Results tagged ‘ Pierce Johnson ’
Cubs Instructs 2012: Soler Goes Boom
Jorge Soler connected on his first home run of the Instructional League as the Cubs beat up the Giants 8-3 yesterday afternoon. Pierce Johnson was outstanding on the mound for the Cubs going 2.2 innings allowing no runs on only one hit, he walked two and struck out one in his instructs debut. Ryan McNeil also got a chance to pitch yesterday afternoon, he struggled with command but had a decent outing. McNeil went 1.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking two and striking out one.
As I mentioned already, Jorge Soler launched a solo shot in the victory, he finished the day 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI, and two runs scored. Chadd Krist also got a hold of one in the victory, he was 1-for-2 with a home run, and an RBI. Trevor Gretzky also had a big day at the plate going 2-for-2 with two singles, and two RBI’s. The instructional league is just that, a league for instruction and it’s pretty clear that the Cubs are buying what the Cubs brass is trying to teach. Over the first three games in Arizona the Cubs have drawn 20 walks, 20! That is outstanding, and something worth noting as that is exactly what the Cubs front office wants to see, young prospects working counts and taking their walks.
Notables:
Marco Hernandez; 2-for-2, double, RBI, SB
Shawon Dunston Jr.; 1-for-2, RBI, SB
Ben Carhart; 1-for-2, double, RBI
Please visit The Cub Reporter for a full box score and recap of Monday’s game.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Big Time Prospects Ready For Instructional League
As we heads towards the end of the season it starts to become a reality, there’s only a handful of Cubs games left this year. For most, this is a blessing as some fans can’t “bear”…. (get it?) to watch anymore given how bad the team has been and 
other sports have started. For this Cubs fan it’s not so great as I enjoy watching this team play, no matter how infuriating it is at times. With that said it’s time to start focusing on the off-season baseball that will take place, first up is the Cubs instructional league that starts today. This is an important step for many of these players as they are going to get more game experience, and another opportunity to impress the front office heading into next season. Below is a breakdown of everyone that will participate this year, the games begin on September 21. We will give you much more information on these players as our player cards come out, we will also do our best to give you results and box scores of these games, so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading,
- George
Updated: Cubs Top 20 Prospects
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has done an updated top 100 prospects lists as well as each organizations top 20. Mayo will probably come out with a list prior to the 2013 season, but here is where Cubs prospects stand as of now according to Mayo. To check out the entire top 100 list and to read a little more on these Cubs prospects.
1. Javier Baez – SS (#24)
When the Cubs picked Almora they new his bat was going to play and that is exactly what happened. The Cubs top pick from 2011 was outstanding in his time with Peoria this year hitting .333/.383/.596 with 12 home runs, 33 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He struggled a bit when moving to Daytona, but overall it was very successful season for the young shortstop.
2. Albert Almora – OF (#52)
The Cubs top pick in this years draft didn’t sign right away, but when he did he didn’t disappoint. He started with the AZL Cubs and moved to Boise shortly after. Combined he played in 33 games hitting .321/.331/.464 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. He also hit 12 doubles.
3. Brett Jackson – OF (#74)
It has been an interesting year for Brett Jackson who has dropped a bit in the prospect watch. The good news first he has made it to the show and when he makes contact does some damage as he left Iowa with 22 doubles, 12 triples, and 15 home runs, to go along with 27 stolen bases. He also plays great defense, the bad news is he has really struggled making contact striking out over 200 times between his two stops.
4. Arodys Vizcaino - RHP (#76)
Vizcaino was considered one the Braves best young pitchers and was deemed untouchable last year. Things changed a bit this year as he missed the entire season after elbow surgery in March. The Cubs are very pleased to have acquired Vizcaino, but it remains to be seen how he will recover from surgery. Lets hope it is as a starter, but at the least he is a power arm out of the pen which the Cubs need badly as well.
5. Jorge Soler – OF (#77)
Jorge Soler did quite well in getting accustomed to baseball in America. He is still very raw, but at 20 the Cubs feel very strongly he will be a big contributor to the big club in the future. He spent time with the AZL Cubs and moved to Peoria where he finished the year. He combined to hit .299/.398/.463 with five home runs and 25 RBIs in just 34 games.
