Results tagged ‘ Adrian Cardenas ’
September 11, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Astros
The Cubs look for their fifth straight victory tonight in Houston as they continue their late season surge to distance themselves from the number one pick. I’m just kidding, the Cubs are playing better as of late and it’s always nice to see winning baseball. The result however is they will not get the number one pick, that belongs to Houston, they deserve it, yikes. Justin Germano takes the ball tonight, here is how the Cubs will line up behind him.
1. DeJesus – CF
2. Valbuena - 3B
3. Rizzo – 1B
4. Soriano – LF
5. Castro – SS
6. Clevenger – C
7. LaHair – RF
8. Cardenas – 2B
9. Germano – P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
8/30: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Here is a quick look at the Cubs minor league recap for Thursday, August 30th. When the AZL Cubs playoff game ends we will have a full recap of that game.
Boise scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they lost to Everett 4-3. What else is new Stephen Bruno was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. His hit streak now sits at 20. Rock Shoulders hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the ninth. Albert Almora was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Dan Vogelbach also had a hit in the loss. Justin Amlung started and took the loss going two innings allowing one run on two hits. James Pugliese pitched the next four innings allowing two runs and striking out four. Su-Min Jung and Tyler Bremer combined to throw the last three innings, with Bremer giving up a run and striking out two.
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Cedar Rapids put up four big runs in the 10th inning to beat Peoria 11-7. The Chiefs had a lot of nice nights on the offensively. Pin-Chieh Chen was 3-for-4 with two walks, a triple, three runs scored, and a stolen base. Wes Darvill also had three hits, including a double and an RBI. Jorge Soler was 2-for-6 with an RBI and Sergio Burruel also had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Zeke DeVoss had a hit and an RBI as did Jacob Rogers. Timothy Saunders, Oliver Zapata, and Bijan Rademacher all had a hit in the loss. Joseph Zeller started and pitched 6.2 innings allowing five runs on eight hits. Sheldon McDonald and Larry Suarez pitched the next 2.1 innings, but Luis Liria took the loss giving up the four runs in the 10th.
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Going into the ninth tied Brevard County scored two and Daytona one, so the final ended up 6-5 Brevard County. Kyle Hendricks started and pitched four innings allowing three runs on seven hits. Matthew Spencer and Hunter Cervenka combined to pitch the next 2.1 innings giving up one run and striking out four. Eduardo Figueroa took the loss as he allowed the two runs in the ninth inning. John Andreoli had a nice night going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Javier Baez was 1-for-4 with a home run and Christian Villanueva had a hit and an RBI. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored and Elieser Bonne knocked in a run with a hit in the loss.
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Tennessee beat Pensacola on Thursday 4-2. Dallas Beeler started and pitched five innings allowing two runs, one earned on four hits, while walking two and striking out four. After Casey Harman pitched a scoreless sixth, Trey McNutt pitched an outstanding inning as he struck out the side and didn’t allow a base runner. Brian Schlitter notched his six save as he struck out four over two innings. The Cubs offense used the long ball as all four runs accounted for via the home run. Logan Watkins, Justin Bour, and Matt Cerda all connected with Cerda hitting a two-run homer. Jae-Hoon Ha was the only other Smokies player to have a hit in the win.
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Thursday was not a good night for Iowa losing to Nashville 6-1. Yonner Negrin started and took the loss as he pitched five innings allowing three runs, two earned on six hits. Jaye Chapman struck out two in a scoreless inning of work, but Miguel Socolovich gave up three runs in his inning. Rafael Dolis pitched the final frame, not allowing a run and striking one out. Adrian Cardenas was responsible for the only Cubs run as he was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tony Campana also had one hit and he scored the Cubs lone run, he also stole his 18th base at Iowa. The Cubs had five more hits in the loss, as Thursday was not a very good night.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/29: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our daily look at the Cubs minor leaguers. Tennessee was off and the AZL Cubs regular season has come to an end. They wound up winning the wild card.
Boise got the bats going once again beating Everett 9-5. Stephen Bruno was back at it going 2-for-3 with an RBI, he is now hitting .354. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-3 with a home run, his 10th of the season. Rock Shoulders had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBIs. Darien Martin and Marco Hernandez each had a hit and an RBI. Albert Almora was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Tayler Scott started, but did not factor in the decision pitching only four innings and allowing three runs, two earned. Michael Heesch did get the win pitching the next two innings not allowing a run. Nathan Dorris pitched two scoreless innings and Eduardo Orozco pitched the final frame, giving up two runs.
