Riding the Bus; Cubs Minor League Reports (4/21/2014)

MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014

The Cougars built an early 3-1 lead only to watch it slip away at the hands of some suspect defense in the late innings. The Cougars committed three errors, and gave up three unearned runs in the loss, wasting another solid start from 19-year-old Jen-Ho Tseng.

At the Plate:

Carlos Penalver had a tremendous game today, he went 2-for-3 with a walk, and two runs scored in the loss.
Ben Carhart had another solid effort, he went 2-for-4 with a run scored, he’s now hitting .259 on the season.
Yasiel Balaguert continues to be a threat at the plate, he went 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, he now has fourteen RBI’s on the season.

On the Mound:

Jen-Ho Tseng continued his strong 2014, he worked five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits, while walking one, and striking out three. He lowered his ERA to 2.93 on the season.
Tyler Bremer was fantastic out of the pen, he worked two scoreless innings, giving up two hits, while walking one, and striking out three.
Josh Davis took the hard luck loss in this one, he worked two innings, giving up two runs, both unearned, on two hits, while walking one, and striking out one.

Full Box Score

The Smokies struck early and often in this one as they scored ten runs in the first six innings to cruise to a 10-5 victory over the Barons. The Smokies did get some help from the Barons, even if they didn’t need it, as Birmingham committed three errors and allowed three unearned runs.

At the Plate:

John Andreoli got things started from the lead-off spot in this one, he went 2-for-6 with a triple, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.
Rubi Silva was productive today, he went 2-for-5 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.
Kris Bryant was 1-for-5 with a walk, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .286 on the season.
Jae-Hoon Ha went crazy today, he was 3-for-5 with a double, his first home run of the season, an RBI, and three runs scored.

On the Mound:

Dae-Eun Rhee got the start tonight, and picked up his first win of the season despite some control issues. Rhee worked five innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while walking five (see?), and striking out four.
Austin Kirk did some solid work out of the pen, he was able to get through three innings, giving up two runs on four hits, he didn’t walk or strikeout anyone.
Tony Zych cleaned things up in this one, he worked one inning, giving up one unearned run on two hits.

Full Box Score

Kyle Hendricks, and the rest of the Iowa pitching controlled this one from start to finish as the I-Cubs took care of Round Rock, 5-1. Offensively, it was the top of the Iowa order doing the heavy lifting as the one-two-three hitters combined to go 6-for-13 with two RBI’s.

At the Plate:

Matt Szczur did the job at the top of the order tonight, he was 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored.
Arismendy Alcantara provided some power, he was 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored.
Javier Baez returned to the lineup yesterday, and was effective tonight, he went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the win.

On the Mound:

Kyle Hendricks was brilliant tonight as he picked up the win to move his record to 3-1 on the season. Hendricks worked six scoreless innings, giving up two hits, while walking two, and striking out six.
Yoanner Negrin was solid per usual out of the pen, he worked a scoreless inning, while striking out one.
Brian Schlitter worked two innings to pick up his third save of the season, he gave up one run on two hits, while walking two in his two innings of work.

Full Box Score

The Daytona Cubs pulled this one out late after both teams scored early and often tonight. After four innings it was all tied at five, and no one could find the scoreboard again until the D-Cubs pushed across the winning run in the eleventh.

At the Plate:

Pin-Chieh Chen has had a great start to 2014, he was 2-for-5 with an RBI, he is now hitting .294 on the season.
Chadd Krist put together a solid game, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and a run scored.
Rock Shoulders provided some production, he was 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, and a run scored.
Jeimer Candelario found some success tonight, he was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, two RBI’s, and a run scored.

On the Mound:

Jake Arrieta made what is thought to be his final rehab start, and was effective. Arrieta worked 5.2 innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on five hits, while walking two, and striking out seven.
Andrew McKirahan only faced one hitter, but it was a big out as he got out of the sixth inning for Arrieta to keep the game tied.
Jose Rosario picked up the win out of the pen, and he deserved it. Rosario worked four scoreless innings, giving up three hits, while striking out four.
Arodys Vizcaino worked the last of the eleventh to pick up his fist save of the season.

Riding The Bus; Cubs Minor League Reports (4/17/2014)

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Full Box Score

Iowa jumped out to a 3-0 lead early on in this one before having to fight back with two in the seventh to beat New Orleans 5-4. Definitely not how you draw up a typical win as the Iowa Cubs defense made six (SIX!) errors in this one, I guess a win is a win, time to forget that defensive “effort” .. yikes.

