Nicholas Struck – Born on Third

Cubs Announce Arizona Fall League Roster

I wish the Arizona Fall League was closer to Chicago, obviously there are reason’s why it’s not, I’m not a complete moron. I wish it was closer so I could see games because the rosters are made up of some of the best prospects from all over baseball. There are six teams competing in the league, here is the breakdown of Major League team participation.

Cubs players will be grouped with players from the Orioles, Astros, Tigers, and Dodgers to form the Mesa Solar Sox. Click here for the full roster, the Cubs will be sending Javier Baez, Matt Szczur, Rubi Silva, Dae-Eun Rhee, Nick Struck, Tony Zych, Kevin Rhoderick, and Zach Rosscup. The purpose of this league is to get a look at guys, could be guys that didn’t play too much during the season or guys that are ready to jump a level, possibly to the major league level, or are on the bubble for a 40 man roster spot. If they are not added to the 40-man roster they will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft and could be lost to another team. The three players vying for a spot on the 40-man roster are Rhee, Rosscup, and Struck, all others are already on the 40-man roster. So this league is clearly important, it could be make or break for some guys, or it could be an important building block for others.

One glaring omission is Jorge Soler as he didn’t get too much time to play here in the States this year. My guess is that he will be playing somewhere this offseason, most likely a winter league as the organization would like to see him get more 2012 at bats.

Thanks for reading,
– George

8/4: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Here’s a look at the Cubs minor league affiliates on Saturday, August 4. The AZL Cubs were off tonight.

After a couple of losses Boise got back on track beating Spokane 6-2 of Saturday. Tayler Scott got his fourth win of the season allowing two runs, one earned in 5.1 innings pitched. Matt Iannazzo and Nathan Dorris were able to finish the game off, not allowing a run in the last 3.2 innings. Daniel Vogelbach had a great game going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Stephen Bruno also had two hits and scored three runs. Jeimer Candelario had a double and also drove in a run. It was nice to see Boise bounce back and hopefully will have continue to have a good second half.

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Peoria’s first game in a long time without Javier Baez didn’t turn out too good losing to Clinton 8-1. Joseph Zeller started and struggled taking the loss. He gave up six runs, five earned on eight hits in just 3.2 innings. Just like that the Chiefs were down 6-1 and they never recovered. Chadd Krist had a really nice game at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Pin-Chieh Chen was the only other Chief to record a hit on Saturday. Larry Suarez and Bryce Shafer both pitched well, while Luis Liria got roughed up a bit. That’s now three losses in a row for Peoria, let’s see if they can end that skid tomorrow.

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A six run second was way too much for Daytona losing to Dunedin 12-5. Matt Loosen started and took the loss, giving up seven runs, four earned in two innings. He wasn’t the only Cubs pitcher who struggled as Scott Weismann and Eduardo Figueroa didn’t have their best stuff either combining to give up five runs over five innings. The Cubs did have some good things happen at the plate as they scored five runs on nine hits. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Rubi Silva and Elieser Bonne each had two hits, with a run scored and an RBI. John Andreoli and Ronald Torreyes each had an RBI in the defeat. In his first game in Daytona Javier Baez went hitless. Daytona’s trying to make a push at the playoffs so they need to get back on track tomorrow.

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Tennessee took the first game of Saturday’s double-header beating Jackson 6-5. The middle of the Smokies order was the key to game one’s victory as Junior Lake, Justin Bour, and Michael Burgess all had two hits and two RBIs. They combined to go 6-for-11 with six RBIs and Justin Bour hit his 13th homer of the season. The two guys at the top Matt Szczur and Logan Watkins each had a hit and a run scored as well. Nicholas Struck got the win, his 12th of the season pitching five innings allowing three runs on six hits. Frank Batista struggled a bit, but picked up his 20th save of the season.