6. Matt Szczur – OF
The speedy outfielder had a nice season in Daytona hitting .295/.394/.407 with 38 stolen bases, but struggled a bit in 35 games with Tennessee.
7. Trey McNutt - RHP
McNutt did not have the year he was looking to have going 9-8 with 4.26 ERA. He struggled a bit and was moved to the bullpen, but maybe it will be better for him and the Cubs.
8. Junior Lake -SS
Lake played the entire year in Tennessee and did a pretty good job going .279/.341/.432 with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. He is still very raw and will continue to work on his game.
9. Pierce Johnson – RHP
The Cubs took Johnson with the 43rd overall pick in this years draft and he did quite well making six starts, two with the AZL Cubs and four with Boise.
10. Josh Vitters - 3B
The former first round pick, number 3 overall finally put it all together this year in Iowa hitting .304/.356/.513 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs. The PCL All Star got the call up, but has struggled so far with the Cubs, but at only 23 the future is still very bright for Vitters.
11. Dillon Maples – RHP
It took a while for Maples to make his first appearance, but when he did he showed signs of what he could be. He was a bit inconsistent in his six appearances, but he will have more opportunities next season to show what he has. He has tremendous upside.
12. Robert Whitenack - RHP
Coming off of Tommy John surgery Whitenack struggled pitching for Daytona going 1-6 with a 5.96 ERA. Although the numbers don’t look good, remember he is coming off of major surgery and has good upside.
13. Dan Vogelbach - 1B
Not many Cubs prospects did as much damage as Vogelbach did this year. The big first baseman played in 61 games this season between the AZL Cubs and Boise Hawks. He hit .322/.410/.641 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs.
14. Ben Wells – RHP
A 2010 draft pick the 19-year-old Wells missed most of the season with a right elbow strain. He made a few appearances at the end of the year, but will look to stay healthy in 2013.
15. Paul Blackburn – RHP
Another 2012 draft pick Paul Blackburn was chosen 56th overall out of high school. He made nine appearances for the AZL Cubs going 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA.
16. Jeimer Candelario - 3B
Candelario played the entire season at Boise and at only 18 the corner infielder showed he can hit a little bit. The switch hitting Candelario hit .281/.345/.396 with six home runs and 47 RBIs.
17. Gioskar Amaya – 2B/SS
Amaya played his season in Boise and put up some good numbers. He his .298/.381/.496. The 19-year old filled up the stat sheet with six doubles, 12 triples, and eight home runs. He also drove in 33 and stole 15 bases.
18. Tony Zych - RHP
Zych shared time between Daytona and Tennessee out of the bullpen. He combined to going 5-4 with a 3.67 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 61.1 innings.
19. Alberto Cabrera – RHP
Cabrera, who moved to the bullpen this year started in Double-A, but quickly moved to Triple-A before finally ending up with the big club. His minor league numbers were really good going 4-1 with 3.11 ERA with 74 strikeouts to only 14 walks. He has struggled since coming to the Cubs, but we’ll see where he factors in going forward.
20. Marcus Hatley – RHP
Hatley pitched well in Tennessee out of the bullpen going 3-1 with a 3.40 with 46 strikeouts in 45 innings. He then got the call to Iowa where he struggled in his time there.
