Results tagged ‘ Alberto Gonzalez ’
Minor Matters – May 9, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)
At The Plate - Not a lot went right for Iowa in this one as they only managed one run on seven hits en route to a 5-1 loss. Brett Jackson had a successful return to the lineup going 2-for-4 with two singles. Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with a double, he’s now hitting .270 on the season. Alberto Gonzalez had a his second solid game in a row going 2-for-3 with a walk. The Cubs were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, and they lost to Chris Volstad, so there’s that too.
On The Mound - Drew Carpenter got the start and was decent going five innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out six. Casey Coleman wasn’t much better out of the bullpen working one inning giving up two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out two. Zach Putnam was solid going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out one.
At The Plate – The Smokies did plenty offensively but could hold down the Barons in a wild 9-7 loss. The Smokies entered the ninth tied at seven and the Barons managed to push two runs across the plate to take the lead and get the win. The Smokies missed a bunch of opportunities as they were 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Rubi Silva was 1-for-5 with a triple, an RBI, two stolen bases, and a run scored. Rafael Lopez was 1-for-4 with a walk, his second home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Jonathan Mota was 1-for-3 with a walk, his second home run of the season, and a run scored. Tim Torres had his second straight solid game going 3-for-4 with a double, and two runs scored.
On The Mound - Alberto Cabrera was roughed up, that usually doesn’t happen, especially like this. Cabrera worked 4.1 innings giving up six runs on thirteen(!) hits while walking three and striking out five. Kevin Rhoderick was decent out of the pen but struggled with his command again, he worked three innings giving up one run on one hit while walking two and striking out two. Trey McNutt took the loss, working 1.2 inning giving up two runs, one earned, on one hit while walking two and striking out one.
At The Plate – Solid win for Daytona against a very good opponent. Daytona pounded out ten hits in the victory, after letting a 3-1 lead get away the D-Cubs jumped back on top for good in the sixth inning. Javier Baez padded his slugging stats in this one going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, he also made his fourteenth error of the season. Jorge Soler was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, he is now hitting .290 on the season after struggling and seeing his average drop into the .260′s. John Andreoli continues to hit, he was 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .333 on the season. Dustin Geiger had another solid game going 2-for-3 with an RBI in the victory.
On The Mound – P.J. Francescon was pretty good in this one going five innings giving up three runs, two earned, on eight hits while striking out four. Jeffrey Lorick worked a scoreless out of the pen to earn the victory. Austin Reed, and Hunter Cervenka each had scoreless appearances out of the pen to close this one out. Cervenka worked two innings giving up one hit while striking out one to earn his third save of the season.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Minor Matters – May 8, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)
At The Plate – A roller coaster game for the Cubs in this one as they held a 4-0 lead only to lose it, then an 8-4 lead only to see the Sky Sox get within two, luckily Iowa hung on for the victory. Alberto Gonzalez had a huge day at the plate going 4-for-5 with a walk, a double, and an RBI. Brian Bogusevic was 2-for-5 with a walk, his second home run of the season, one RBI, and two runs scored. Brad Nelson was 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. Darnell McDonald was 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI’s, a stolen base, and a run scored. J.C. Boscan is having a great season so far, he was 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, he’s now hitting .344 on the year. Iowa probably could have scored more than eight runs as they pounded out sixteen hits but were 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
On The Mound – A mixed bag for the Iowa pitching on this night, but they did just enough. Barret Loux got the start and didn’t have it as he went four innings giving up four runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out four. Esmailin Caridad was really good out of the pen and earned the win, he went two scoreless innings while walking one and striking out one. Hisanori Takahashi was roughed up, he went 1.2 innings giving up two runs on three hits while striking out three. Blake Parker was solid again as he earned his fourth save, he went 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out one.
At The Plate – Another wild one in Tennessee as the Smokies trailed 6-0 after one inning, then 9-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth. The Smokies tied it in the ninth with three runs, then they trailed 11-9 heading to the bottom of the tenth, they tied it again with two in the tenth. Unfortunately they couldn’t come back to tie it a fourth time and lost 12-11 in fourteen innings. The Smokies pounded out fifteen hits in this one, drew seven walks, and made four costly errors. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-5 with two walks, a double, one RBI, and two runs scored. Ty Wright was 1-for-3 with two walks, a double, and three RBI’s. Rubi Silva was 2-for-7 with his fifth home run of the season, three RBI’s and a run scored. Rafael Lopez was 3-for-5 with two walks, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Tim Torres was 2-for-7 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.