A late rally wasn’t enough for Tennessee to pull out game 2 of the double-header. The Smokies scored four in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough losing 8-7. Casey Harman started, but only gave up one run, but lasted only three innings. Casey Weather took the loss, giving up three runs in one inning. Kevin Rhoderick continued his struggles giving up another four runs in only 1.2 innings. Justin Bour hit his second home run of the night ending game two 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBIs, he now has 91 on the season. Michael Brenly and Nelson Perez each added two RBIs and Brenly had two hits. Logan Watkins had one hit, walked twice, and scored three runs. All in all Tennessee ended up splitting.

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Tied at one going to the bottom of the eighth, Josh Vitters and the Cubs decided they had enough of the losing. After taking the lead by 2-1, Vitters stepped to the plate and put the game out of reach launching his 17th home run of the season. Jairo Asencio would close it out as Iowa beat Colorodo Springs 5-1. Chris Rusin started and pitched well giving up only one run in on four hits in seven innings. He also struck out eight in a no decision. Michael Bowden got the win pitching a scoreless eighth. There wasn’t a ton of offense outside of Vitter home run, but there was a little bit. James Adduci went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Brett Jackson and Dave Sappelt each had a hit and a run scored.

Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

7/28: Around the Cubs Minor League System

The nightly minor league recaps.

The AZL Cubs were postponed.

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Boise won in a pitchers dual 1-0. Taylor Scott got the start and got the win pitching five innings allowing four hits, three walks, and striking out four. Hayden Simpson threw an impressive three innings and Eduardo Orozco closed out the game earning his first save of the season. Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-3 driving in the only Hawks run of the game. Carlos Escobar had two hits, including a double and a run scored. Boise has won two games in a row and look to keep that going.

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Beloit took care of Peoria quite easily win 10-4. Starling Peralta started and took the loss giving up five runs, four earned in five innings. Jeffry Antigua pitched very good in relief striking out two in two scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 0.73. Offensively there wasn’t much exciting to report. Sergio Burruel was the only Chief player with a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Paul Hoilman, Bijan Rademacher, and Yaniel Cabezas all had one hit. Hoilman had an RBI as did Pin-Chieh Chen. Peoria looks to get back on track.

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A for run sixth wasn’t enough losing to Bradenton 9-7. Kyler Burke struggled giving up seven runs, five earned on eight hits in five innings. Burke struck out six in the loss. Hunter Cervenka threw two scoreless innings in relief striking out three. Ronald Torreyes had a nice night at the plate going 3-for-5 with home run, a double, and three RBIs. Timothy Saunders added two hits and drove one in. The Cubs got single RBIs from Taylor Davis, Matt Cerda, and Rubi Silva as well. John Andreoli led off and had a hit and a walk and scored two runs. Rebel Ridling and Rafael Lopez each contributed a hit to the effort and Lopez scored two runs.

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Tennessee couldn’t hold Jacksonville down losing 8-5. Nicholas Struck struggled in a losing effort giving up four runs in four innings pitched. In a tough sign for Cub fans, Trey McNutt struggled in relief again and his ERA is now at 4.91. Frank Batista continued his strong season pitching a scoreless eighth and striking out two lowering his ERA to 1.22. Justin Bour had a night to remember at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. Matt Szczur led off in his second game with the Smokis, he went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with a run scored as was Chad Noble. Michael Burgess had a double and Dustin Harrington added a hit and a run scored as well.

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Iowa gave up one in the fifth to give them the lead. The 2-1 lead held up and Iowa lost another one run game. Brooks Raley was the hard luck loser pitching six innings allowing tow runs on six hits and striking out eight. Marcus Hatley pitched well in relief striking out four in two innings. The offense didn’t do much, Brett Jackson connected on his 15th home run of the season, ending the game 1-for-3 with a walk. Adrian Cardenas and Josh Vitters each added ahit as did Blake Lalli. After a nice win yesterday, the Cubs weren’t able to keep it going losing a close, low scoring game.

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Thanks for Reading,
-Mark

7/22: Around the Minor League System

A Sunday down in the minors.