It is good to see the Cubs have five players who are inside the top 80 in MLB. You can also see the emphasis the Cubs placed on pitching, drafting Pierce Johnson and Paul Blackburn in this years draft as well as bringing in Arodys Vizcaino in the Paul Maholm deal. Looking a little further into things is the talent Theo Epstein and company brought in this year. They obviously brought in the three pitchers above as well as Albert Almora and Jorge Soler. three of those five are inside the Cubs top five and Pierce Johnson makes it four in the top 10. The exciting thing is there are more who they brought in who I would guess are close to cracking this top 20 and who may even show up in the top 20 before the 2013 season gets underway. Keep checking back this offseason as we will talk more in-depth about these prospects as well as many more.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
Hawks Make Four Errors, Drop Game One
Boise dropped a tough one in the first game of the series losing to the Yakima Bears 5-4. Yakima got the scoring started in the first scoring an unearned run off of Hawks starter Pierce Johnson. Johnson pitched three strong innings allowing one unearned run on two hits, while walking one and striking out three. He left the game in line for the loss, but Boise rallied in the bottom of the fourth. Marco Hernadez who had a nice night offensively (2-for-4) led the inning off with a triple, but was followed by a Stephen Bruno strikeout. The next two hitters for the Hawks were Dan Vogelbach and Jeimer Candelario, who both walked to load the bases for Albert Almora who was ultra aggressive and struck out swinging. Up stepped Rock Shoulders who worked a full count and then unloaded on the 3-2 breaking ball hitting a grand slam and giving Boise a 4-1 lead after four. Jose Arias, who relieved Johnson was still on the hill in the sixth when Yakima tied things up. A lead off single was followed by a run scoring double for the Bears. After recording two outs Arias struggled with his command walking the next two, hitting a batter to force in a run, and throwing a passed ball, which appeared to be a cross up, and just like that the game was knotted at four. The final line for Arias was three innings pitched giving up three runs, two earned on four hits. Yakima would continue getting the leadoff hitter on and it wound up costing the Hawks in the ninth. With Nathan Dorris pitching, Daniel Poma led off with a very controversial infield single. After a sac bunt, Kevin Medrano doubled to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run. Boise threatened in the bottom half as Albert Almora started things off with an infield hit. Rock Shoulders struck out swinging, but Almora stole second. Almora took third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there when Wilson Contreras and Darien Martin each struck out swinging to end the game. Nathan Dorris took the loss giving up one run on two hits in his three innings of work.
Boise will have to be a lot better from here on out as offensively they only had five hits and struck out 15 times and defensively they committed four errors. With those numbers it is hard to believe the Hawks even had a chance to win the game, let alone be in control of the game as they were into the sixth. Boise will now travel to Yakima tomorrow and will have to win in order to keep the season alive.
Props to George who did an awesome job with the graphics and thanks for reading,
-Mark
Boise Ready to Kick Off Playoffs Tonight
Compared to the AZL Cubs, the Boise Hawks have a little more room for error, but not much, as the NWL playoffs get started tonight. Each round of the playoffs is best of three instead of a one game playoff like the AZL Cubs had to deal with. Here is everything you need to know about the Boise Hawks in round one of the NWL playoffs, and a game one preview.
Yakima Bears (36-40, East Division first-half champions) vs. Boise Hawks (37-39, East Division second-half champions)
Yakima won the season series, 7-5
Game 1 at Boise, Sept. 3 at 8:45 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Yakima, Sept. 4 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Yakima (if necessary), Sept. 5 at 10:05 p.m. ET
Pierce Johnson gets the ball in game one for Boise, follow us on Twitter for live game updates tonight!
Thanks for reading,
- George
8/28: Around the Cubs Minor League System
The Cubs minor league recap for Tuesday, August 28. Daytona was again cancelled because of rain.
The AZL Cubs tried to come back, but ended up losing to the Diamondbacks 6-4. Dillon Maples started and got the loss allowing two unearned runs in one inning. The Cubs used six more pitchers to get through the rest of the game. Some of the good pitching performances were Loiger Padron who struck out three and allowed one hit in two innings. Anthony York struggled giving up three runs in just 0.2 innings. Daniel Adrian, Jin-Young Kim, and Arturo Maltos-Garcia all combined to strike out eight in just three innings. Garrett Schlecht was really good night going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, and three runs scored. Yasiel Balaguert was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored. Trevor Gretzky and Carlos Penalver each had a hit and an RBI. Justin Marra had a double and Jeff Baez knocked in one run in the loss.