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Cedar Rapids jumped on Peoria early and held on to beat Peoria 9-5. Jorge Soler was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Chadd Krist and Jacob Rogers each had one hit and one RBI, with Krist having a triple. Zeke DeVoss and Dustin Geiger each had a hit and a hit and combined to score three runs. Yao-Lin Wang started and struggled, giving up nine runs, seven earned on eight hits in getting the loss. Bryce Shafer and Pete Levitt combined to pitch the last five scoreless innings.
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Christian Villanueva had a good first game as Daytona won 4-1. Villanueva was 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI, and two runs scored. Javier Baez was 1-for-3 with a triple, RBI, and run scored. Taylor Davis, Elieser Bonne, and John Andreoli all had a hit a piece in the win. PJ Francescon started and was really good pitching six innings allowing one run on three hits, while striking out three. AJ Morris got the call in the seventh and recorded his sixth save of the season.
It took extra innings in game two as Daytona ended up on the losing end of the second one 3-1. Frank Del Valle started and pitched five innings allowing one run and striking out six. Ryan Searle pitched a scoreless sixth, but Jeffrey Lorick struggled giving up two runs in the eighth inning as he took the loss. Rebel Ridling accounted for the only run for the Cubs as he hit a home run in the fourth inning. Javier Baez was 1-for-3 with a stolen base in game two. John Andreoli, Elieser Bonne, and Rafael Lopez all had a hit in the loss.
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Iowa got shut out on Wednesday losing 3-0 to Nashville. Ryan Rowland-Smith started and took the loss giving up one run, two earned in five innings. Jay Jackson threw one perfect inning in relief striking out one and Jeff Beliveau gave up one run in two innings of work. There was nothing too exciting on the offensive end. Diory Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two doubles. New Cub Anthony Recker was 1-for-3 with a double and Adrian Cardenas also had a double in the loss. Greg Rohan, Dave Sappelt, and Jeff Frazier all had one hit a piece in the shutout loss.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/26: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Sunday’s minor league recap. Daytona did not play as they had a scheduled day off.
The AZL Cubs won a big one on Sunday beating the Athletics 5-2. Duane Underwood started and pitched the first 2.1 innings giving up two hits and allowing no runs. Juan Paniagua got the win striking out three over the next 1.2 innings. After Carl Lang gave up one run in his inning Anthony Prieto pitched the next two, followed by Carlos Martinez-Pumarino who finished this one off giving up a run, but striking out three in two innings. Ben Carhart had another nice night at the plated going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Trevor Gretzky got his average over .300 as he went 3-for-4 with a run scored in this one. Carlos Penalver and Jeff Baez each had two hits a piece with Baez knocking in one run. Shawon Dunston had a double and an RBI in the Cubs win. With the win the Cubs are now only one game in back of the Athletics for the division lead.
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After winning the division on Saturday, Boise came back Sunday and lost 5-1 to Vancouver. Felix Pena got the start and took the loss allowing four runs on five hits over 4.1 innings. He also walked three and struck out five. Su-Min Jung and Tyler Bremer combined to pitch the final 3.2 innings on Sunday. The Hawks had a few highlights at the plate, however. Jeimer Candelario ended the night 2-for-3 and Darien Martin also had two hits. Stephen Bruno had yet another hit in this one and also drove in the Cubs lone run. Gioskar Amaya and Marco Hernandez each a hit in the Boise loss.
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Peoria was all over Wisconsin from the get go, eventually winning 10-3. Jeffry Antigua was outstanding on Sunday pitching seven strong innings allowing no runs on three hits, while striking out seven. Pete Levitt pitched the final two frames allowing three unearned runs in the ninth inning. Dustin Geiger led the way offensively going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Jorge Soler go into the fun as well going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.. Jacob Rogers also had two hits, including his first home run with Peoria. The top of the order did their job as well, as Zeke DeVoss and Pin-Chieh Chen each had two hits. DeVoss added a run and an RBI and Chen scored four runs and drove one in as well. Oliver Zapata and Sergio Burruel each had hits with Zapata adding an RBI in the Chiefs victory.