We didn’t have to wait long as Jorge Soler launched a two-run homer in the fourth, he would add another hit and scored two runs. Despite this excitement the AZL Cubs lost 6-4. Shawon Dunston Jr. had another good game going 3-for-4 and scoring a run. Ben Carhart added two hits, including a double and Dan Vogelbach drove in his 31st run of the season. Lendy Castillo continued his rehab assignment pitching four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and struck out five. David Henrie took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned in two innings of work. It was more than exciting to see Soler hit his first home run. We have been anticipated it for quite a while and to do so in only his second game was great to see.

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There is not much good that came out of Sunday’s game against Eugene, as Boise lost 8-1. James Pugliese gave up seven runs on eight hits in four innings and took the loss. The bullpen did a pretty nice job the next four innings. Michael Heesch pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three as well. Eduardo Orozco gave up one run, but struck out three in his two innings of work. Offensively not much happened at all. All but one player recoreded a hit for Boise, with the only extra base hit coming off the bat of Xavier Batista, who hit a double. Wilson Contreras scored the only Hawks run of the game. It was a not very fun game for Boise dropping another in a bad loss.

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Peoria couldn’t pull off the win, losing to South Bend 3-2. All good things must come to an end and that was the case with Javier Baez’s hitting streak as he went 0-for-4 on Sunday. Dustin Geiger connected on his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth. Sergio Burruel had two hits and Chadd Krist just keeps on hitting as he had another hit on Sunday. Pin-Chieh Chen and Oliver Zapata each recorded a hit and Chen scored a run as he was on base when Geiger hit his homer. Starling Peralta pitched well, but took the loss. He threw six innings giving up three runs, two earned on six hits. Sheldon McDonald relieved him and pitched two perfect innings, striking out three. Looking forward to Baez starting another streak and the Chiefs winning a few more games.

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Daytona was postponed on Sunday.

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Tennessee finished Saturday nights game and lost a tough one in 11 innings. Twice in extra’s the Smokies took the lead, but couldn’t hold it in either, ultimately losing 12-11. There was a lot of offense, here are some of the highlights. Justin Bour was 2-for-6 with a homer, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Junior Lake, Jae-Hoon Ha, and Greg Rohan all contributed with two hits with Rohan adding an RBI. Logan Watkins went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Michael Burgess and Chad Noble each had RBIs and Nelson Perez connected on his third home run since being at Tennessee. The pitching was not very good at all. Dallas Beeler got the start, but obviously didn’t factor in the decision. Casey Harman took the loss giving up the two runs in the 11th. Frank Batista was the lone bright spot out of the bullpen, pitching two scoreless innings, bringing his ERA down to 1.06. It was a very tough loss, because of all the leads the Smokies had.

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Game two was a little different, as a six run sixth led Tennessee to a 8-4 win. Nicholas Struck got his 11th win of the season pitching five innings, giving up only one run on four hits. Zach Rosscup did a great job in relief, striking out five in three scoreless innings of work. Junior Lake, Logan Watkins, Jae-Hoon Ha, and Dustin Harrington all had two hits, scored a run, and all but Ha drove one in. Nelson Perez and Michael Burgess drove in two runs and Chad Noble added an RBI as well. It was a nice bounce back in game two ending the week with a win.

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A late rally fell short, as Iowa lost to Aburquerque 9-5. Chris Volstad was bad yet again giving up six runs, five earned on nine hits in five innings. He took the loss, he is now 2-5 with 5.83 ERA. Ty’Relle Harris did a fine job in relief striking out three in two scoreless innings. Offensively there were only a couple of highlights. Josh Vitters and Welington Castillo each hit a homer. For Vitters it was a three-run shot and Castillo was a solo. Brett Jackson, Adrian Cardenas, and Dave Sappelt all had a hit a piece as well.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark

7/17: Around the Cubs Minor League System

July 17, 2012 – Ready, go!