At the Plate:

Matt Szczur did a solid job from the lead-off spot, as he went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.
Arismendy Alcantara has been swinging it well lately, and he was good again today. AA went 1-for-5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored.
Chris Valaika is making a big push to get the call to the Majors, he was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. He is now hitting .361 on the season.
Christian Villanueva had an encouraging day at the plate, the third baseman was 1-for-2 with two walks, a double, and a run scored.
Logan Watkins made up for a rough day at the field with a solid day at the plate. Watkins went 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored to go along with his two errors.
Eli Whiteside also joined in the fun as he went 2-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI. The Cubs walked seven times in this one, good to see.

On the Mound:

Eric Jokisch got the start today, and was pretty good, except for fielding the ball as he made two errors as well. Jokisch worked 5.2 innings, giving up three runs, all unearned, on three hits, while walking two, and striking out five.
Alberto Cabrera was the first guy out of the pen for the Cubs, and earned his second win of the season. Cabrera worked 1.1 scoreless innings, he gave up one hit, while walking one, and striking out two.
Neil Ramirez had a solid outing today, he worked a scoreless inning, while walking one, and striking out three.
Brian Schlitter worked a bumpy ninth to pick up his second save of the season. Schlitter gave up one run on one hit, while walking one to close it out.

Full Box Score

Rough go of it for the Smokies in game one, as they could only manage one hit as they were shut out by the Jackson Generals, 4-0. Command, or lack thereof, doomed the Smokies staff, but not much you can do when you get no runs of support.

At the Plate:

Dustin Geiger had the lone hit for the Smokies, as he went 1-for-2 to raise his average to .289 on the season. The Smokies walked just twice in this one, while striking out eleven times.

On the Mound:

Corey Black got the start tonight, and the loss, as he couldn’t find the zone consistently enough. Black worked four innings, giving up three runs on two hits, while walking five (see?), and striking out three.
Austin Kirk kept the Smokies in things as he worked two innings, giving up one run on one hit, while striking out one.
Tony Zych mopped things up in this one, and also saw the plate dancing around on him as he worked one scoreless inning, giving up two hits, while walking two, and striking out one.

Full Box Score

It was all Kane County, all the time in this one, as the Cougars had a 10-0 lead by the fourth inning en route to their seventh straight win, a 13-1 thrashing of the Dragons. The Cougars pounded out nineteen hits in the win, and only allowed two against, pure domination.

At the Plate:

Jacob Hannemann got things off on the right foot from the lead-off spot all night, he went 2-for-6 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored.
Carlos Penalver was solid once again, as he went 2-for-5 with an RBI, his sixth stolen base of the season, and a run scored.
Ben Carhart played a big role in the production tonight, he went 2-for-6 with two doubles, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.
Yasiel Balaguert has been the catalyst for catastrophe for this club, he went 2-for-5 with a walk, and an RBI, his twelfth of the season.
Jacob Rogers also enjoys hitting doubles, he was 3-for-6 with two doubles, and two runs scored.
Danny Lockhart was on base all night, and scored most of the time as well. Lockhart went 2-for-3 with two walks, and four runs scored.
Will Remillard had a huge game from the bottom of the order, he went 4-for-5 with two doubles, and FIVE RBI’s in the win.

On the Mound:

Daury Torrez didn’t want to give the hitters all the spotlight in this one as he was flat out brilliant in picking up his second win of the season. Torrez worked eight innings, giving up one run on just two hits, while walking one, and striking out four.
Nathan Dorris worked the ninth and was able to hang onto that twelve run lead.

Full Box Score

The Smokies were able to exact some revenge in game two as they fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Generals 3-2. The Smokies got a lot of help from the Generals defense as they committed two errors, and allowed two unearned runs to score, at that was the difference.

At the Plate:

Kris Bryant has been showing some solid patience at the plate as of late, he was 0-for-1 in this one, but had two walks. He now has walked eight times this season, and struck out thirteen times.
Charles Cutler was 1-for-2 with a double, his second of the season, and a run scored.
Jeudy Valdez had one of the bigger hits of the night, as he went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
Taylor Davis was able to drive in the other Smokies run, he went 1-for-3 with said RBI.