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Boise jumped on Everett early scoring seven runs in the first two innings and ended up winning 7-3. Stephen Bruno has been outstanding and Tuesday was no different going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Jeimer Candelario and Gioskar Amaya each hit a home run with Candelario driving in two and Amaya three. Wilson Contreras and Marco Hernandez had two hits a piece with Contreras having two RBIs. Carlos Escobar and Darien Martin each had a hit in the win. Although he didn’t have a hit it was nice to see Albert Almora get back in the lineup. Pierce Johnson got the start pitching two innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out three. Jose Arias pitched the next three innings allowing one run on one hit, while walking four and striking out three. Brian Smith pitched the next 2.2 innings and got the win not allowing a run and striking out three. Rafael Diplan notched his first save of the season, striking out two of the four outs he recorded.
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Peoria gave up three runs in the ninth and lost to Wisconsin 4-1. In some really good new Ben Wells got the start in his first game with Peoria since coming back from injury. He pitched two innings allowing no runs on two hits, with one walk. Willengton Cruz did a very nice job in relief pitching five innings allowing one run on three hits, while striking out four. Justin Berg took the loss giving up three runs in the ninth inning. The Chiefs only had four hits on Tuesday. Pin-Chieh Chen and Dustin Geiger each had hits as did Timothy Saunders and Jacob Rogers. Jorge Soler did not have a hit, but walked twice and scored the Chiefs lone run.
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Tennessee gave up one run in the ninth to tie the game, but walked-off in the 10th beating Mobile 6-5. Logan Watkins was the hero hitting the walk off home run in the 10th, he ended the night 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Michael Brenly had quite a nice night as well going 3-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Matt Cerda was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Michael Burgess had a pinch hit RBI single. Junior Lake and Rubi Silva each had a hit in the Smokies win. Austin Kirk got the start going seven strong innings. He gave up three runs, two earned on seven hits, while walking one and striking out one. Kevin Rhoderick gave up a run in one inning, but got the ball to Frank Batista with the lead. Batista blew the save, but got the win. Tennessee is playing good ball lately and they are now 33-32, but it appears to be too late as they are five out and are one game away from being eliminated.
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Iowa lost to Nashville 7-3. Horacio Ramirez wasn’t good giving up seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. Miguel Socolovich, Rafael Dolis, and Jairo Asencio combined to pitch 3.1 innings not allowing a run. Alfredo Amezaga was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Tony Campana and Matt Tolbert each had two hits, with Tolbert scoring a run. Greg Rohan, Dave Sappelt, and James Adduci each had a hit in the Cubs loss.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/21: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Tuesday’s minor league report. As you may have guessed Daytona was postponed yet again.
The AZL Cubs lost to the Mariners 4-1 in one of their two games on Tuesday. Duane Underwood got the start and pitched pretty good going three innings and allowing no runs on no hits, while walking one and striking out three. Anthony Prieto pitched the next 2.1 innnings and took the loss giving up four runs. At the plate Justin Marra had himself a nice day going 2-for-2 with a double and a triple. He also scored the Cubs lone run when he was driven in by Trevor Gretzky who also had two hits. Shawon Dunston also had a hit in the loss.
The AZL Cubs scored four times in the seventh to beat the Mariners 7-6. The offense did a nice job in not giving up in this one. Shawon Dunston was 2-for-3 with a two runs scored and an RBI. Anthony Giansanti who is working his way back from injury also had two hits and drove in three. Justin Marra, Ben Carhart, and Garrett Schlecht all had a hit and an RBI in the game. Carlos Penalver and Jeffrey Baez each had a hit in the win. Carl Lang got the start only pitching one inning and allowing no runs. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino continued to struggle as he gave up five runs, four earned on six hits in only three innings. After Steve Perakslis gave up one run in two innings Chad Martin pitched a scoreless seventh and earned his third win of the season.
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After a rough loss on Monday night Boise came out swinging beating Yakima 7-4. Pierce Johnson started, but struggled a bit giving up three runs in two innings. Felix Pena came in relief and pitched five wonderful innings allowing only one unearned run and striking out three. Eduardo Orozco pitched the final two innings notching his sixth save of the season. Offensively Gioskar Amaya had himself a nice night going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Albert Almora had a hit and an RBI and Marco Hernandez also drove one in. Stephen Bruno and Xavier Batista each had a hit and combined to score three runs. It was good to get back in the win column after last nights debacle.
