Results tagged ‘ Rafael Dolis ’
Minor Matters – April 6, 2013
At The Plate – The Iowa Cubs scattered nine hits in the loss, and were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position in suffering their third straight loss. Newly acquired Ryan Sweeney got things going right away as he was 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a walk, and a run scored. Brad Nelson was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.
On The Mound – Brooks Raley got the start and was rough up in four innings of work. He gave up four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out three, he was tagged with the loss. Yoanner Negrin was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings giving up no hits while walking one and striking out three. Zach Putnam and Rafael Dolis were both touched up as they gave up a combined four runs over the last two innings.
At The Plate - You wouldn’t know it by the score, this was a pitchers duel up until the top of the 12th when the Smokies scored 8 times to win this one. Matt Szczur was terrific from the lead-off spot again going 2-for-7 with three RBI’s, and a run scored. Jae-Hoon Ha continued his hot start going 3-for-5 with two RBI’s, a stolen base, and a run scored.
On The Mound – The Smokies had to use five pitchers to get through this one and all were effective as they totaled 15 strikeouts in twelve innings. Eric Jokisch got the start and was solid going six innings giving up one run on three hits while walking two and striking out seven. Kevin Rhoderick, Marcus Hatley, Frank Batista, and Brian Schlitter all had scoreless appearances with Batista getting the win.
At The Plate – It was the Jorge Soler show in this one as he went 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. Timothy Saunders also had a solid night going 3-for-4. Stephen Bruno was 2-for-3 with a run scored, Javier Baez had a rough night going 0-for-4 with an error.
On The Mound - The trio of Austin Kirk, Yao-Lin Wang, and Frank Del Valle shut down the Manatees. Kirk got the start and went three innings giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out two. Yao-Lin Wang was awesome going three innings only giving up a single, while walking one and striking out four. Frank Del Valle was even better going three innings only allowing one hit while walking one and striking out six to earn the save.
At The Plate – Fireworks everywhere as the Cougars trailed 7-0 and 8-1 before tying it at ten in the ninth before falling 13-10 in eleven innings. The Cougars pounded out 19 hits with seven guys having multi-hit nights. Daniel Vogelbach was 3-for-6 with a double and an RBI. Rock Shoulders had a huge game going 4-for-6 with two RBI’s and a run scored. Oliver Zapata was outstanding going 3-for-6 with a triple, a home run, five RBI’s, and a run scored.
On The Mound – Obviously not much good here. Cougars pitchers gave up 17 hits in the loss. Jose Arias got the start and got the brunt of the River Bandits attack. Arias only went 1.2 innings giving up seven runs, six earned, on seven hits while walking none and struck out two. Nathan Dorris was the most effective Cougar going 2.1 innings giving up one run on three hits while walking two and striking out three. Ian Dickson was solid but had no command, he went five innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking three and striking out four.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Minor Matters – April 4, 2013
Welcome to Minor Matters, here’s a quick introduction… You want to know how the Cubs’ minor league teams did? Then this is the post you want to read, it will be a daily post and will recap EVERY minor league game that day. Usually this post will be published the night of the games, sometimes, especially once Boise starts, the post might not appear until the next morning. Enjoy!.
At The Plate - Iowa pounded out eleven hits on the night, but could only push across three runs in the defeat. Brian Bogusevic led the way going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, all three hits were singles. Ty Wright went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and J.C. Boscan also went 2-for-4. All eleven Cubs hits were singles.
On The Mound - It was a rough start for Chris Rusin as he gave up three in the first but he settled down to make it through five innings. Rusin gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out four. Jensen Lewis got lit up and was slapped with the loss as he gave up five runs, three earned (defense was an issue) on four hits in a third of an inning. Zach Putnam didn’t fair much better has he gave up two runs all earned on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. Both Casey Coleman and Rafael Dolis had scoreless appearances.
At The Plate – The top of the order for the Smokies was outstanding, unfortunately there wasn’t much after that. Matt Szczur was tremendous in the lead-off spot going 3-for-4 with a run scored, all three hits were singles. Number two hitter Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-3 with a run scored, a home run, and three RBI’s. Johermyn Chavez was the only other Smokies player to record a hit, a single.