On the Mound:

Dae-Eun Rhee got the start in game two and held his own after some early struggles, he worked four innings, giving up two runs on six hits, while walking one, and striking out four.
Hunter Cervenka picked up the win out of the bullpen, and was solid in doing so. Cervenka worked two scoreless innings, giving up three hits, while striking out three.
Armando Rivero made things interesting in the seventh (Doubleheaders in AA are seven innings), but was able to pick up his third save of the season. Rivero gave up one hit, and walked one, while strking out the side to close it out.

Full Box Score

It’s been a season of discontent for Daytona, and that continued tonight as they fall to the Yankees 6-5 after erasing a four run deficit. The loss dropped Daytona to 2-12 on the season, just nothing going right.

At the Plate:

Tim Saunders continued his hot start to 2014, as he went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, a walk, a stolen base, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
Nice to see Albert Almora back in the lineup, he went 1-for-5 with a run scored.
Bijan Rademacher had a solid game, he went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored in the loss.
Rock Shoulders seems to be getting hot, he went 3-for-4 with a walk, and an RBI in this one. The D-Cubs were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

On the Mound:

Rob Zastryzny got the start tonight, and was wild in the strike zone, as he worked four innings, giving up four runs on nine hits, while walking none, and striking out one.
Zach Cates was really good out of the pen, as he worked four innings, giving up one run on two hits, while walking one, and striking out two.
Arodys Vizcaino continues to impress in the early going, he worked one scoreless inning, giving up one hit, while walking one, and striking out three. Vizcaino topped out at 98 MPH tonight, a very good sign.
Andrew McKirahan ended up taking the loss as he worked one inning, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out one.

Riding the Bus; Minor League Reports for April 7, 2014

Monday, April 7, 2014

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The bats were making noise in the early going, but the production, and the lead disappeared in this one, as Daytona dropped a close one to Brevard County, 5-4. Albert Almora is settling into a grove after starting the season slowly, he was 1-for-4 with a run scored in this one, and is now hitting .316 on the season. Dan Vogelbach is still sluggish with the bat, but had a decent game tonight, he went 1-for-3 with a walk. One guy who has been locked in at the plate is Jeimer Candelario, he was 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, a run scored, and committed two errors (oops). The man with the “best name in the minors” had a solid game, Rock Shoulders was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound:

Exciting night for the Cubs organization as Rob Zastryznyy made his Daytona debut tonight, and had moments of brilliance in the no decision. Zastryzny worked four innings, giving up four runs on six hits, while walking two, and striking out six. The D-Cubs bullpen was solid once again in this one as the quartet of Yao-Lin Wang, Zach Cates, Arodys Vizcaino, and Austin Reed combined to work five innings only yielding one unearned run which proved to be the difference tonight.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Another light night at the dish for the Smokies as they fell to Pensacola for the fourth time in five games, 3-2. Dustin Geiger has had a solid start to 2014, especially in the power department, Geiger was 2-for-4 with his second home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Jeudy Valdez was the only other Tennessee player to make a difference with the bat, he went 2-for-3 with a double, and an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound:

It wasn’t a bad night at all for Tennessee pitching, especially out of the bullpen, still not good enough for a win. Matt Loosen got the start tonight, he worked five innings, giving up three runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out two. Ryan Searle, Hunter Cervenka, and Tony Zych combined to toss three scoreless, hit-less innings out of the pen, they didn’t even walk anyone, and struck out five.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Not a whole lot going on for the Iowa hitters, but they made the most of their opportunities and beat Nashville 4-1. Brett Jackson, who has had a rough start to the season, had a tremendous game. B-Jax was 2-for-2 with a triple, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. As a team, the Iowa Cubs had four stolen bases in this one, saw an opportunity and exploited it. Christian Villanueva had the big hit in this one, he was 1-for-4 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound:

All sorts of good things from the Iowa Cubs staff tonight. Tsuyoshi Wada started tonight, and took home the win, he worked 6.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits, while walking one, and striking out eight. Working as the setup man, Neil Ramirez worked 1.1 scoreless innings, he didn’t walk anyone, and struck out two. Blake Parker worked the ninth for the save, he flirted with danger but got the job done, he worked a scoreless inning, giving up two hits, and striking out two.

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

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

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

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

On The Mound:

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

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

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

On The Mound:

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

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

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

On The Mound:

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

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

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

On The Mound:

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

Thanks for reading!