Peoria was off

The AZL Cubs scored three in the top of the ninth to beat the AZL Mariners 6-5. Dan Vogelbach continued crushing the ball going 2-for-5 with a home run, triple and three RBIs. He is now hitting .360 with 7 HR 30RBI, and an OPS of 1.202. The Cubs also got RBIs from Dan Lockhart, Ben Carhart, and Carlos Penalver. Shawon Dunston Jr. had another solid day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a run scored. David Bote and Penalver each had two hits on the day as well. Steve Perakslis gave up two runs on three hits in relief, but managed to get the win. Chad Martin picked up his first save of the season striking out three in a scoreless ninth.

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Boise made it two in a row on Tuesday defeating Yakima 5-0. The Hawks pitching was the story as James Pugliese, Michael Heesch, and Pet Levitt combined for the three hit shut out. Pugliese got his first win of the season striking out five and allowing only one hit in five innings. Heesch and Levitt each pitched two scoreless innings to close ou the game and secure a Boise win. Lead-off hitter Trey Martin did his job reaching base five times. He was 3-for-3 with two walks including his third home run of the season. Marco Hernandez had a nice night as well going 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Wilson Contreras and Rock Shoulders each had two hits as well. Contreras and Carlos Escobar were responsible for driving in a run a piece for the Hawks. Boise hasn’t won two in a row too often so hope more is to come.

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Behind a tremendous effort from Matt Loosen the Cubs beat Charlotte 6-1. Loosen started and recorded his eight win of the season. He pitched into the eighth inning allowing only one run on five hits, while striking out six. Jeffrey Lorick came on to record the last five outs and close the game out for Daytona. Matt Szczur was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Ronald Torreyes and Elieser Bonne each had two hits with Torreyes driving in a run. Rubi Silva added a hit and Micah Gibbs and Elliot Soto each had a hit and scored two runs on Tuesday.

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It was a rough one for Tennessee losing the Jackson 9-2. Nicholas Struck got the start and took the loss giving up six runs in just five innings of work. Casey Harman pitched an inning in relief and was not any better giving up another three runs. The good news from the staff came from Frank Batista and Tony Zych who combined to pitch the last three scorelss innings of the game. Not much happened on the offensive side of things either. Logan Watkins had two hits including a triple. Justin Bour and Greg Rohan were the only Smokies to record RBIs, they also had a hit each. Junior Lake and Jae-Hoon Ha were the only other Smokies to have a hit in the game. Not a very good night for Tennessee on Tuesday.

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Iowa scored two in the first, but that was all they could push across losing to New Orleans 7-2. Chris Volstad was bad again giving up seven runs, six earned on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched. Brett Jackson was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, he also stole his 22nd base of the season. Josh Vitters also had two hits and drove in his 52nd run of the season. Alfredo Amezaga and Dave Sappelt each had two hits and Sappelt drove in a run.

Thanks for reading,

– Mark

7/12: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Your daily trip through the minor leagues.

A six run fourth was too much for the AZL Cubs to overcome on Thursday losing 7-2. Even though the Cubs only had two runs on five hits there were a few offensive bright spots. Dan Vogelbach did it again belting a two-run home run, his fifth of the young season. Ben Carhart also had a nice day going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. Ethan Elias started and pitched three innings giving up one unearned run. Ryan Hartman struggled and took the loss in relief. Matt Iannazzo struck out six in 3.1 innings pitched. The Cubs have been really good so hope to see them bounce back after this one.

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Boise lost a wild one to Vancouver 12-11. It was a tough loss as it seemed Boise was in complete control of this one, but an eight run seventh for Vancouver was all they would need to hold on. Offensively Boise had 16 hits to go along with those 11 runs so a lot of good came out of that. Three Hawks hit home runs, including Gioskar Amaya, Marco Hernandez, and Rock Shoulders. Amaya and Hernandez each drove in two and Shoulders drove in three on the night. Bijan Rademacher also drove in two runs as he went 3-for-4 with a double at the plate. Stephen Brruno and Jeimer Candelario each had two hits and Trey Martin had three. The good on the mound turned to ugly pretty quickly on Thursday. James Pugliese and Michael Heesch combined to get the Hawks into the sixth with a 10-4 lead. The lead was soon erased as Rafael Diplan struggled giving up five in .1 innings. He was followed by Roderik Pichardo who gave up three more in the seventh and he took the loss. Another tough loss for Boise on Thursday.