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Tennessee scored one in the bottom of the eighth to win the game 4-3. Eric Jokisch was pretty good in this one giving up three runs on eight hits in seven innings. He also walked one and struck out four, his ERA now sits at 2.97. Trey McNutt continued to pitch well out of the bullpen pitching the final two innings and getting the win. Jae-Hoon Ha was outstanding at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double, triple, RBI, and a runs scored. Elliot Soto was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Rubi Silva had a hit and an RBI of his own. Matt Szczur also contributed with hit and a run scored in the Smokies victory.
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Iowa scored one in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough losing 4-3 to Oklahoma City. Chris Rusin got the start and pitched good, but took the loss. He pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits, while walking one and striking out seven. Blake Parker tossed the final two innings allowing one run and striking out two. James Adduci, Blake Lalli, and Matt Tolbert all were 2-for-4 with Adduci knocking in a run and Lalli scoring two. Brian Esposito had a double and an RBI and Adrian Cardenas pinch hit with an RBI single in the Cubs loss.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/24: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our nightly trip through the Cubs minor leagues. The AZL Cubs were off on Friday night.
Things were looking good for Boise after a six run second, but Vancouver quickly scored four in the bottom half and ended up beating the Hawks 7-6. With Tayler Scott staked to a four run lead, it was easy to assume this one was over, but Scott was not at his best today, but left with a chance to win as he left with the lead. He pitched five innings allowing five runs on seven hits, while walking four and striking out three. Rafael Diplan pitched the final three innings and took the loss as he gave up two runs, one of which was unearned. At the plate Marco Hernandez had a good night going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Albert Almora and Jeimer Candelario also had good nights as each had two hits with Almora scoring a run. Lance Rymel had one hit on the evening and also drove in two runs. Darien Martin and Stephen Bruno each had a hit and an RBI in the loss. Not a good loss for Boise, but they have come back strong all second half, I expect much of the same.
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Beloit took an early lead and never looked back beating Peoria 8-2 on Friday night. Yao-Lin Wang started and took the loss pitching 4.1 innings and allowing six runs, four earned on 10 hits. Willengton Cruz pitched two innings allowing two runs and Austin Reed pitched a scoreless frame. There were only a couple bright spots on the offensive side of things for the Chiefs in this one. Dustin Geiger was 2-for-3 with a home run, his 17th of the season and two RBIs. Chadd Krist also had two hits and Zeke DeVoss added a hit and scored a run as well. Jorge Soler got the night off for Peoria.
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Daytona won the first game of a double-header on Friday 4-3. Kyle Hendricks started and got his first win with the Cubs as he went five innings allowing two runs on three hits, while striking out three. AJ Morris recorded his fifth save of the season as he pitched the final two innings of game one. Down 2-0 Elieser Bonne quickly gave the Cubs the lead connecting on a three run homer, his third of the season. In the sixth inning Christian Villanueva gave Daytona a two run lead as he hit his third home run since coming to the Cubs. John Andreoli had two hits in the win.
Game two didn’t go as well as Daytona lost to Tampa 11-5. Matt Loosen had a really rough outing as he gave up eight runs on five hits to go along with six walks and seven strikeouts. Hunter Cervenka proved to not be much better allowing three more runs over the next 2.2 innings. Offensively speaking Christian Villanueva started right where he left off going 2-for-3 witha double and two runs scored. Elieser Bonne also had two hits including a double and John Andreoli had a hit and two RBIs. Rebel Ridling and Nelson Perez each had a hit and an RBI a piece. Javier Baez was held hitless in game one, but added a hit and an RBI in the game two loss.
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A seven run third inning helped Tennessee beat Mobile 11-5. Dallas Beeler was the beneficiary of all those runs as he got the win despite giving up five runs in five innings. Kevin Rhoderick and Tony Zych pitched two scoreless innings a piece to close out the game. The Smokies a had few really nice nights at the plate starting with Matt Sczcur who was 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored. Logan Watkins was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. Jae-Hoon Ha and Rubi Silva each had two hits with Ha having two doubles and driving in three. Silva hit his first home run and drove in two. Junior Lake had a home run of his own and knocked in three. Justin Bour had a double and walked three times, but unbelievably didn’t have an RBI in the Smokies 11 run win.