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

Full Box Score

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

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

Full Box Score

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

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

Full Box Score

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

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

Full Box Score

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

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

Minor Matters – May 27, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The RedHawks scored in one inning in this one, unfortunately that was enough to defeat Iowa. The RedHawks scored four times in the third inning, and the Cubs could never get even despite scoring one run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning. Brian Bogusevic had another great day going 1-for-2 with two walks, his thirteenth double of the season, and two runs scored. Brent Lillibridge was the only other offense in this one as he was 1-for-4 with his third home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Walks were contagious in this one, and it started with Guillermo Moscoso who lost his command and was slapped with his second loss of the season. Moscoso worked five innings giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits while walking four (see?), and striking out six. Hisanori Takahashi also struggled with command but worked out of trouble, he worked two scoreless innings while walking three (see?), and striking out one. Brian Schlitter, who has been outstanding for the Tennessee Smokies was promoted to Iowa earlier in the day, and had a tremendous debut. Schlitter worked two scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out three.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Cougars had to battle back in this one as they trailed 4-3 in the eight, and battle they did, scoring five times in the bottom of the eight en route to an 8-4 victory. The only bad news is that Albert Almora had to leave today’s game after it looked like he suffered a leg injury, hopefully it’s nothing serious. Pin-Chieh Chen was solid again from the leadoff spot going 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Dan Vogelbach had a huge day going 3-for-5 with his sixth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Jeimer Candelario resembles Garrett Anderson up there right now, we should start calling him doctor doubles, he was 1-for-4 with his seventeenth double of the season, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Michael Heesch was solid in this one, but settled for a no decision. Heesch worked six innings giving up three runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out four. Steve Perakslis was outstanding in relief and was rewarded with his first win of the season. Perakslis worked three innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out three.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies had the bats working in this one as they pounded out eleven hits and scored eight times en route to an 8-6 victory. Matt Szczur was solid at the top of the order going 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI, and a run scored. Ronald Torreyes was 2-for-5 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored. Ty Wright had a solid game going 2-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, and two runs scored. Chad Noble was 2-for-3 with a walk, his first double of the season, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Matt Loosen got the start and had one of his better outings but did not factor in the decision. Loosen worked six innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out two. Hunter Cervenka made his first appearance with Tennessee after being promoted from Daytona, and it didn’t go well, he worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking one. Tony Zych was solid out of the pen and was rewarded with his first win of the season; he worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out one.

Minor Matters – May 24, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Cubs jumped out in front of the RedHawks 4-1 after one inning and 5-1 after three, they had to withstand a late charge but held on for the 5-4 victory. The Iowa Cubs are surging as of late as they moved to within five of .500 for the first time since forever it seems. The Cubs could only manage four hits in this one, but they made the most of them. Brian Bogusevic, Dave Sappelt, and J.C. Boscan all had one hit on the night, all singles. Josh Vitters had the big night for the Cubs going 1-for-2 with two walks, his third home run of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored.

On The Mound – Nick Struck struggled with his command in this one but worked deep enough and effective enough to earn his third win of the season. Struck went 5.1 innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking five and striking out four. Esmailin Caridad also struggled with his command in this one, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up one run on no hits (yes, no hits), while walking two. Hisanori Takahashi was effective out of the pen going one scoreless inning giving up one hit while walking one and striking out one. Zach Putnam was excellent going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two to earn his third save of the season.

Full Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies and Stars were locked in a 1-1 battle until the seventh when the Stars broke the game open, scoring five times over the last three innings to take this one 6-2. Matt Szczur was 1-for-4 with a walk, a caught stealing, and his eighth double of the season. Rubi Silva had a solid day going 2-for-4 with his eighth home run of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI in the loss, he’s now hitting .286 on the season.

On The Mound – Yeiper Castillo who was outstanding in Daytona was promoted up to Tennessee and his first start was tonight, and he was brilliant. Castillo worked six innings giving up one run on three hits while striking out seven. Trey McNutt took the loss in this one as he worked one inning giving up two runs on one hit while walking one. Kevin Rhoderick continued to struggle with his command; he worked one inning giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one. Tony Zych was roughed up going one inning giving up two runs on three hits while striking out one.