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Peoria came back strong on Tuesday beating Wisconsin 4-2. Jeff Antigua was good enough to win this one, but got a no decision. He last 5.2 innings allowing two runs, one earned on five hits, while striking out five. Austin Reed threw 2.1 scoreless innings in getting the win. Larry Suarez pitched the ninth and recorded his fourth save. After a couple rough games for Jorge Soler he got back on track going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Sergio Burruel also had a nice night at the plate adding three hits and driving in one run as well. Pin-Chieh Chen contributed with a hit and an RBI. Timothy Saunders, Dustin Geiger, and Wes Darvill all had a hit a piece with Darvill also scoring a run and stealing a base. It was good to see the Chiefs and Soler get back on track in this one.
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Tennessee lost a pitcher’s duel 3-1 in 11 innings. Eric Jokisch started for the Smokies giving up no runs in five innings of work. He left in line for the win and Trey McNutt and Tony Zych got it to the ninth inning scoreless, but Frank Batista gave up a run in the ninth. Kevin Rhoderick took the loss as Casey Harman couldn’t get the final out of the 11th before the two runs scored. Jae-Hoon Ha and Matt Cerda were the only Tennessee players to have multi hit games. Justin Bour had a hit and drove in the only Smokies run. Rubi Silva and Matt Szczur each had a hit in the loss.
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Iowa scored two in the seventh to beat Memphis 2-0 on Tuesday. Seth McClung started for the Cubs and was brilliant pitching seven strong innings allowing no runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out six. Scott Maine pitched a scoreless eighth and turned the ball over to Blake Parker who struck out two in recording his sixth save of the season. The Cubs didn’t do much offensively, but a two-run homer by Jeff Frazier proved to be more than enough. Blake Lalli also had a hit and scored on the Frazier home run. Diory Hernandez and Matt Tolbert each had doubles in the Cubs victory.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/16: Around the Cubs Minor League System
A quick recap of the Cubs minor league system on August 16.
The AZL Cubs only gave up three hits on Thursday beating the Reds 9-1. Anthony Prieto started and pitched three quality innings allowing no runs on one hit while striking out three. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino got his fifth win of the year pitching five nice innings in relief. He gave up one run on two hits while striking out seven in five innings. Jin-Young Kim threw a scoreless ninth striking out one. The pitching wasn’t the only highlight of the night as the Cubs scored nine on 11 hits. Shawon Dunston was really good going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Yasiel Balaguert had a nice offensive night as he had two hits, a homer and a double. Trevor Gretzky continued his great run going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Garrett Schlecht, Carlos Penalver, and Alberto Mineo all drove in one run. It was good to see the offense get going again on Thursday night.
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Boise put up five runs through the first four innings of this one and that was more than enough as they beat Tri-City 7-2. We will start with our Albert Almora watch. Almora went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Carlos Escobar had two hits, including a double and three RBIs. Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Dan Vogelbach and Wilson Contreras each drove in a run with Contreras going 3-for-5 with a double. Giosakar Amaya added a triple and walked three times. The other story of the night was Pierce Johnson who was just great striking out five of the six outs he recorded. Felix Pena got the win as he went the next five innings allowing two run on five hits. Nathan Dorris picked up his third save of the year striking out three batters in two innings. Boise had a very nice night all around.
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Peoria only gave up three hits, but couldn’t plate a run as they lost to Burlington 4-0. Willengton Cruz got the start for Chiefs and took the loss giving up two runs in two innings of work. Luis Liria and Sheldon McDonald each gave up an unearned run as they combined to pitch the next five innings. Larry Suarez struck out four and pitched the final to innings for Peoria. Dustin Geiger and Timothy Saunders each had a really nice game at the plate recording two hits a piece. Oliver Zapata, Zeke DeVoss, and Pin-Chieh Chen all had a hit to round out the offense for the Chiefs. Once again the defense was an issue as Peoria committed three errors, and allowed two unearned runs to score.