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Iowa scored two in the seventh and one in the eighth to defeat Oklahoma City 5-3. Yoanner Negrin started, but did not factor in the decision as he gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings pitched. Jay Jackson got the win in relief as he pitched a scoreless seventh inning. After Scott Maine threw a scoreless eighth Jairo Asencio struck out two in the ninth and picked up his fourth save. Tony Campana had a nice night at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and an RBI. Jeff Frazier and Diory Hernandez each had two hits with Hernandez driving in one run. Adrian Cardenas had only one hit, but it was a home run as he knocked in two in the Cubs win.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/22: Around the Cubs Minor League System
The Cubs minor leagues were in full effect on Wednesday with the AZL Cubs and Daytona each playing 7-inning double headers.
The AZL Cubs scored three in the first inning of the first game and that was all Ryan McNeil and company would need beating the Diamondbacks 3-0. McNeil was outstanding pitching four scoreless innings giving up five hits and striking out two. Rafael Dolis continued his rebab pitching the next 1.1 innings and getting the win. Jasvir Rakkar earned his first save of the year, striking out four of the five outs he recorded. Anthony Giansanti also continued his rehab assignment going 1-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Justin Marra also had a hit and an RBI in the victory. Shawon Dunston continued his impressive stretch at the plate going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Ben Carhart and Yasiel Balauert also had a hit in the game.
Game two was scoreless until Anthony Giansanti stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Giansanti delivered hitting a walk off homer as the Cubs swept the double-header against the Diamondbacks. The Cubs used three pitchers in this one as Corbin Hoffner got the start striking out two and allowing three hits in three innings. Some more good news was the return of Ben Wells who began his rebab assignment in style striking out the side in his one inning. Alvido Jimenez ended the scoreless day pitcing the final three innings and getting his second win of the season. Carlos Penalver, David Bote, and Yasiel Balaguert all had a hit in game two of the double-header. The Cubs remain three games behind the A’s for first place, but are leading the wild card by three games over the Giants.
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Boise just keeps rolling as they beat up Vancouver 11-6. The offense was the story in this one as they pounded out 17 hits to go along with those 11 runs. Stephen Bruno is just raking right now as he went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBIs. He is now hitting .344 on the season and .439 in his last 10. Izaac Garsez and Wilson Contreras each had really nice games both having three hits and driving in two runs a piece. Garsez also scored three runs and stole his first base of the season. Carlos Escobar and Darien Martin both had two hits with Escobar knocking in two. Marco Hernandez also had two RBIs and Gioskar Amaya had one of his own. Justin Amlung got the start, but only lasted two innings as he gave up three runs on six hits. Michael Heesch then pitched two scoreless innings and got his second win of the season. James Pugliese struck out six over the next three innings, but did give up three runs before getting the ball to Nathan Dorris. Dorris closed this one out striking out two over the final two innings of the game. Boise remains six games up on the Yakima Bears with their magic number down to four.
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Beloit got off to a great start, but Peoria came roaring back scoring four in the sixth and one in the eighth to tie it up before scoring three in the 13th and beating Beloit 9-6. Timothy Saunders continues to impress at the plate going 4-for-6 with a stolen base, three runs scored and two RBIs. He is now hitting .391 with Peoria in 11 games. Jorge Soler was back at it going 2-for-6 with a stolen base, three runs scored and an RBI. Jacob Rogers and Bijan Rademacher each had a hit and an RBI and Pin-Chieh Chen had two hits. Starling Peralta started, but struggled with his command walking five in five innings. He also gave up five hits and allowed four runs, three earned, and struck out four. After Bryce Shafer gave up an unearned run the rest of the Chiefs staff threw up zeros. First Pete Levitt struck out four in 2.2 innings, then Sheldon McDonald struck out four in his two innings. Luis Liria came on to shut the door in the 13th and recorded his fifth save of the season.
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Game one of Daytona’s double-header was decided early as Clearwater scored two in the first and Daytona scored one in the second. Nothing would change as the Cubs lost game one 2-1. PJ Francescon started and took the loss striking out four and giving up two runs in three innings. Eduardo Figueroa, Matt Spencer, and AJ Morris all did their job not allowing another hit and shutting Clearwater down over the next three innings. The offense just couldn’t get it going, which is to be expected as they haven’t played in several days. Taylor Davis was 2-for-2 and drove in the only Cubs run in this one. Christian Villanueva hit a double and scored the Cubs lone run in the loss. John Andreoli and Elieser Bonne also had hits and Javier Baez was 0-for-3.