On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got knocked around in his first start of 2013, but had decent command. Beeler worked 5.1 innings, he gave up four runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out five. A.J. Morris tossed 1.2 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two. Tony Zych couldn’t keep it close late as he gave up two runs (both unearned) in his one inning of work while walking one and striking out one.
At The Plate – Kane County couldn’t really get anything going at the plate as they were only able to register five hits in the loss. Dan Vogelbach has a solid night going 2-for-4 with two singles. Jemier Candelario and Willson Contreras each had one hit, and Rock Shoulders was 1-for-4 with a run scored, a home run, and two RBI’s.
On The Mound – Pierce Johnson got the start and got beat up. Johnson gave up five runs on six hits while walking one and striking out five in 2.1 innings. Justin Amlung worked 2.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out two. Brian Smith tossed two innings giving up one run on one hit while walking two and striking out four. Steve Perakslis and Eduardo Orozco each had a scoreless appearance.
At The Plate – A quiet night at the plate for the D-Cubs as they could only manage three runs on six hits, but they did walk five times which is a plus. Jorge Soler got his first full professional season off to a great start going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Zeke DeVoss was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored out of the lead-off spot. Timothy Saunders was 1-for-4 with a run scored, and an RBI double. Stephen Bruno was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI double. Javier Baez rounded out the scoring with a sac-fly, he finished the night 0-for-3.
On The Mound – Ben Wells was knocked around early but managed to battle his way through four innings. Wells gave up two runs on seven hits, he didn’t walk anyone and struck out four to earn a no decision. Sheldon McDonald was hung with the loss as he went 2.2 innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out three. Eduardo Figueroa was solid out of the pen giving up no runs on two hits while striking out two in 2.1 innings of work.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Walk This Way; Cubs Hand Game to D-Backs Behind Eight Walks
On the surface it looks as though the Cubs staff struggled as a whole today, but that really wasn’t the case. Jeff Samardzija got the start and turned in the longest outing of any Cubs pitcher so far, tossing three innings giving up one run on one hit, while walking three and striking out one. It could have been much worse but Shark wiggled off the hook in the second after loading the bases with no outs. 
Obviously he didn’t have his best command as illustrated by the three walks, but he battled, and he wasn’t the only one that struggled with command today. Michael Bowden walked two in his inning of work, and Rafael Dolis imploded, walking three in a third of an inning while giving up four runs, three earned, on just one hit. Cory Wade, Blake Parker, James Russell, Casey Coleman, and Shawn Camp all had scoreless appearances.
The Cubs were able to plate two runs in the first inning off of Trevor Cahill, but that is all they would get in this one. Anthony Rizzo continued his strong spring going 2-for-3 with a double, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .364 (4-for-11) in the Cactus League. Luis Valbuena continues to make a strong case to be the starting third baseman going 1-for-2 with a run scored, he’s hitting a robust .571 (4-for-7) this Spring. Jorge Soler had a solid day at the plate going 1-for-2 with a triple, it’s impressive to see a guy that big run that well.
Thanks for reading,
- George
61-101; The 2012 Cubs Season is Over; a Recap, Kinda
Seems like just yesterday we here at Born on Third were getting ready to cover Opening Day, and just like that it’s over. Crazy how time flies, and I didn’t expect it to go so fast given how bad the Cubs were this year. I was expecting just the opposite, for it to drag on and on, and I guess it did towards the end there but the reality of no Cubs baseball for four months is starting to sink in. Let’s take a look back at some of the surprises and disappointments that we all barely lived through, this season.
Let’s start with the disappointments, there were plenty of them, I mean the team lost 101 games, you know how hard it was to write about 101 losses!? 
Sure the record was disappointing, but one could argue that it was expected, maybe 101 losses wasn’t expected, but the Cubs were going to be one of the worst teams in the league, we knew that. Let’s dig a little deeper into that futility, we should probably put on a Haz-Mat suit before doing so. The one thing we heard all offseason was this new “Cubs Way” – well that was thrown out there to mean a lot of things, one being patience, no not by the fans (we do need that though), but by the Cubs as a whole at the plate. So how did that go, you ask? Not very good, the Cubs drew 447 walks this season, that comes out to less than three a game, and was good for the fourth fewest in all of baseball. You could probably guess that the Cubs OBP was terrible as well, it was, the Cubs as a team had a .302 OBP this year, 2nd worst in baseball. This is something that has to change, and it will on Theo’s watch, I believe that it will. It’s hard to see that vision come to fruition however when the team on the field in “year one” was so terribly bad at it, or just refused to do it.