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It started out as a good night, but turned into a tough one as they gave up four runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to lose 7-6. Javier Baez had his best night since moving to Daytona going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. He ended the night with three RBIs and two runs scored as well. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Taylor Davis also had a double and drove in two for the Cubs. Christian Villanueva had been quiet for a while, but he added a hit and an RBI of his own. Robert Whitenack pitched the first four innings allowing one run on four hits. Matt Spencer threw two really nice innings in relief and was in line to get the win, but the Cubs bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. First Scott Weismann recorded just two outs and gave up four runs and then after the Cubs took the lead again Jeff Lorick gave up two more runs and took the loss. On a positive it was nice to see Baez have a nice night, hope that is the beginning of a tear.
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Tennessee only go four hits in this one, but made them count beating Birmingham 4-3. What else is there to say about Justin Bour. He hit his 16th home run of the season, a three run shot in the third bringing his RBI total to 105. Jae-Hoon Ha was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Elliot Soto drove in a run. Michael Burgess and Dustin Harrington each had a hit as well, with Burgess having a double. Eric Jokisch started, but only lasted 4.2 innings allowing two runs on six hits. Tony Zych came in in relief and got the win pitching a scoreless two innings. After Kevin Rhoderick allowed an unearned run Frank Batista closed the door pitching the final 1.2 innings in recording his 22nd save.
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Iowa lost to Tucson 7-6. Seth McClung‘s first start with Iowa didn’t go as planned allowing seven runs, four earned on seven hits in 3.1 innings. Ryan Searle threw 2.2 scoreless innings and Jay Jackson pitched two scoreless. After getting down by six early Iowa’s offense got to work, but it just wasn’t enough. Alfredo Amezaga was 4-for-5 witha double, a run scored, and an RBI. Tony Campana had two hits and stole a base. Blake Lalli also had two hits driving in one run and Greg Rohan was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Diory Hernandez and Matt Tolbert each had two hits and Jeff Frazier drove in a run. After two wins in a row it’s back to the “L” column for Iowa.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/11: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our nightly trip through the Cubs system. Daytona was postponed and Iowa suspended in the top of the fifth.
The AZL Cubs got things going early taking a 6-1 lead after three innings and they never looked back winning 8-3. Albert Almora had one of his best games as a Cubs going 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Dan Lockhart, Alberto Mineo, and Trevor Gretzky all had two hits of their own. Gretzy drove in two and scored a run on the night as well. Garrett Schlect and Shawon Dunston each had a hit and an RBI and Schlect stole three bags. The Cubs used three pitchers to get this win with Anthony Prieo pitching the first three, striking out three and allowing one run. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino threw the next three allowing two runs and striking out four. Finally Steve Perakslis pitched the last three striking out two allowing no runs on one hit in getting his third win of the season.
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Boise stayed hot beating Salem-Keizer 4-1. The first question on everyone’s mind will be, did Dan Vogelbach hit another home run? No he did not, but he did go 1-for-4 with an RBI. Izaac Garsez did hit a home run and drove in two runs. Trey Martin went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Wilson Contreras had three hits of his own, scoring two runs as well. Pierce Johnson got his first start in Boise pitching two innings allowing one run on four hits, while striking out two. Felix Pena pitched great out of the bullpen in getting his second win of the season. He gave up no runs on two hits, striking out four in five innings. Eduardo Orozco earned his fourth save pitching the final two innings allowing one hit and striking one out. If Boise can keep this up it looks like they will be well on their way to a winning the second half.
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Powered by a Jorge Soler grandslam Peoria beat Beloit 5-3. We were at the game so will do a more in depth recap with a bunch of pictures and stuff Sunday.
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Daytona was postponed and will play a double header tomorrow.
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Dae-Eun Rhee pitched great leading Tennessee to a 2-0 win. Rhee pitched six strong innings allowing no runs on six hits, while striking out three. Tony Zych pitched the next two scoreless innings striking out three batters and Brian Schlitter recorded his fourth save pitching a scoreless ninth. Matt Szczur continued his strong week going 2-for-3 with a walk and an outfield assist. Jae-Hoon Ha, Matt Cerda, and Michael Brenly each had a hit, with Brenly and Ha driving in the lone Smokies runs.