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At The Plate – Daytona jumped on top of Lakeland with two runs in the first, unfortunately they couldn’t get much going after that and Lakeland exploded for seven runs late in a 7-3 victory. John Andreoli continued his strong 2013 campaign going 3-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases (15), and a run scored. Javier Baez is picking things up at the plate and making contact as well, he was 2-for-4 with a run scored, he also made two more errors bringing his 2013 total to twenty-two, and he’s now hitting .271 on the season. Jorge Soler was 1-for-3 with a walk, his fourth stolen base of the season, and a run scored. Dustin Geiger continued his assault Florida State League pitching; he was 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, which brings his total to forty-two on the season.

On The Mound – Ben Wells suffered the loss in this one, unfortunately he really didn’t have too much of a say in that. Wells went five innings giving up three runs, one earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out two. Frank Del Valle was roughed up in probably his worst outing of 2013, he worked two innings giving up four runs on three hits while walking one and striking out two. Austin Reed was really good out of the pen going two scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two.

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At The Plate – The Cougars only needed two innings to blow this game open, they scored four times in the fourth inning and four times in the seventh en route to an 8-1 victory. The Cougars had an excellent attack, they only had eight hits, but walked seven times, that’s how you score runs (hear that Cubs?). Albert Almora continued his hot start to the season going 1-for-3 with two walks, and a run scored in the win. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a walk, and two runs scored, sensing a theme here? Rock Shoulders is having a hard time finding hits as of late but was still productive today, he was 0-for-3 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored. Yaniel Cabezas was 1-for-2 with two walks, a triple, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Pierce Johnson was outstanding again, this time he had enough support from his offense to get a win and improve his record to 3-3 on the season. Johnson worked 6.2 innings giving up one run on six hits while walking two and striking out eight. Steve Perakslis was solid out of the pen to close this one out; he worked 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out two.

Minor Matters – May 17, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

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At The Plate – After battling back from an early 4-0 hole the Iowa Cubs found themselves leading heading into the late innings, that’s when things fell apart in 9-8 loss to Tucson. Hits were all over the place in this one as the Cubs pounded out eighteen hits, and scored eight runs, they left 11 men on base as well. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with a walk, his third home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Brett Jackson had a breakout game going 4-for-5 with a double, and a run, he’s now hitting .265 on the season. Josh Vitters had a solid game as well going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Darnell McDonald, Brent Lillibridge, and J.C. Boscan each had two hits in the loss.

On The Mound – Guillermo Moscoso got the start for the Cubs, and pitched in and out of trouble having one costly inning. Moscoso went five innings giving up four runs, two earned, on nine hits while striking out eight. Esmailin Caridad was sub par to say the least, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up three runs on four hits to take the loss. Casey Coleman was roughed up a bit as well, he worked 2.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking one. Hisanori Takahashi worked a scoreless ninth inning to give the Cubs a shot to no avail.

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At The Plate – The Smokies jumped on top of the Lookouts with four runs in the second and couldn’t add on the rest of the way, even still they were able to hang on for a 4-3 win. Matt Szczur continues to find ways get on base for the Smokies as their lead-off man, he was 2-for-5 in this one, and he is now hitting .294 on the season. Ronald Torreyes provided the production for the Smokies, he was 1-for-5 with two RBI’s in the win. Christian Villanueva had a huge game, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks has been so very good this year, and he was again in this one, he worked seven innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three to earn his third win of the season. Tony Zych did a solid job out of the pen going one scoreless inning while striking out one. Zach Rosscup was good as usual working a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season, he walked one and struck out the side.

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At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and it was nice to see them put together a team game and get a win given their recent struggles. As you will read, this day was owned by Jorge Soler and Dustin Geiger, maybe May 17 shall be known as Soler Geiger day moving forward. Soler was a monster in game one, he was 4-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, and three runs scored. He scored three times because Dustin Geiger was hitting behind him, and he didn’t want Soler to have all the glory. Geiger was outstanding, he was also 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple (slugging madness!), and four RBI’s. That was it, those two guys won the game for the D-Cubs.

On The Mound – Yeiper Castillo was all Daytona needed on the mound. He spun a gem, going the distance (7 innings for DH’s), he worked seven innings giving up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out two. He improved his record to 1-0 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 2.33, very impressive.