Let’s take a look at some poor individual performances…
Chris Volstad
Volstad, acquired in the Carlos Zambrano trade was a disaster, I can’t even say 
that he showed flashes of brilliance, maybe a flash, but not flashes. Volstad finished the season 3-12 with a 6.31 ERA, I can’t even spin that into anything positive. Volstad had a huge opportunity this year and took a step back, but all is not lost on the gigantic right hander. He will have every opportunity to pitch for this team next year, that is squarely on his shoulders, his huge shoulders, seriously, look at a picture of the guy pitching, it’s cartoonish.
Rafael Dolis
For the first month or so of the season it looked as if Dolis’ name was going to end up on the surprise portion of the year-end recap, then things went bad. Dolis lost the strike zone, in doing so his confidence disappeared and his ERA sky rocketed. Dolis went from being the closer of the Cubs after taking over for Carlos Marmol to pitching and struggling at Triple-A. Dolis was called back up to finish off the season but the numbers were not good. He finished the year 2-4 with a 6.39 ERA and four saves. He does have one thing the Cubs need in the pen, a power arm, so he will have a shot to pitch for this team next year at 25 years old. If he wants to do so he has to clean up the walks, as he issued 23 in just 38 innings at the big league level this year.
Ian Stewart
I debated singling him out here, only because he was clearly hurt since last year in Colorado so I’m not sure how much we can really take from his season. 
But a lot more was expected from Ian Stewart, on the plus side he did play above average defense at third base. His season was shortened by much-needed wrist surgery, he finished the year hitting 5 home runs and 17 RBI’s. He did show the ability to work the count and take a walk, but at third base he was and will be expected to be a source of production. It remains to be seen if the Cubs will keep Stewart in their plans moving forward, I would like to see what a healthy Ian Stewart could do.
Other guys that I would say had disappointing years would be Darwin Barney’s bat, a sub .300 OBP from him is not acceptable. Lendy Castillo had a 7+ ERA, but Castillo is so young and could be a huge part of this teams bullpen when they are contending. Steve Clevenger took a nose dive after a very strong start, Starlin Castro’s mental lapses and subsequent errors. I think Castro improved greatly defensively, I think the errors were a result of focus or lack thereof. Should I mention the 12 game losing streak? I just did.
Now onto the positives, sure there were some.
Anthony Rizzo
He lived up to the hype, and there was plenty of it heading into the season and that hype only grew as he tore the cover off the ball in Iowa. He finally was called up to the Cubs on 6/26/2012, he had two hits in that game and never really looked back. Rizzo finished the campaign hitting .285 with 15 home runs, and 48 RBI’s in 87 games, so just over half a Major League season. The biggest thing here is that Rizzo showed the ability to adjust to major league pitchers. I’m not just talking about rebounding from last years dud with the Padres, this year he had a few skids but came out of those before they became too overwhelming. He is the Cubs 2013 starting first baseman, and will be for many years to come.
Alfonso Soriano
Wow. There really is no other word to describe his 2012 season, I guess shocked would apply to me. I was just that, shocked at what Soriano was able to accomplish not only with the bat, but with the glove. Soriano made one
error all season, think about that for a second. This is the same guy that made 11 in 2009, 7 in 2010, and 7 in 2011, he worked his butt off and showed real improvement. Offensively he set a career high in RBI’s with 108, folks the Cubs only scored 613 runs as a team this season. Soriano also found the long ball again hitting 32 home runs, the most in one season since he hit 33 in 2007. There’s no telling he has earned the right to be back here next year, and that is somewhat up to him, but we will see how the Cubs deal with him in the coming months.