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Dayton pounded out 16 hits and scored eight runs to beat Peoria 8-5. There was some good that happened offensively in this one though. Taiwan Easterling was 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Paul Hoilman and Chadd Krist who was recently promoted from Boise each had two hits. Krist also drove in a run as did Wes Darvill and Pin-Chieh Chen. Jose Rosario was pretty good on the mound giving up one run on seven hits in six innings of work. Justin Berg and the defense let Rosario down giving up five runs, one earned on three hits in .2 innings. Hunter Cervenka struggled as well giving up two runs on six hits in 2.1 innings. After a five run seventh and a two run ninth Peoria just didn’t have enough left to come back.

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Palm Beach scored four times in the lst four innings to beat Daytona 5-4. Matt Loosen got the start pitching 6.2 innings. He gave up four runs, three runs on three hits while walking three and striking out six. Eduardo Figueroa took the loss in relief. He gave up the go ahead run in .2 innings. At the plate Rubi Silva had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a triple and a runs scored. John Andreoli, Rebel Ridling, Rafael Lopez, and Dustin Harrington each had a hit and Ridling drove one in. Matt Szczur and Taylor Davis each had an RBI for the Cubs on Thursday as well. Another game on Thursday where it looked like the Cubs affiliate was in command, but ended up losing.

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Tennessee was postponed on Wednesday so they played two on Thursday. All the scoring for game one came in the first inning when Tennessee scored one, but Birmingham scored four. The score would stand and Tennessee lost 4-1. Staring pitcher Zach Rosscup didn’t last long allowing four runs on four hits and walking two and only recording one out. In relif Ty’Relle Harris and Kevin Rhoderick held the Baron scoreless the rest of the way to give the Smokies a chance. Philip Humber started his rehab assignmnet and held the Smokies to only two hits and one run. Junior Lake led the game off with a double and scored the Smokies lone run when he was driven in by Jae-Hoon Ha. Justin Bour had the other Smokies hit in game one.

Three Tennessee runs in the second inning was plenty for Nicholas Struck as Smokies won game two 3-0. Struck wsa outstanding allowing no runs on only three hits while walking none and striking out seven in six innings. Frank Batista came on to pitch a scoreless seventh to recrord his 17th save. The Smokies RBIs came from the bottom of the order with Nelson Perez driving in two with a triple and Chad Noble then driving him in. Jae-Hoon Ha was the only Smokie player with a multi hit game as he went 2-for-4. After dropping the first one it was nice to see them come back and get game two.

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Iowa wins a crazy one in Omaha on Thursday. Trailing 7-2 after three innings Iowa started there come back with a four run fourth. After adding on in the sixth, they scored five more and eventually won 12-11. They had 15 hits to go along with those 12 runs so there was a lot of good offensively. Adrian Cardenas and Diory Hernandez each had three hits. Hernandez hit a home run, scored two runs, and drove in two. Dave Sappelt was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Welington Castillo also had two hits, including a hom run. He also scored two runs and drove in three. Brett Jackson was back in the lineup delivering a hit and walking three times. He drove in on run, scored two, and stole his 21st base of the season. Josh Vitters had two more hits, including his 26th double, he also scored a run and drove one in. Chris Volstad got the start and was not very good allowing seven runs, five earned in just two innings. The Cubs would use five arms out of the pen to finish this one Alberto Cabrera earning his second win of the season. Jay Jackson pitched a scoreless eighth and Michael Bowden recorded his second save of the season striking out two in a scoreless ninth. It’s nice to come out on top of a crazy one like that.

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What a crazy night throughout the Cubs system.

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

6/26: Around the Cubs Minor Leagues

A look at the minor league system for Tuesday, June 26.