Game two didn’t go much better for Daytona as Clearwater jumped out early scoring three in the first and never looked back beating the Cubs 4-2. Frank Del Valle was on the hook for all four runs, only three of which were earned in four innings of work. Ryan Searle and Hunter Cervenka each pitched a scoreless inning a piece. Offensively there were a couple bright spots, one of which was Ronald Torreyes who was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Vladimir Frias had two hits of his own and Nelson Perez added a hit and an RBI. The offense is obviously having a hard time getting in any kind of rhythm as games have been few and far between.
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Tennessee was embarrassed on Wednesday losing to Chattanooga 11-1. Dae-Eun Rhee started and took the loss giving up three runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings. Things didn’t get any better as Casey Weathers gave up three runs after recording just one out. After Zach Rosscup struck out the side in the seventh, Casey Harman gave up five runs, only one of which was earned in the eighth inning. Dustin Harrington struck out two in the ninth, that’s right Dustin Harrington, the same guy who plays third base. He was 2-for-2 at the plate as well, hitting a double and scoring a run. Matt Szczur was the only other Smokie to have a hit as he had a triple and drove in the lone Cubs run.
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Iowa was winning 3-1 into the eighth, but gave up five over the next two innings and lost 6-3. Horacio Ramirez was great on Wednesday giving up one run on seven hits in seven innings pitched. Blake Parker struggled and took the loss giving up three runs in the eighth and Jairo Asencio allowed two unearned runs in the ninth. Dave Sappelt had a nice day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Brian Esposito had a hit and an RBI and Blake Lalli had a hit and scored a run in the loss. Adrian Cardenas finally got to play baseball again and was 1-for-4 with a run scored. It is tough to see Parker give this one up, as his rehab has been going quite well thus far, but I am sure he will come back strong in his next outing.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
Cubs Earn Split Behind Castro’s Big Night
It was a busy day for Starlin Castro, earlier in the day news broke that Starlin Castro had agreed to an 7 year extension with the Cubs, he closed out the night a home run shy of the cycle. More on Castro in a bit, it was a very big night for Brooks Raley as well. Raley was called up to start game two of the double-header and he delivered his first major league win while holding a very hot Cincinnati offense in check. Raley finished the night going 5.1 innings giving up four runs, three earned 
while walking two and striking out four, he also registered his first major league hit. It was a wild game as the Cubs built an 8-2 lead by the 6th inning, then things became uneasy for Cubs fans. The Reds scored twice in the 6th inning and twice in the seventh inning to make it an 8-6 game. The Cubs seemed destined to blow the lead as the Reds pulled to within one in the 8th, but got a big boost from an unlikely pinch hitter. David DeJesus who got game two off with a tweaked back, launched a solo shot in the top of the ninth to give the Cubs a little more breathing room. Carlos Marmol came on in the ninth and continued his resurgence as he shut down the Reds for his 15th save of the season. Adrian Cardenas, making his first start in what seems like forever, went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Back to Castro, he was outstanding in the night-cap finishing 3-for-5 with a double, triple, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
Game Highlights:
Castro’s Huge Night
DeJesus Provides Some Insurance
LaHair’s RBI Single
Rizzo’s RBI Single
Jackson’s First Major League HR
Thanks for reading,
- George
8/5: Around the Minor League System
Here is the minor league recap for August 5, 2012.
In an up and down game the AZL Cubs wound up on the losing end dropping Sunday’s game 8-6. In his first start Duane Underwood struggled big time giving up four runs, three earned in just .1 innings and just like that the Cubs were down 4-0. Over the next three innings the Cubs offense would come to life scoring six runs. Ben Carhart was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jacob Rogers and David Bote had a hit and each drove two runs as well. Top prospect Albert Almora was 1-for-5 and Carlos Penalver drove a run home. Leading 6-4 the Cubs turned it over the bullpen and after Brian Smith calmed things down, Ethan Elias really struggled giving up four runs over three innings. Steve Perakslis and Chad Martin combined to pitch the last three innings holding the Giants scorelss. After being down early and then taking the lead it is definitely tough to not come out on top of this one.