Starlin Castro
I really don’t care what other people think of him, but Starlin Castro had a fantastic year, and a couple of mental lapses got in the way of making it something really special. Castro became the first Cubs shortstop to play in all 162 games, ever. That shows me that he wants to be out there, mental errors can come with that kind of workload, he probably needed a day off here or there to avoid some of that but he just kept going out there. Castro hit .283 with 14 home runs (a career high), and 78 RBI’s (a career high), he also had 29 doubles and 12 triples for good measure. Castro inked a 7 year extension during the season, he will be a Cub for a long time, and that is a good thing.
There are a number of other guys that deserve to be mentioned as bright spots this year. Darwin Barney’s glove, Barney tied a major league record for consecutive error-less games at 141, and got to everything on the infield it seemed. Carlos Marmol’s second half, after a terrible first half Marmol finished the season strong and looked to be back to his un-hittable self late in the year. Travis Wood stepped into the rotation and did an adequate job for this team, if he can replicate those numbers or even improve upon them he can be a serviceable back of the rotation guy for the Cubs. Bryan LaHair’s first half was fun while it lasted, and earned him a trip to the all-star game, no reason to ignore that. Welington Castillo played his way into the 2013 starting lineup behind the plate as
It was a trying year for many, Dale Sveum included, and as I said around the all-star break I think Dale Sveum gets an incomplete for this season. There was 
not enough talent on this team to win baseball games, not matter how he managed them. What I did like seeing was the compete level of this team on most nights, sure over the course of a 162 game season there are going to be lackluster efforts. For the most part this team really never gave up, I will be interested to see how Sveum does when he starts getting pieces he can use to compete in games on a consistent basis, that’s when he can accurately be judged as a manager. I could have written about so much more but I think that sums up enough of what happened this season without going on forever, I’m really excited about the direction of this team, most of that excitement stems from the minor league system which we will continue to profile all offseason. Patience is still something fans will have to have as the Cubs are not going to have a team ready to be a contender next year. Sure, they should improve, and that’s what we need to look for, and it’s important we see that, one step at a time, thankfully for all of us I think the worst part just ended.
Thanks for reading all season long, we don’t take breaks so we will have great Cubs coverage all offseason for you. Go Cubs!
- George
Cubs Squander Early Lead
Dave Sappelt and the Cubs offense got going early, but the pitching staff could not hold the lead and the Cubs dropped game one to the Rockies 10-5 in a rain-shortened game. Dave Sappelt led the game off with a towering home run to left and before the inning was over the Cubs would 
add two more runs, including an RBI double from Welington Castillo. After Chris Rusin shut down the Rockies in the first, things did not go so well the rest of the way for him or the Cubs bullpen as Colorado would score in each of the next five innings. Chris Rusin took the loss lasting only 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits. Rafael Dolis continued to struggle, giving up three runs in just one 1.1 innings of relief and Manuel Corpas allowed one run in his inning of work. Starlin Castro connected on his 14th home run of the season and Darwin Barney added an RBI in the loss. After dealing with the rain for most of the game it was eventually called after a 48-minute rain delay following the top of the seventh. Despite the cold and the rain the ball was really jumping out of Coors Field on Tuesday and the Cubs hope to take advantage of that on Wednesday and keep the Rockies at bay in doing so.
Game Highlights:
Dave Sappelt’s first career Home Run
Castillo RBI double
Castro Home Run
Barney RBI single
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
9/3: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Peoria and Tennessee were the only Cubs minor league teams with regular season games today. Boise played game one, which we will have a separate post on.
Peoria finished the season strong beating Kane County 6-2. Ben Wells got the start pitching two scoreless innings allowing no runs on three hits. Willengton Cruz got the win pitching 4.2 innings allowing two runs on just one hit. Luis Liria struggled with his command, walking four in just 0.2 innings, but got the ball to Pete Levitt who recorded his first save of the season throwing the final 1.2 innings. Yaniel Cabezas had the big blow going 2-for-4 with a three run home run in the fifth. Pin-Chieh Chen also had two hits and a scored a run. Dustin Geiger was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Timothy Saunders had a hit and a run scored. Jorge Soler and Chadd Krist each had a hit in the win.
