two hits, walked no one, and struck out six.  The final line for D-Cubs pitching, nine innings, three hits, no runs, three walks, and eleven strikeouts.

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At The Plate – The Cougars pounded out ten hits, unfortunately they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.  Rock Shoulders was 1-for-4 with a double, and an RBI.  Chadd Krist was 2-for-3 with a walk, and Wes Darvill was 3-for-4 with a double.  The Cougars made three errors on the night, and all were costly.

On The Mound – I mentioned the costly errors, here’s the proof.  Tayler Scott got the start and was really good going six innings giving up one run, unearned on four hits while striking out six.  Jeffry Antigua was solid out of the pen in three innings of work, he gave up three runs, all unearned, on three hits while walking two and striking out two.

Thanks for reading,
– George

8/31: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A quick recap of the Cubs minor leagues on Friday, August 31.  Peoria was cancelled due to rain and both Iowa and the AZL Cubs seasons are in the books.

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The Boise Hawks had a few rough innings and lost this one 6-4.  Felix Pena pitched five really good innings giving up no runs on four hits with three strikeouts.  Hayden Simpson struggled and took the loss giving up six runs on six hits in two innings.  Eduardo Orozco pitched well in his two innings allowing no runs on one hit and striking out four.  Jeimer Candelario had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Stephen Bruno and Gioskar Amaya each had two hits, with Amaya scoring two runs.  Dan Vogelbach and Wilson Contreras each a had a hit in the loss and Rock Shoulders was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Marco Hernandez delivered a pinch-hit RBI single.

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Daytona got down early, but Rebel Ridling and the bullpen sparked a 4-3 win.  Ridling was awesome on Friday tying the game in the seventh and winning it with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.  He ended the night 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs.  Vladimir Frias also had a nice night at the plate going 3-for-4 with an RBI.  Nelson Perez had two hits, including a double and a run scored.  Rafael Lopez and Christian Villanueva each had a hit in the win.  Kyler Burke got the start for the Cubs, he lasted four innings giving up three runs on six hits.  Matt Iannazzo pitched the next three innings allowing only one hit and striking out two.  Scott Weismann got the win as he threw the final two scoreless innings.  It was a nice win for the Cubs as the season is coming to a close.

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Tennessee continued to roll on Friday beating Pensacola 5-0.  Chris Rusin started, but only lasted three innings not allowing a hit and striking out one.  Nicholas Struck pitched the next 5.2 and got the win as he gave up only one hit and struck out six.  Rubi Silva had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.  Matt Szczur had two hits in the win and scored a run.  Junior Lake and Justin Bour each had a hit and combined to score three runs.  Anthony Recker and Matt Cerda each had a hit and Jae-Hoon Ha had an RBI in the win.  It has been fun following Tennessee the past few weeks as they have been playing some really good baseball, unfortunately it was a little late as they have been eliminated from the playoffs.

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The Iowa Cubs were supposed to play a series against New Orleans, but because of Hurricane Isaac the series has been cancelled and their season has come to an end.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

8/30: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Here is a quick look at the Cubs minor league recap for Thursday, August 30th.  When the AZL Cubs playoff game ends we will have a full recap of that game.

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Boise scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they lost to Everett 4-3.  What else is new Stephen Bruno was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  His hit streak now sits at 20.  Rock Shoulders hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the ninth.  Albert Almora was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Dan Vogelbach also had a hit in the loss.  Justin Amlung started and took the loss going two innings allowing one run on two hits.  James Pugliese pitched the next four innings allowing two runs and striking out four.  Su-Min Jung and Tyler Bremer combined to throw the last three innings, with Bremer giving up a run and striking out two.

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Cedar Rapids put up four big runs in the 10th inning to beat Peoria 11-7.  The Chiefs had a lot of nice nights on the offensively.  Pin-Chieh Chen was 3-for-4 with two walks, a triple, three runs scored, and a stolen base.  Wes Darvill also had three hits, including a double and an RBI.  Jorge Soler was 2-for-6 with an RBI and Sergio Burruel also had two hits including a double and two RBIs.  Zeke DeVoss had a hit and an RBI as did Jacob Rogers.  Timothy Saunders, Oliver Zapata, and Bijan Rademacher all had a hit in the loss.  Joseph Zeller started and pitched 6.2 innings allowing five runs on eight hits.  Sheldon McDonald and Larry Suarez pitched the next 2.1 innings, but Luis Liria took the loss giving up the four runs in the 10th.

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Going into the ninth tied Brevard County scored two and Daytona one, so the final ended up 6-5 Brevard County.  Kyle Hendricks started and pitched four innings allowing three runs on seven hits.  Matthew Spencer and Hunter Cervenka combined to pitch the next 2.1 innings giving up one run and striking out four.  Eduardo Figueroa took the loss as he allowed the two runs in the ninth inning.  John Andreoli had a nice night going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored.  Javier Baez was 1-for-4 with a home run and Christian Villanueva had a hit and an RBI.  Rebel Ridling was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored and Elieser Bonne knocked in a run with a hit in the loss.