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Iowa scored five in the first, but gave up two in the third before the rain came. The game will be continued tomorrow with Iowa leading 5-2 in the top of the fifth.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/6: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Looking at the Cubs system on Monday, August 8. Daytona had the day off.
The AZL Cubs were able to tie the game at eight in the bottom of the ninth, but gave up two in the 10th to lose 10-8. Pierce Johnson took the mound for the second time and thew two scoreless innings, striking out two. As good as Carlos Martinez-Pumarino was in his first 29 innings pitched Monday was a real struggle. He gave up seven runs, six earned on seven hits in just 1.1 innings. Jasvir Rakkar struck out two in two scoreless innings. Alvido Jimenez took the loss, his third of the season giving up two runs in the tenth. Justin Marra had really nice night at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Garrett Schlecht also had three hits on the night and drove one in. David Bote had two RBIs and Ben Carhart added one. Albert Almora had one hit and Jorge Soler was back in the lineup going 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
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Wow, Boise did it again beating Everett 11-7. The story in this one was the offense as they pounded out 14 hits to go along with the 11 runs they scored. After a rough game yesterday Gioskar Amaya got back on track, going 3-for-5 with a home run. Rock Shoulders got the start at first tonight and delivered going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Carlos Escobar had two hits including a home run and two RBIs. Stephen Bruno also hit a homer and ended with two RBIs as well. Trey Martin ended the night with two RBIs and Wilson Contreras added a double and an RBI as well. The staff struggled on Monday. Justin Amlung started, but only lasted two innings giving up two runs. Felix Pena did not pitch well in four innings, but did get his first win of the year. He gave up four runs in four innings, however he did strike out five. Nathan Dorris secured the win notching his first save of the season, striking out three in 1.1 innings. The Hawks continue to roll and look to keep it going.
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Peoria dropped their fifth in a row losing to Clinton 8-6. Leading 4-1 after the first, this was not the outcome Peoria had in mind. The Chiefs did a few good things at the plate on Monday. Bijan Rademacher, Wes Darvill, and Sergio Burruel all had two hits, Darvill and Burruel driving in a run a piece. Timothy Saunders was 1-for-5 with a double, but drove in three runs and scored one. Zeke DeVoss added a hit out of the leadoff spot and also stole his 30th base of the season. Zach Cates got the start, but did not factor in the decision tossing 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. Pete Levitt pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings and was in line for the win. Justin Berg struggled and took the loss allowing three runs, two earned in two innings. Jeffry Antigua couldn’t keep it close enough for the Chiefs as he gave up two runs in only one inning. This was another tough loss for Peoria on Monday.
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Tennessee score two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the Smokies lost to Jackson 7-6. Tennessee did have 10 hits and seven runs, so the offense did a pretty nice job. What else can you say about Justin Bour. He hit another home run today, his 15th of the season and ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Junior Lake continued his solid season going 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Matt Szczur, who has been struggling since moving to Tennessee went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and a stolen base. Lendy Castillo started and pitched only two innings allowing one run on one hit and striking out two. Dae-Eun Rhee just didn’t have it tonight, allowing six runs in five innings and taking the loss. The story in this one was Justin Bour who is just tearing it up right now.
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Iowa gave up a run in the top of the ninth losing to Reno 2-1. Frankie De La Cruz pitched five innings allowing only one run, while striking out four and walking three. Blake Parker and Michael Bowden combined to throw three scoreless innings, but Jairo Asencio took the loss allowing one run in the ninth. Greg Rohan had nice night at the dish going 2-for-4 with the Cubs lone RBI. Blake Lalli also added to hits, including a double. Alfredo Amezaga also had a double and Dave Sappelt contributed with a base hit of his own. Unfortunately I have feeling this is how most games are going to go offensively for Iowa the rest of the way. Let’s hope I am wrong and they can do something positive going forward.