****
Tennessee ended the season on a high note as well beating Pensacola 8-1. Austin Kirk was good getting a win in his final start giving up one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. Frank Batista, Jaye Chapman, Rafael Dolis, and Trey McNutt combined to pitch the final 3.1 innings striking out three, giving up two hits, and allowing no runs. Newly acquired Anthony Recker was 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. He his a three run shot in the seventh. Jae-Hoon Ha and Matt Cerda also had two hits a piece with Cerda driving in one run. Rubi Silva had a hit and drove in two in the Smokies win. Junior Lake, Logan Watkins, and Matt Szczur all had a hit and a run scored on the day.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
9/1: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our daily minor league recap.
Boise closed out the regular season by winning a wild one Saturday night 12-11. Boise took an early lead, but gave up six in the fourth and five in the fifth and were quickly down by six runs. They came storming back scoring four in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the ninth to get the victory. Marco Hernadez was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBIs, including the game tying RBI and the winning run scored. Dan Vogelbach had three hits and three RBIs. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with a double, triple, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Albert Almora and Rock Shoulders each had two hits, with Almora knocking one in and Wilson Contreras had two RBIs including the game winner. Stephen Bruno kept the hitting streak alive as he went 1-for-1, with an RBI, but was ejected shortly after that. Ian Dickson got the start, giving up six runs, four earned in just 3.1 innings. Hunter Ackerman followed and gave up five runs, two earned over the next 1.2 innings. Brian Smith was tremendous pitching three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Rafael Diplan got his third win of the season pitching a scoreless ninth. Boise starts their playoffs on Monday.
****
Peoria gave up three in the sixth and took the loss 6-5. Jeff Antigua got the start, but struggled a bit giving up six runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. Justin Berg came on and pitched the final 2.1 innings not allowing a run. Bijan Rademacher had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Oliver Zapata also had a double and rove in two. Chadd Krist was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Jorge Soler, Zeke DeVoss and Jacob Rogers each had a hit a piece, with Rogers scoring two runs. Peoria has two more games against Kane County as the season will come to a close on Monday.
****
Daytona beat Brevard County on Saturday 4-2. Matt Loosen got the start and pitched quite well in his five innings. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out six, in earning his 11th win of the season. Jeff Lorick gave up a run, but pitched the next two innings before getting the ball to AJ Morris threw the final two innings and earned his seventh save of the season. John Andreoli, who has had a really nice season waited until tonight to hit his first home run of the season. He ended the night 2-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases bringing his total to 55. Nelson Perez was 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI and Rafael Lopez had a hit and knocked one in as well. Javier Baez and Christian Villanueva each had a hit, with Villanueva stealing two bases and scoring a run as well. Daytona’s season will come to a close on Sunday.
****
Tennessee scored two in the fifth, but gave up one in the ninth to lose 3-2. Eric Jokisch started, but did not factor in the decision going five innings and allowing one run on six hits, while striking out five. After Zach Rosscup gave up a run in his inning of work, both Jaye Chapman and Rafael Dolis pitched a scoreless inning each. Kevin Rhoderick took the loss giving up a run in the ninth inning. Logan Watkins was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, he also walked twice. Matt Szczur had two hits, including a double and he scored a run. The pitcher Eric Jokisch and pinch hitter Dustin Harrington were the only other Smokies to record a hit in the loss. Tennessee has two games left and will end their season on Monday.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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
8/28: 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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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.
****
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
8/25: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Saturday’s minor league recap.
It was a game of big innings early, until the ninth when the AZL Cubs walked off with another win, this time 8-7. Paul Blackburn started, but wasn’t at his best giving up three runs on four hits in three innings of work. Rafael Dolis and Jasvir Rakkar each pitched an inning allowing two runs a piece. Ethan Elias did a great job keeping the Giants at seven runs as pitched the next three innings allowing no runs on no hits, while walking two and striking out four. The good luck charm Steve Perakslis improved his record to 4-0 as he got the win after pitching a scoreless ninth. The Cubs had a lot of nice days offensively. Carlos Penalver and Yasiel Balaguert each had two hits and drove in two a piece. Ben Carhart was 2-for-6 with a walk off single and Shawon Dunston had one hit, a double and three RBIs. Trevor Gretzky and David Bote both contributed with two hits and combined two score three runs for the Cubs. Daniel Lockhart and Garrett Schlecht each had a hit and an RBI in the Cubs victory. The victory clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Cubs.