The Cubs lost 9-4 to the Dodgers on Tuesday night. The Offense for the Cubs was pretty good as they had 10 hits and four runs. Left fielder Trey Martin Led off on Tuesday and went 3-for-5 including a double and two runs scored. Dan Vogelbach went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk to raise his average to .412. Bijan Rademacher hit his first home run of the season and Daniel Lockhart had a triple and had an RBI. Alvido Jimenez struggled big time and took the loss on Tuesday. Michael Hamann, Ethan Elias, and Daniel Adrian all pitched well in relief.

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Boise dropped another on Tuesday losing to Spokane 3-1. James Pugliese took the loss allowing two rus on three hits in 4.2 innings. Hayden Simpson had another strong outing allowing one run on two hits while striking out four in 3.1 innings. There was not much good happening from the offense as Boise only had three hits on the day. Jeimer Candelario, Rock Shoulders, and Stephen Bruno had the only hits for the Hawks and Shoulders drove in the only run of the game.

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Peoria was chasing two early, but tied it up in the sixth and then exploded in the tenth to win the game 7-2. Paul Hoilman had a nice night going 2-for-5 with two RBI’s and a run scored. The Chiefs got an RBI a piece from Taiwan Easterling, Dustin Geiger, Yasiel Balaguert, and Pin-Chieh Chen. Chen also had two hits including a triple. Oliver Zapata also had two hits and two runs scored on Tuesday. The Chiefs got a nice start from Starling Peralta who pitched seven solid innings as he only gave up two runs on eight hits while striking out three. Matthew Spencer got the win in relief, striking out three in two perfect innings of work.

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Daytona took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, but ended up losing a heartbreaker 4-3 in 12 innings. The Cubs got a nice outing out of P.J. Francescon who gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. Ryan Searle took the loos out of the bullpen giving up one run in 2.2 innings. The offense had 11 hits, three of which cam off the bat of Elieser Bonne, who also scored a run. John Andreoli and Rebel Ridling each had two hits and Ridling added two RBI’s. The other RBI came off the bat of Arismendy Alcantara.

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The bats came alive for Tennessee beating Birmingham 11-6 on Tuesday. The Smokies pounded out 15 hits and hit four home runs. Michael Burgess hit two of those four homers in a game where he went 3-for-3 with three RBI’s and four runs scored. Michael Brenly also had a very nice night going 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, three runs scored, and two RBI’s. Jae-Hoon Ha had two hits including his third homer of the season, he also had three RBI’s. Logan Watkins, Justin Bour, and James Adduci all had two hits and Watkins added two RBI’s as well. Nicholas Struck got his ninth win of the season. He gave allowed four runs, only one of which was earned in six innings. Frank Batista pitched two innings striking out two batters in route to his 12th save of the season.

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In their first game with Anthony Rizzo in Chicago Iowa lost 3-1. Frankie De La Cruz got the loss as he gave up three runs in five innings of work. Ryan Rowland-Smith and Michael Bowden pitched well out of the bullpen on Tuesday. Offensively there wasn’t much happening for Iowa. Juan Apodaca went 2-for-4 with two doubles raising his average to .330. Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters each added a hit and Blake Lalli had the only Cubs RBI on the day.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark

6/21: Around the Cubs Minor League System

Around the minor leagues on Thursday, June 21.

Boise won a thriller walking off in the bottom of the ninth. The game was tied 3-3 going to the ninth when Eugene score one, but Boise came back and scored two to win the game 5-4. With one out Gioskar Amaya tripled. Jeimer Candelario tied the game with a single to right field. After moving to third on a basehit by Wilson Contreras up stepped Rock Shoulders. Shoulders delivered a game winning single to left field and Boised got their second win of the season. The Hawks belted out 13 hits on Thursday. Amaya, Contreras, Xavier Batista all had two hits on the night. Candelario had the best night offensively as he went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI’s. The Hawks also got a great pitching performance from Hayden Simpson who pitched four innings and giving up one unearned run on only one hit. He also struck out seven in his first win at Boise this year.

