Two of the Cubs’ top prospects remained hot last night, as a 4-for-5 game from Eloy Jimenez helped propel South Bend to their third straight win. In Iowa, Willson Contreras collected two more hits in a loss. Meanwhile, Ian Happ is heating up as he went 3-for-5 as Myrtle Beach fell short.
It’s another daily update from Down on the Farm.
Low Class-A – South Bend Cubs (3-2)
South Bend nudged their record over .500 without the benefit of a hit in the 10th inning, as they beat Bowling Green 3-2. Facing knuckleballer Taylor Hawkins with the score tied 2-2 in the tenth, Bryant Flete (0-for-3), Donnie Dewees (2-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base), and P.J. Higgins (0-for-2 with an RBI) all drew walks. With two outs, Eddy Julio Martinez (0-for-4 with an RBI) was hit by a pitch to force in the winning run.
After a shaky first inning in which he allowed two earned runs, Carson Sands settled down and gave up three in five innings while striking out four batters. Kyle Twomey had two strikeouts in two scoreless innings, while Scott Frazier blanked the Hot Rods for an inning. Casey Bloomquist kept South Bend in the game by scattering three hits over two innings.
The SB Cubs cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first when Dewees led off with a single and scored on a two out double from Eloy Jimenez (4-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases).
South Bend tied the game in the sixth when Dewees began the inning with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly.
High Class–A – Myrtle Beach Pelicans (3-3)
The Pelicans did not have another comeback in them as one bad inning doomed Myrtle Beach, losing to 4-3 to Winston-Salem. Tommy Thorpe received his first start of the season, and the lefty served up four earned runs in the fourth inning. That was the only bad inning for Thorpe, as he had four strikeouts in five innings. James Farris was untouchable in three innings, fanning four in the process. Jose Rosario also tossed a scoreless inning.
The offense was unable to get in sync until the seventh inning when Charcer Burks (1-for-4) and Rashad Crawford (3-for-5 with a double, a home run, and an RBI) had one out singles. Both Burks and Crawford scored on a two out single from Ian Happ (3-for-5 with a double and two RBI).
Crawford pulled the Pelicans to within one in the ninth inning on an inside-the-park home run.
Double-A – Tennessee Smokies (2-4)
A valiant comeback effort went for naught as Tennessee was unable to hold off Birmingham in losing 5-4. Rob Zastryzny had his second start, which wasn’t much better than his first appearance. Zastryzny allowed four earned runs and also struck out four in five innings. Gerardo Concepcion provided quality relief as he had a strikeout in three scoreless innings. Entrusted with the ninth, Juan Paniagua only recorded one out as he served up the winning run on two hits and two walks.
Down 4-0, the Smokies struck back for three runs in the fifth inning. Mark Zagunis (1-for-4) led off with a single and scored on a triple from Taylor Davis (1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI). Davis held at third on a base hit by Ryan Dent (3-for-4), but both runners scored on a double by Jacob Hannemann (1-for-4 with a double and two RBI). Tennessee tied the game in the eighth as Billy McKinney (1-for-3) and Victor Caratini (0-for-3) walked, with McKinney scoring on a fielding error.
Triple-A – Iowa Cubs (1-5)
It was back down to earth for Iowa as they were doubled up by New Orleans 4-2 on Tuesday. The I-Cubs attack could not get anything going. Kris Negron (1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI) launched a solo home run in the third to tie the game at 1-1. Iowa knotted the game again in the seventh inning, as Willson Contreras (2-for-3 with a double) doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly to make the game 2-2.
Ryan Williams had his second start of the season, which a more typical effort than his Opening Day fiasco. Williams struck out three and allowed an earned run on six hits in five innings. Scott Barnes had a tough time, giving up an earned run as he tossed an inning. Jean Machi served up a solo home run as he pitched two innings. CJ Riefenhauser pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
News and Notes
The Chicago Cubs assigned INF Sutton Whiting to the South Bend Cubs from the Iowa Cubs.
The South Bend Cubs placed INF Carlos Sepulveda on the 7-day disabled list.