Boise got out to a quick start and held on to beat Vancouver 8-6. After a recent struggle Jeimer Candelario appears to have broken out as he went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Stephen Bruno stayed red-hot going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Dan Vogelbach also had two hits, including a double and an RBI. Wilson Contreras and Gioskar Amaya each had a hit with Contreras knocking in two and Amaya one. Albert Almora left the game early with an apparent injury, but I have no word yet as to what the problem was. Ian Dickson started, but did not factor in the decision as was only able to last 4.1 innings as he allowed four runs on seven hits. Hunter Ackerman did get the victory as he threw the next 2.2 innings giving up one run and striking out five. Eduardo Orozco got the ball to Nathan Dorris and Dorris closed out the win and the second half for Boise. With the victory Boise is the second half winners and are headed to the playoffs.
****
A three run fourth was enough for Joseph Zeller and the Cubs bullpen as they beat Wisconsin 3-2. Zeller pitched quite well giving up one run on seven hits in six innings. Sheldon McDonald pitched the next two innings allowing one run, but got the ball to Larry Suarez who notched his fifth save of the season striking out two in a scoreless ninth. Timothy Saunders had another nice night going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double. Chadd Krist also hit a home run, a two run shot in the fourth inning. Oliver Zapata had a hit, two walks, and two stolen bases and Zeke DeVoss also added a hit in the Chiefs win.
****
Daytona lost game one to Tampa 3-2. Although they only had three hits, they threatened late, but couldn’t finish. Ronald Torreyes, Elieser Bonne, and Vladimir Frias were the only Cubs to have hits on Saturday. Nelson Perez drove in the two Cubs runs in game one without the benefit of a hit. Eduardo Figueroa started, but took a no decision as didn’t give up a run in four inning, while striking out six. Matt Spencer took the loss as he really struggled with his command walking five and allowing all three of the Yankees runs to score in just 0.2 innings. Matt Iannazzo finished game one out throwing a scoreless 1.1 innings.
Daytona returned the favor in game two as Ryan Searle and staff only allowed three hits in a 4-1 win. Searle started and pitched pretty good going five innings allowing one run on three hits and striking out five. From there Jeff Lorick pitched a scoreless sixth and Scott Weismann notched his fourth save of the season throwing a perfect seventh. John Andreoli and Ronald Torreyes hit one-two in the order and set the table of the Cubs in this one. Torreyes was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and an RBI. John Andreoli was also 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and two runs scored. Rebel Ridling had two hits of his own and drove in one run and Nelson Perez drove in another run, again not having a hit. Javier Baez broke through with a double in the victory.
****
Mobile scored one in the ninth to tie it and got one in the 10th to beat Tennessee 4-3. Nicholas Struck was in line for the win pitching seven innings, allowing two runs, one earned on six hits, while striking out six. Zach Rosscup did his job getting the ball to Frank Batista, but Batista couldn’t get the save in this one allowing the ninth inning run. Casey Harman took the loss allowing an unearned run in the 10th. Rubi Silva had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Jae-Hoon Ha had three hits and Junior Lake had two hits and a run scored. Logan Watkins was 1-for-5 with a home run for the Smokies in the tough loss on Saturday.
****
Things have been better for Iowa as of late and Saturday was no different as they beat Oklahoma City 4-1. Ty’Relle Harris started and got the win pitching six strong innings. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out six. Miguel Socolovich and Jeff Beliveau each pitched a perfect frame to get the ball to Jairo Asencio who struck out two and pitched a scoreless ninth to record his fifth save of the season. The Cubs had a few nice nights offensively on Saturday starting with Diory Hernandez who had a home run and three RBIs. Dave Sappelt was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Matt Tolbert also had two hits with a run scored. Greg Rohan and Jeff Frazier each had two hits a piece with Frazier having two doubles and Rohan having one. It is good to see Iowa finishing the season strong.
It was an exciting night, Congrats to Boise Hawks and the AZL Cubs in clinching a playoff birth.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