On The Mound – I wouldn’t say that the Smokies pitchers were bad, they just didn’t get a lot of help from their defense. Dallas Beeler got the start and struggled a bit with his command. Beeler went 4.2 innings giving up seven runs, four earned, on four hits while walking three and striking out four. Brian Schlitter was first out of the pen and worked 1.1 innings giving up one run, unearned, on two hits. Kyuji Fujikawa was excellent in what was probably his last rehab outing, he went two scoreless innings giving up a single base hit. Frank Batista was touched up, which is rare, he worked two innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. Zach Rosscup was brilliant late in this one, he tossed three scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out three. Marcus Hatley took the loss in this one, he worked one inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out one.
At The Plate - Daytona put up plenty of fight in this one, they just can’t figure out a way to beat St. Lucie. The D-Cubs trailed 5-3 in the eight and managed to tie things up with two in the eighth only to lose 6-5 in the ten innings. Tim Saunders was 2-for-5 with a triple, and two runs scored. Jorge Soler has responded from his benching in a big way, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, his fifth home run of the season, a walk, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Dustin Geiger was 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, and two RBI’s in the loss.
On The Mound - Austin Kirk has struggled his last couple times out, he worked five innings giving up nine hits while walking one and striking out four. Eduardo Figueroa worked two scoreless innings out of the pen while striking out three. Luis Liria took the loss as he went 2.2 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out three.
At The Plate – The Cougars couldn’t get anything going at the plate in this one, and they were undone by one bad inning as Burlington scored four times in the fourth en route to a 4-0 victory. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a double, he’s now hitting .297 on the season. Bijan Rademacher has been red-hot and it continued in this one as he was 2-for-2 with a walk, he’s now hitting .371 on the season and .412 in his last ten games.
On The Mound – Pierce Johnson only had one bad inning but it was enough for his second loss of the season. Johnson worked four innings giving up four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out five. Justin Amlung was really good out of the pen going two scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two. Matt Iannazzo was solid as well going two scoreless innings giving up one hit while walking one.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Waste Opportunities in Loss to Giants
Every game seems winnable with this team, more often than not, it still ends up as a loss. Heading into today it looked like a solid pitching match up on paper, and both guys delivered for the most part as Samardzija battled Bumgarner through six innings. The Giants built a 3-0 lead after six and a half innings and for the fifth straight game the Cubs wouldn’t go quietly. Dioner Navarro has a flare for dramatics it seems as for the second straight day he delivered a pinch hit home run. Today it was a two-run shot that brought the Cubs within one run, unfortunately that’s as close as they would get despite a wonderful opportunity. That was the story of the day for the Cubs, 
wasted opportunities, they had multiple chances to drive runs in while making outs, whether it be a ground ball or a sac fly, and the Cubs couldn’t do either, which isn’t that surprising. Welington Castillo had two great opportunities and failed both times. The latest was a bases loaded opportunity with one out in the eighth inning, he swung at the first pitch and grounded into an inning ending double play.
At The Plate – Alfonso Soriano finally showed some signs of life at the plate today going 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Alberto Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Dioner Navarro, who will probably get the start tomorrow, was 1-for-1 off the bench with a two-run homer, yesterday he did it from the left side today from the right.
On The Mound - Jeff Samardzija turned in another solid outing and walks away with another loss. Samardzija went six innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out five. He falls to 0-2 on the season with a sparkling 2.75 ERA. Michael Bowden came on in relief and gave up one run in one inning of work on two hits. Both Carlos Marmol and James Russell tossed scoreless innings to keep it close late.
Up Next - Game four of the series as the Cubs will try to salvage a split when it all honesty they could be going for a sweep. Edwin Jackson will get the start for the Cubs, he will oppose Tim Lincecum at 1:20 PM CST. Much warmer temperatures tomorrow, so there’s that.
Game Highlights:
Check back later, FOX is horrible.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Samardzija’s Dominance Not Enough as Cubs Get Swept
Jeff Samardzija was about as dominant as a pitcher could be today, unfortunately the final score really doesn’t tell the story. The Cubs offense got back to normal as they could only manage five hits and one run against Braves starter Tim Hudson in the loss. 
The game changed in the sixth as the Braves looked to get a break as the home plate umpire ruled that Chris Johnson was hit by a pitch, it looked like it missed him on the replay but it was a close call. That loaded the bases and Ramiro Pena followed with a ground ball base hit, which arguably could have been had by a Major League second baseman, unfortunately the Cubs had Alberto Gonzalez there. Just like that it was 3-1 Braves and basically over given the Cubs lack of offensive anything. Home opener tomorrow!
At The Plate – Nothing good really. After yesterday’s “explosion” the Cubs could only manage five hits, and only one extra base hit. Starlin Castro might be on the verge of getting hot as he was 2-for-4 with two singles. Anthony Rizzo provided the only RBI of the game and finished the day 1-for-4, and David DeJesus doubled for his only hit of the game. The Cubs left seven guys on base and were o-for-4 with runners in scoring position today.
