What a difference a day makes! On Monday, every affiliate in play won, while all four minor league teams lost on Tuesday. Southern League Player of the Week Bijan Rademacher continued his assault on pitchers as he leads the league in hitting, home runs, and RBI.
Gleyber Torres broke out of his slump with a long bomb in Myrtle Beach, as did Matt Rose with South Bend. And all the while, Willson Contreras keeps hitting for Iowa.
For the long and short of it, take a look at today’s Down on the Farm Report.
Low Class-A – South Bend Cubs (6-6)
A six-run explosion helped propel South Bend over .500 on Monday, as they beat Bowling Green 9-3. The fourth inning started with a Danny Spingola (3-for-5 with two stolen bases) single and a home run from Matt Rose (1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI). Andrew Ely (2-for-4) and Bryant Flete (1-for-3) followed with base hits, while Sutton Whiting (1-for-4) coaxed a one out walk. A double by P.J. Higgins (2-for-5 with a double and two RBI) cleared the bases, and Higgins scored on an error.
Carson Sands had another good outing. Sands allowed two earned runs while striking out two in five innings. John Williamson fanned three in two scoreless innings. Greyfer Eregua gave up his first earned run of the year, but struck out two in two innings.
It was a total embarrassment for South Bend on Tuesday as they were blown away by Bowling Green 12-1. Starter Preston Morrison was lit up again. Morrison gave up four runs (three earned) and struck out two in 2.2 innings. Casey Bloomquist was simply atrocious, surrendering six earned runs in 2.1 innings. Scott Frazier had three strikeouts, but also allowed two earned runs in 2.1 innings. Only James Norwood escaped, recording a strikeout in 1.2 perfect innings.
The consolation run came in the seventh after singles by P.J. Higgins (2-for-4) and Eddy Julio Martinez (1-for-5 with an RBI).
High Class–A – Myrtle Beach Pelicans (6-7)
Myrtle Beach’s pitching staff gave them a scare, as the offense provided enough runs in a 6-4 win over Winston Salem on Monday. The big inning was the seventh, when Rashad Crawford (2-for-3 with a triple) led off with a single and scored on a double from Gleyber Torres (1-for-4 with a double and an RBI). Torres came around on a home run from Ian Happ (4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI, and a stolen base). It was Happ’s second homer of the night, as he had a solo shot in the third inning.
Tommy Thorpe held the Dash to an earned run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Daury Torrez continued to struggle out of the pen as he allowed three runs (two earned) and had a strikeout in 1.2 innings. David Berg tossed two perfect innings for his second save.
The Pelicans let one get away from them on Tuesday as they squandered a 5-2 lead in the eighth to lose 6-5 to Winston-Salem. Jonathan Martinez had another stellar effort, allowing two earned runs while striking out two in six innings. Lefty Jordan Minch had trouble getting anyone out, giving up four earned runs, including the walk-off, in 2.2 innings.
Gleyber Torres (1-for-4 with a home run) got Myrtle Beach on the board first with a solo home run in the first inning. The Birds added two in the fifth and eighth innings as Yasiel Balaguert (2-for-4 with a home run) had a solo home run of his own. An RBI single by Charcer Burks (1-for-5 with an RBI) scored Gioskar Amaya (1-for-3 with an RBI) in the fifth, and a Jeffrey Baez (1-for-3 with a double and an RBI) double in the eighth inning drove in Jason Vosler (2-for-4).
Double-A – Tennessee Smokies (6-7)
The Smokies got a dominant performance from their pitching staff as they shut out Montgomery 4-0 on Monday. Paul Blackburn has been the most consistent pitcher for Tennessee as he baffled the Biscuits for seven innings, striking out three batters. Corey Black had his best effort of the season as he had a walk and a strikeout in an inning of work. Andury Acevedo worked around a single to strike out the side in the ninth.
Tennessee posted two runs in the second inning when a double from Carlos Penalver (2-for-3 with a double and three RBI) brought in Victor Caratini (0-for-2) and Bijan Rademacher (1-for-2). Rademacher and Anthony Giansanti (1-for-4) singled with two outs in the fourth inning, as a base hit from Penalver plated Rademacher. Giansanti scored on a wild pitch.
Tennessee broke out the big bats on Tuesday to beat Montgomery 9-3. Jacob Hannemann (1-for-5 with a home run an RBI) led off the game with a solo home run. Bijan Rademacher (2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI) had his own solo blast in the second inning and a three-run bomb in the fourth. Jeimer Candelario (1-for-2 with an RBI) had an RBI single in the fifth, and Billy McKinney (1-for-4 with an RBI) drove in Chesny Young (1-for-3 with two stolen bases) with a base hit in the seventh inning.
Brad Markey regained his composure well after allowing back-to-back solo home runs in the second inning. Those would be the only runs Markey would give up as he struck out three in five innings for the win. James Pugliese and Josh Conway each tossed a scoreless inning.
Triple-A – Iowa Cubs (4-7)
The Iowa Cubs game with Round Rock on Monday was postponed due to rain and wet grounds.
After waiting two days to play due to rain, the Iowa Cubs did not look prepared as they lost 7-5 to Round Rock on Tuesday. Manager Marty Peavy opted to go with a bullpen day, with lefty Scott Barnes getting the start. Barnes lasted only two innings and gave up five earned runs, while Stephen Perakslis was tagged for two unearned runs in three innings.
The I-Cubs made a game of it by scoring two runs in the fourth inning and three in the sixth. Arismendy Alcantara (3-for-5 with a triple) tripled and came home on a sacrifice fly. A double from Dan Vogelbach (1-for-3 with a double) and another sacrifice fly added a run. Albert Almora (3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base) had an RBI single that drove in Willson Contreras (1-for-3 with an RBI).
News and Notes
The Chicago Cubs assigned RHP Michael Wagner to the Eugene Emeralds from the Iowa Cubs; assigned RHP James Pugliese to the Tennessee Smokies from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans; assigned 1B Jose Paniagua to the Eugene Emeralds from the South Bend Cubs.
The Iowa Cubs activated OF Matt Murton from the 7-day disabled list; activated LHP Giovanni Soto from the temporarily inactive list. The Tennessee Smokies placed RHP David Garner and RHP Starling Peralta on the temporarily inactive list. The South Bend Cubs activated INF Carlos Sepulveda from the 7-day disabled list.