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Just when it looked like Boise was going to cruise to an easy win a five run seventh happened to tie the game at nine. Luckily for Boise Daniel Vogelbach wasn’t going to let this one slip away as he connected for a game winning home run in the top of the 11th. Lance Rymel had qutie the night on Sunday going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. Trey Martin and Marco Hernandez each had three hits with Martin driving in two runs. Izaac Garsez had his best game yet, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wilson Contreras had two hits and scored three runs and Stephen Bruno added a hit and two RBIs. Ian Dickson started and took a no decision as he gave up three runs on three hits in five innings. Hunter Ackerman and Rafael Diplan did not have there best days combining to giving up six runs, five earned in just two innings. Su-Min Jung recorded his first win of the season and Eduardo Orozco closed it out earning his second save. Wow, was it a crazy game on Sunday, luckily for us the Hawks took the W.
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Clinton scored two in the eighth to defeat Peoria 3-2. Michael Jensen started and pitched well allowing one run on five hits, while striking out four in five innings pitched. Sheldon McDonald pick up right were he left off striking out three in two scoreless innings. Austin Reed, however was not very good on Sunday giving up two runs in two innings and taking the loss. Not much happening on the offensive side as the Chiefs only had five hits. With the promotion of Javier Baez, Timothy Saunders was sent to Peoria and he ended the game 1-for-4 with a double. Yanel Cabezas had a double as well as an RBI. Wes Darvill, Sergio Burruel, and Oliver Zapata all had one hit a piece in the loss.
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Daytona dropped another one Dunedin on Sunday losing 4-2. Christian Villanueva was the only Cubs player with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-4 in the loss. Rubi Silva had a hit and drove in John Andreoli who also had a run scored. Rebel Ridling, Rafael Lopez, and Micah Gibbs all had one hit, with Ridling scoring a run. PJ Francescon started and gave up two runs in two innings, striking out four. Frank Del Valle also gave up two runs, but did strike out five in his four innings of relief. Ryan Searl thew the last two innings not allowing a run and striking one out. Javier Baez struggled again in his second game with Daytona going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. It is not the way wanted to start and it is not the way Daytona wanted things to go this weekend.
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After being up early, Tennessee tied it in the seventh, only to lose it in the bottom of the ninth 5-4. Jutin Bour had a nice game going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, bringing his season total to 92. Nelson Perez added two hits including his fifth home run of the season and Matt Cerda also had two hits on the evening. Logan Watkins and Nate Samson each had a hit and Watkins scored a run and stole his 21st base of the season. Eric Jokisch started, but did not factor in the decision pitching five innings and giving up three runs, while striking out six. Brian Schlitter took the loss giving up the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
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Iowa gave up one in each the eighth and the ninth to lose to Reno 2-1. The bright spot on Sunday was Casey Coleman. He pitched outstanding going six innings allowing no runs on two hits and striking out eight. Jay Jackson pitched a scoreless seventh striking out one batter. Marcus Hatley and Esmailin Caridad each gave up a run and Caridad took the loss. Well it happened to Iowa again on Sunday, this time losing Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters to the big club. Diory Hernandez was 1-for-3 with the Cubs only RBI. Greg Rohan stayed hot going 1-for-4 in the loss. There isn’t much exciting happening in Iowa right now and with the departures of Jackson, Vitters, Welington Castillo, and Adrian Cardenas thing probably will continue to be a struggle.
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Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
Long Day Turns Into Long Night for Cubs
After a day full of rumors and speculation the Cubs came out flat and uninspired against A.J. Burnett. Burnett took advantage and was four outs away from pitching his second career no-hitter before Adrian Cardenas lined a two out single in the 8th to break it up. That was the only thing left undecided by the 8th inning tonight as the Pirates, thanks to a first inning grand slam by Neil Walker were cruising to a 5-0 victory. Casey Coleman got the start for the Cubs thanks to Ryan Dempster being traded earlier in the day to the Texas Rangers. Coleman didn’t seem ready to go at the start either as he gave up four runs in the first on the way to his second loss of the season. Coleman only lasted 4.2 innings thanks to spotty command, he gave up four runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out five. As you could already guess the Cubs did nothing at the plate as Burnett had everything working, a brutal two-seem fastball that took up residence on the inside corner and a curve ball that vanished all night. Games like this happen, especially after a long day of wondering who is the next guy to be traded. Definitely not taking anything away from Burnett, he was outstanding tonight. Full box score and highlights after the jump.