On The Mound - It was the Jeff Samardzija show, and it’s really unfortunate that he didn’t get a win, or a no decision and was hung with a loss because he really didn’t deserve it. Samardzija went 5.2 innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking four and striking out thirteen. Hector Rondon had a solid inning of work out of the pen as he allowed nothing while striking out two. Hisanori Takahashi gave up a run in his inning of work, a solo home run to Dan Uggla, he also struck out one.
Up Next - The home opener! Something to get excited about after two mind numbing losses. Edwin Jackson gets the honors and will face off against Marco Estrada and the Brewers.
Stat Of The Night - Jeff Samardzija set a career high with thirteen strikeouts in only 5.2 innings, besting his previous high of eleven.
Game Highlights:
Check back later
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Still Searching for Offense in Loss to Braves
More of the same from the Cubs offense tonight in Atlanta as they could only manage five hits and one run in a 4-1 loss. Sure Mike Minor was pounding the zone, but Cubs hitters made things way too easy on Braves pitching by 
having way too many aggressive at bats. The Cubs have two losses now, both with the “lefty lineup” on display, meaning DeJesus and Schierholtz on the bench. Not saying that they would have made a difference, but the Cubs always seem to struggle against lefties. Scott Feldman was all over the place, but battled, the result was being over 100 pitches and out the game before the end of the fifth inning. It’s not the end of the World, the Cubs are 2-2 which is probably a fair record at this point, if not better than it should be given the offensive struggles.
At The Plate – Another night, another low number in the hit column for the Cubs. Alfonso Soriano, Scott Hairston, Welington Castillo, and Alberto Gonzalez were all 1-for-3. Hairston provided the only offense of the night with a solo home run in the fifth inning off of Minor.
On The Mound - Scott Feldman made his Cubs debut and really never settled into a groove. For the most part he was able to pitch around trouble but couldn’t get out of the 5th. Feldman went 4.2 innings giving up four runs on five hits while walking four and striking out one. The bright spot was the bullpen, Michael Bowden and Hector Rondon shut the door over the last 2.1 innings but it was to no avail.
Up Next - Carlos Villanueva will make his Cubs debut opposite Julio Teheran at 6:00 PM CST. The Cubs will have their hands full again as Teheran is a high-class talent that will give them fits if they aren’t patient.
Stat Of The Night - The Cubs have 16 hits in the first four games of the season.
Game Highlights:
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Bats as Cold as the Weather in Loss to Pirates
It was rather obvious early, the Cubs offense was awfully disinterested in this one. Wandy Rodriguez and the cold temperatures combined to keep the Cubs at bay as they could only manage two 
hits all night. The Cubs opportunity came in the seventh inning when they put the first two on, and then loaded the bases with one out only to come up empty. It really was a story of one inning both ways tonight for the Cubs as Edwin Jackson was decent except for the fourth inning. Jackson struggled with his command in the fourth and gave up two runs in the frame which was more than enough for the Pirates in this one.
At The Plate – How many ways can I say bad? I guess I’ll just leave it at that, the Cubs approach and the subsequent results or lack there of left a lot to be desired. Alfonso Soriano and Alberto Gonzalez were the only Cubs to register hits in this one, both singles.
On The Mound – Edwin Jackson was really good early, then got into deep count after deep count and had to exit after five innings of work. Jackson gave up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out five in his Cubs debut. Hector Rondon made his Major League debut, tossing a scoreless inning while walking two, and striking out two. Michael Bowden gave up one run in his inning of work on two hits. Shawn Camp and Hasanori Takahashi each had scoreless outings.
Up Next – The rubber game of the series. Travis Wood will take on James McDonald at 11:35 AM CST, love morning baseball! Look for the normal Cubs lineup sans Welington Castillo tomorrow.
Stat Of The Night – Here I will feature a stat, either from the game, or a trend, could be good, or bad, or alarming. Tonight it’s alarming, the Cubs are 0-for-13 as a team with RISP, yikes.
Game Highlights:
The Cubs had two hits, there are no highlights worth watching, I promise.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Sign a Number of Players Including Brian Bogusevic
Per Matt Eddy of Baseball America the Cubs have signed four players to minor league deals today, most notably Brian Bogusevic. The Cubs also 
signed infielder Alberto Gonzalez who appeared in 24 games with the Rangers last season playing all over the infield. Right fielder Johermyn Chavez was also signed, he spent the majority of 2012 in the Mariners organization at the Double-A level. Catcher J.C. Boscan was also given a minor league contract today, Boscan appeared in six games with the Braves this past season.
Bogusevic is the only name you might actually know out of all these guys. A 2005 first round pick, Bogusevic spent last season with the Houston Astros and appeared in 146 games. His numbers weren’t really much to write home about but he will be in the competition to earn a spot coming off the bench next year for the Cubs.
Thanks for reading,
- George