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Daytona got a great pitching performance from Austin Kirk as the Cubs won 3-0. Kirk pitched seven spectacular innings allowing zero runs and yielding only four hits. He also struck out three and walked two. Rebel Ridling had three hits including a double and a run scored. Ronald Torreyes had an outstanding day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. He also scored two runs and drove in one. Greg Rohan and Rubi Silva also drove in a run a piece. Ryan Searle and Jeffrey Lorick each pitched a scoreless inning as well as striking out two each.

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Nicholas Struck pitched brilliantly on Thursday helping Tennessee win 3-1. Struck gave up one run on two hits in six innings. He also struck out seven batters as he improved his recored to 8-6. Ty’relle Harris and Marcus Hatley each pitched well in relief. Junior Lake was the offensive star on Thursday going 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored. His average now stands at .318. Justin Bour went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Logan Watkins and Matthew Cerda added two hits and scored a run each. Nelson Perez who was promoted had the other RBI on Thursday.

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Not much good happened for Iowa today as they lost 6-2. Brett Jackson, Ty Wright, and Josh Vitters had the only hits for the Cubs. Vitters hit his 11th home run of the year. Frankie De La Cruz pitched only 4.2 innings giving up five runs, only two of which were earned on eight hits. Mike MacDougal gave up another run and three hits in his one inning of work. Jeff Beliveau pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Iowa’s record now stands at 31-43.

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Thanks for Reading,
Mark

6/14: Around the Cubs Minor League System

A look at the minor leagues on Thursday, June 14.

After falling behind early Peoria came back in the fourth to tie the game at three. The bullpen, however couldn’t hold the lead as Lui Liria took the loss giving up two runs in the eighth. Kyler Burke got the start and was pretty good once again. He gave up three runs in the first, but didn’t give up much more after that, notching another quality start. Javier Baez hit his fourth homerun of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Wes Darvill had a hit and an RBI on the day. Dustin Geiger and Yasiel Balaguert each had a hit for the Chiefs.

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Daytona was trailing 3-1 when action resumed again on Thursday. After five innings Daytona had tied the game, but the bullpen and defense let the Cubs down as they allowed four runs, only one of which was earned in the next two innings. Rubi Silva and Richard Jones had an RBI each for the Cubs. Nelson Perez raised his average to .302 as he went 1-for-2 with two walks.

Daytona had a 1-0 lead into the sixth, but they gave up two runs, one in the sixth and one in the eighth. P.J. Francescon started and pitched well giving up two hits in 5 innings, however he did not factor in the decision. Micah Gibbs accounted for the Cubs lone run as he hit his fourth home run of the year. He also had a double in the game. Ronald Torreyes also had a double for Daytona.

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Birmingham fought back, but Tennessee was able to hold on winning the game 3-2. Nicholas Stuck got his seventh win of the year giving up no runs on four hits in 5.2 innings. Alberto Cabrera had two good innings of work and Jeffry Antigua earned his first save of the season. Kevin Rhoderick also pitched, but struggled giving up two runs, he did manage to get his seventh hold of the season as he got through his inning of work with the lead. Justin Bour had two more RBI’s, which brings his total to 52 on the season. He along with Logan Watkins had two hits on Thursday. Matthew Cerda collected three hits on the day, including his second home run of the season. The win brought the Smokies one win away from the .500 mark. There record now stands 33-34.

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Iowa scored a lot of runs, but gave up even more losing 10-8 on Thursday. Brooks Raley didn’t have his good stuff giving up eight runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. Esmalin Caridad and Scott Maine each gave up a run in relief. The good news came on the offensive side of things on Thursday. Brett Jackson went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI’s. He also scored two runs and stole his 13th base of the season. Blake Lalli went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double and also drove in three on the day. Ty Wright also drove in two runs on Thursday. Anthony Rizzo sat out his second straight game and remains day-to-day.

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Not a very good day for the Cubs minor league system as they went 1-4 on Thursday.

Thanks for Reading,
Mark