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At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and battled for a character win in game two to sweep the double-header. Javier Baez was 2-for-5 with a walk, a triple, and three runs scored, he also had three errors, bring his 2013 total to seventeen. Jorge Soler was a beast in game two as well, he went 3-for-6 with a double, and a run scored, he was 7-for-10 in the double-header and is now hitting .297 on the season. Back to the other hero of the day Dustin Geiger, he was 3-for-4 in game two with a double, two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored. He was 7-for-8 in the double-header with four doubles, and a triple, he is hitting .331 on the season. Taiwan Easterling was 2-for-6 with a triple, a double, and two RBI’s in the win.

On The Mound – Tough to have a second game of a double header go twelve innings, if not for the bullpen in game two the D-Cubs would have been in trouble, they came through big time. Eduardo Figueroa got the start and was roughed up, he worked three innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. The bullpen took over and worked a combined nine scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking two and striking out six. Austin Reed worked two of those innings, walking one and striking out two. Sheldon McDonlad was outstanding working four innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one. Frank Del Valle worked the final three innings to earn his first win of the season, he gave up two hits while striking out three.

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At The Plate – The Cougars fought hard in this one against the best team in the league only to fall short in twelve innings. Bijan Rademacher continues to hit, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .350 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-5 with a double, and a run scored, he also made his twelfth error of the season. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-5 with two singles in the loss.

On The Mound – Dillon Maples had a solid outing, and again, finished the day healthy, which is the most important thing right now. Maples worked five innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out five. Lendy Castillo took over and was solid as well, he worked five innings giving up on run on five hits while walking three and striking out four. Nathan Dorris struggled with his command, which is rare, he suffered the loss as a result. Dorris worked 1.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out two.

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.

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

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At The Plate – The Cubs really had nothing going all night against the Sky Sox as they were blanked 5-0. The Cubs could only manage four hits in the loss, and were o-for-1 with runners in scoring position, a rather uninspiring effort. Dave Sappelt owns triple A (tiny bit of sarcasm here), he was 1-for-3 in his debut with Iowa tonight. Luis Flores, Nick Struck, and Edwin Maysonet had the other hits for the Cubs, all singles, and Struck was the starting pitcher, like I said, not a good night.

On The Mound – 2012 minor league pitcher of the year Nick Struck, is finding 2013 not as comfortable as last year. Struck worked 5.2 innings giving up five runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out six, his record fell to 0-3 with the loss. Yoanner Negrin was solid out of the pen going 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two. Zach Putnam also had a scoreless appearance, he worked an inning and struck out one.

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At The Plate – No that is not a typo, yes that was the final score, and yes they only played five innings. The official reason was wet grounds for the shortened game, but I think it might have also been a slaughter rule. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this was and will be the worst game by the Smokies all year. The Smokies couldn’t push across a single run, what’s worse is they only had four hits and made three errors, yikes. Ty Wright, Christian Villanueva, Rafael Lopez, and Elliot Soto were all 1-for-2 with a single in the shellacking.

On The Mound – Look away, or just avoid this part if you are squeamish. Matt Loosen got the start, and you guessed it, the loss as well, his first of the season. Loosen went 2.1 innings giving up seven runs on four hits while walking three and striking out two. A.J. Morris was beat up out of the pen, sort of, Morris went 1.1 innings giving up six runs, all unearned, on three hits while walking two and striking out one. Tony Zych wasn’t much better, he worked 1.1 innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking one and striking out two. New game tomorrow, forget about this one.

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At The Plate – Just an awful night all around the minor league system tonight as Daytona was crushed as well, at least they managed to score three times. Daytona could only manage six hits, and three runs in the loss, they also made two errors, seemed to be a theme for every team tonight. Javier Baez was 1-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Jorge Soler was 1-for-4, as was Ben Carhart, Carhart scored a run as well. Taiwan Easterling was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s in the loss. Javier Baez and Jorge Soler each made an error in this one, Baez his twelfth, and Soler his first.

On The Mound – Just a rough night from the D-Cubs pitching, Ben Wells got the start and saw his record fall to 3-2 with the loss. Wells went five innings giving up five runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out two, what’s more disturbing is that Wells gave up three home runs, he’s now given up four all year. Sheldon McDonald was the lone bright spot for the D-Cubs as he worked a scoreless inning out of the pen. Starling Peralta continues to get hammered, he worked one-third of an inning giving up five runs on two hits while walking two. David Cales was also roughed up, that is a rarity for sure, he worked 1.2 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits while striking out two.

Thanks for reading,
– George