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Tennessee beat Pensacola on Thursday 4-2.  Dallas Beeler started and pitched five innings allowing two runs, one earned on four hits, while walking two and striking out four.  After Casey Harman pitched a scoreless sixth, Trey McNutt pitched an outstanding inning as he struck out the side and didn’t allow a base runner.  Brian Schlitter notched his six save as he struck out four over two innings.  The Cubs offense used the long ball as all four runs accounted for via the home run.  Logan Watkins, Justin Bour, and Matt Cerda all connected with Cerda hitting a two-run homer.  Jae-Hoon Ha was the only other Smokies player to have a hit in the win.

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Thursday was not a good night for Iowa losing to Nashville 6-1.  Yonner Negrin started and took the loss as he pitched five innings allowing three runs, two earned on six hits.  Jaye Chapman struck out two in a scoreless inning of work, but Miguel Socolovich gave up three runs in his inning.  Rafael Dolis pitched the final frame, not allowing a run and striking one out.  Adrian Cardenas was responsible for the only Cubs run as he was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Tony Campana also had one hit and he scored the Cubs lone run, he also stole his 18th base at Iowa.  The Cubs had five more hits in the loss, as Thursday was not a very good night.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

8/24: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Our nightly trip through the Cubs minor leagues.  The AZL Cubs were off on Friday night.

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Things were looking good for Boise after a six run second, but Vancouver quickly scored four in the bottom half and ended up beating the Hawks 7-6.  With Tayler Scott staked to a four run lead, it was easy to assume this one was over, but Scott was not at his best today, but left with a chance to win as he left with the lead.  He pitched five innings allowing five runs on seven hits, while walking four and striking out three.  Rafael Diplan pitched the final three innings and took the loss as he gave up two runs, one of which was unearned.  At the plate Marco Hernandez had a good night going 3-for-4 with a run scored.  Albert Almora and Jeimer Candelario also had good nights as each had two hits with Almora scoring a run.  Lance Rymel had one hit on the evening and also drove in two runs.  Darien Martin and Stephen Bruno each had a hit and an RBI in the loss.  Not a good loss for Boise, but they have come back strong all second half, I expect much of the same.

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Beloit took an early lead and never looked back beating Peoria 8-2 on Friday night.  Yao-Lin Wang started and took the loss pitching 4.1 innings and allowing six runs, four earned on 10 hits.  Willengton Cruz pitched two innings allowing two runs and Austin Reed pitched a scoreless frame.  There were only a couple bright spots on the offensive side of things for the Chiefs in this one.  Dustin Geiger was 2-for-3 with a home run, his 17th of the season and two RBIs.  Chadd Krist also had two hits and Zeke DeVoss added a hit and scored a run as well.  Jorge Soler got the night off for Peoria.

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Daytona won the first game of a double-header on Friday 4-3.  Kyle Hendricks started and got his first win with the Cubs as he went five innings allowing two runs on three hits, while striking out three.  AJ Morris recorded his fifth save of the season as he pitched the final two innings of game one.  Down 2-0 Elieser Bonne quickly gave the Cubs the lead connecting on a three run homer, his third of the season.  In the sixth inning Christian Villanueva gave Daytona a two run lead as he hit his third home run since coming to the Cubs.  John Andreoli had two hits in the win.

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Game two didn’t go as well as Daytona lost to Tampa 11-5.  Matt Loosen had a really rough outing as he gave up eight runs on five hits to go along with six walks and seven strikeouts.  Hunter Cervenka proved to not be much better allowing three more runs over the next 2.2 innings.  Offensively speaking Christian Villanueva started right where he left off going 2-for-3 witha double and two runs scored.  Elieser Bonne also had two hits including a double and John Andreoli had a hit and two RBIs.  Rebel Ridling and Nelson Perez each had a hit and an RBI a piece.  Javier Baez was held hitless in game one, but added a hit and an RBI in the game two loss.

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A seven run third inning helped Tennessee beat Mobile 11-5.  Dallas Beeler was the beneficiary of all those runs as he got the win despite giving up five runs in five innings.  Kevin Rhoderick and Tony Zych pitched two scoreless innings a piece to close out the game.  The Smokies a had few really nice nights at the plate starting with Matt Sczcur who was 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored.  Logan Watkins was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI.  Jae-Hoon Ha and Rubi Silva each had two hits with Ha having two doubles and driving in three.  Silva hit his first home run and drove in two.  Junior Lake had a home run of his own and knocked in three.  Justin Bour had a double and walked three times, but unbelievably didn’t have an RBI in the Smokies 11 run win.

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Iowa scored two in the seventh and one in the eighth to defeat Oklahoma City 5-3.  Yoanner Negrin started, but did not factor in the decision as he gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings pitched.  Jay Jackson got the win in relief as he pitched a scoreless seventh inning.  After Scott Maine threw a scoreless eighth Jairo Asencio struck out two in the ninth and picked up his fourth save.  Tony Campana had a nice night at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI.  Jeff Frazier and Diory Hernandez each had two hits with Hernandez driving in one run.  Adrian Cardenas had only one hit, but it was a home run as he knocked in two in the Cubs win.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark