Results tagged ‘ Zach Putnam ’

Minor Matters – May 18, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 5-18 line

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At The Plate – The losing ways continue for the Iowa Cubs and they can blame themselves as they made four errors in the loss.  Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, and a run scored, he also made his fourth error of the season.  Ian Stewart got a rare start and made it count going 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored.  Donnie Murphy was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss.

On The Mound –  Chris Rusin got the start and didn’t help himself as he made on of the errors, but he battled.  Rusin went 6.2 innings giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out three.  Zach Putnam worked out of Rusin’s trouble in the seventh getting the final out on strikeout.  Rafael Dolis worked a scoreless inning in relief giving up two hits while striking out one.  Blake Parker worked a scoreless inning as well giving up on hit while walking one and striking out one.

Smokies 5-18 line

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At The Plate –  The Smokies are on a roll again, with the win they are now three game above .500 for the season.  Matt Szczur shows up in every recap, he was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .304 on the season.  Ronald Torreyes was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.  Arismendy Alcantara was all over the scoresheet in this one, he was 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, two doubles, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he also made his fourteenth error of the season.  Anthony Giansanti also had a big day, and has been awesome since he was promoted to Tennessee, he was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .353 on the season.

On The Mound –  Dallas Beeler got the start and his fourth win of the season as he was solid.  Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two and striking out six.  Trey McNutt got back on track working one scoreless inning giving up one hit while striking out two.  Kevin Rhoderick continues to struggle, he worked one inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out one.  Brian Schlitter worked the ninth for his second save of the season, he went one inning giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while striking out one.

Daytona 5-18 line

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At The Plate – Nice response the last few days from Daytona as the bats have woke up in a big way, fifteen more hits today in the victory.  The D-Cubs were only 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position in this one, but having twenty chances is rather impressive.  Zeke DeVoss has been struggling but had a solid game going 2-for-5 with two singles, he was picked off as well.  Javier Baez had another solid game going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.  Jorge Soler picked up right where he left off from yesterday, he was 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.  Dustin Geiger also kept things rolling going 2-for-5 with yet another double, and a run scored.  Ben Carhart supplied the power in this one going 1-for-5 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, and a run scored.

On The Mound - Zach Cates got the start and picked up his fourth win of the season going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one.  David Cales was solid out of the pen going 2.1 innings giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits while walking one and striking out four.  Hunter Cervenka was solid again working a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the season.

Kane County 5-18 line

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At The Plate – Another solid game between the Cougars and the high-powered Kernels, this time Kane County got the best of them winning 4-0.  Dan Vogelbach was 2-for-4 with his seventh double of the season, he’s now hitting .288 for the year.  Rock Shoulders has been coming back down to Earth as of late, can’t really blame him, but was solid in this one going 2-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Oliver Zapata provided some surprising offense out of the nine spot going 3-for-4 with his third home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.

On The MoundPierce Johnson was brilliant in this one as he shut down the prospect laden Kernels.  Johnson went six scoreless innings giving up six hits while walking one and striking out nine to earn his second win of the season.  Justin Amlung was solid out of the pen going two scoreless innings while walking two and striking out three.  Jeffry Antigua closed the door in the ninth working a scoreless inning giving up on hit while striking out two.

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Minor Matters – May 13, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 5-13 line

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At The Plate – Nice comeback win for the Cubs as they trailed for most of the game and really couldn’t generate any offense.  They only needed one inning to get the job done as they scored six times in the sixth en route to a 6-4 win.  One small note, that was big in this game was the Cubs turned five double plays, FIVE, that’s hard to do.  Josh Vitters was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored in the victory.  Brad Nelson was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .278 on the season.  Donnie Murphy had a big game going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, a double, and a run scored.

On The Mound – The Cubs gave up twelve hits in this one but held the Aces (get it?) to only four runs thanks in large part to those five double plays I mentioned.  Nick Struck got the start and battled to earn his first win of the season while not having his best stuff.  Struck went six innings giving up four runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out four.  Esmailin Caridad worked two scoreless innings out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one.  Zach Putnam was solid as well, he worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

Smokies 5-13 line

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At The Plate – What a thrilling win for the Smokies as they trailed 4-2 heading to the ninth where they scored four times to take a 6-4 lead, and get the victory.  Matt Szczur came into this year with a lot to prove, and so far he’s proving an awful lot.  He was 2-for-5 with a double, his thirteenth stolen base of the year, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .291 on the season.  Rafael Lopez has been on fire of late, he was 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.  Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the victory.  Anthony Giansanti who was recently promoted from Daytona was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.

On The MoundDallas Beeler got the start and had another solid outing, Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out three.  Tony Zych walked a fine line in his inning of work giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while walking two and striking out one.  Trey McNutt struggled a bit with command, but was also overpowering in his inning of work, he walked two and struck out three to earn his second win of the season.  Kevin Rhoderick had one of his best outings of the year to nail down his first save; he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two.

Daytona 5-13 line

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At The Plate – Daytona had nothing going in this one, and really I can’t blame them as they haven’t seen game action for five days.  The D-Cubs could only manage five hits in the shutout loss, the Stone Crabs tried to help them as much as possible with three errors but Daytona couldn’t take advantage as they were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.  Only three guys were able to record hits in this one, Zeke DeVoss went 2-for-4, Ben Carhart went 2-for-4, and Chadd Krist went 1-for-3, all singles.

On The Mound – The Daytona pitching was good enough to win in this one, but had to work around some trouble, they got a lot of help from their defense as the D-Cubs turned four double plays, and ahad two outfield assists.  Zach Cates got the start and took his fourth loss of the season, he worked six innings giving up three runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out three.  Frank Del Valle was his usual solid self, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two.  Luis Liria worked a scoreless inning as well, giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two.  David Cales worked a scoreless ninth inning to keep Daytona close.

Kane County 5-13 line

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At The Plate – The Cougars couldn’t get anything going all day long, and when they did threaten they couldn’t come through as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.  Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with his fourth stolen base of the season.  Dan Vogelbach continues to hit as he was 2-for-4, he is now hitting .295 on the season.  Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-4 with his tenth double of the season in the loss.

On The Mound Pierce Johnson was solid once again in this one; unfortunately he was hung with the loss which drops his record to 1-3 on the season.  Johnson went six innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out six.  Jeffry Antigua was just about perfect out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings while striking out five.

The Cubs Venezuelan Summer League opened yesterday, things didn’t go so well.  The VSL Cubs lost 22-11 to the VSL Rays, you can view the box score here.

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Minor Matters – May 11, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 5-11 line

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At The Plate – The Cubs left some runs out on the bases in this one but they found just enough offense to come away with a win.  Brett Jackson was 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI’s, and  his fourth stolen base of the season.  Dave Sappelt had a good day going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  J.C. Boscan was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the win.  I mentioned that Iowa left some runs out there, they were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and left nine guys on base.

On The MoundGuillermo Moscoso was brilliant in this one for the Cubs as he improved his record to 2-0 on the season.  Moscoso went seven innings giving up one run, unearned, on six hits while walking one and striking out seven.  Zach Putnam worked a scoreless inning out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one.  Blake Parker was solid again for his fifth save of the season, he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out one.

Smokies 5-11 line

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At The Plate – The Smokies finally found a way to beat the Barons, and almost blew the lead late before hanging on to a 5-4 victory.  Matt Szczur was good again at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, two runs scored, and two stolen bases, he now has twelve stolen bases on the season.  Ty Wright was 2-for-3 with a walk, and a double in the win.  Christian Villanueva had another solid day going 3-for-4 with two doubles, and an RBI, he’s hitting .294 over his last ten games.

On The MoundMatt Garza had a solid outing for the Smokies, and more importantly came out of it healthy again.  Garza went 3.1 scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking two and striking out two.  Matt Loosen struggled with his command out of the pen but managed to get the win.  Loosen went four innings giving up three runs on two hits while walking four and striking out six.  Marcus Hatley struggled a little bit but earned his first save of the season going 1.2 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out one.

Kane County 5-11 line

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At The Plate – After falling behind 3-1 early the Cougars went to work at the plate scoring six times over the final six innings en route to a 7-4 victory.  Pin-Chieh Chen was solid at the top of the order going 2-for-5 with a double.  Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .292 on the season.  Willson Contreras had a huge day going 3-for-5 with a double, his fourth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.  Gioskar Amaya only had one hit in this one (1-for-5) but he had two huge RBI’s.

On The MoundMichael Heesch flirted with disaster all day long but pitched out of trouble for the most part.  Heesch worked six innings giving up four runs on twelve hits while walking one to earn his second win of the season.  Brian Smith was outstanding out of the pen, he worked three scoreless inning giving up two hits while striking out three to earn his first save of the season.

NOTES:  Daytona had a double-header scheduled, and both games were postponed.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there, including mine, the best one there is!

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Minor Matters – May 9, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

Iowa 5-9 line

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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.

Smokies 5-9

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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.

Daytona 5-9 box

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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 MoundP.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 7, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 5-7 line

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At The Plate – The Cubs really had nothing going all night against the Sky Sox as they were blanked 5-0.  The Cubs could only manage four hits in the loss, and were o-for-1 with runners in scoring position, a rather uninspiring effort.  Dave Sappelt owns triple A (tiny bit of sarcasm here), he was 1-for-3 in his debut with Iowa tonight.  Luis Flores, Nick Struck, and Edwin Maysonet had the other hits for the Cubs, all singles, and Struck was the starting pitcher, like I said, not a good night.

On The Mound - 2012 minor league pitcher of the year Nick Struck, is finding 2013 not as comfortable as last year.  Struck worked 5.2 innings giving up five runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out six, his record fell to 0-3 with the loss.  Yoanner Negrin was solid out of the pen going 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out two.  Zach Putnam also had a scoreless appearance, he worked an inning and struck out one.

Smokies 5-7 line

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At The Plate – No that is not a typo, yes that was the final score, and yes they only played five innings.  The official reason was wet grounds for the shortened game, but I think it might have also been a slaughter rule.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say this was and will be the worst game by the Smokies all year.  The Smokies couldn’t push across a single run, what’s worse is they only had four hits and made three errors, yikes.  Ty Wright, Christian Villanueva, Rafael Lopez, and Elliot Soto were all 1-for-2 with a single in the shellacking.

On The Mound – Look away, or just avoid this part if you are squeamish.  Matt Loosen got the start, and you guessed it, the loss as well, his first of the season.  Loosen went 2.1 innings giving up seven runs on four hits while walking three and striking out two.  A.J. Morris was beat up out of the pen, sort of, Morris went 1.1 innings giving up six runs, all unearned, on three hits while walking two and striking out one.  Tony Zych wasn’t much better, he worked 1.1 innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking one and striking out two.  New game tomorrow, forget about this one.

Daytona 5-7 line

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At The Plate – Just an awful night all around the minor league system tonight as Daytona was crushed as well, at least they managed to score three times.  Daytona could only manage six hits, and three runs in the loss, they also made two errors, seemed to be a theme for every team tonight.  Javier Baez was 1-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Jorge Soler was 1-for-4, as was Ben Carhart, Carhart scored a run as well.  Taiwan Easterling was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s in the loss.  Javier Baez and Jorge Soler each made an error in this one, Baez his twelfth, and Soler his first.

On The Mound –  Just a rough night from the D-Cubs pitching, Ben Wells got the start and saw his record fall to 3-2 with the loss.  Wells went five innings giving up five runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out two, what’s more disturbing is that Wells gave up three home runs, he’s now given up four all year.  Sheldon McDonald was the lone bright spot for the D-Cubs as he worked a scoreless inning out of the pen.  Starling Peralta continues to get hammered, he worked one-third of an inning giving up five runs on two hits while walking two.  David Cales was also roughed up, that is a rarity for sure, he worked 1.2 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits while striking out two.

Thanks for reading,
- George

Minor Matters – May 1, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 5-1 line

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At The Plate –   The Cubs couldn’t scratch out a run in this one as they could only manage four hits in a 1-0 loss.  Logan Watkins did nearly all the work today for Iowa as he was 3-for-3 with a walk, Ryan Sweeney was the only other Iowa player with a hit.  The Cubs were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position but that one hit did not result in a run.

On The MoundChris Rusin was outstanding in this one, but saw his record fall to 1-3 with the loss.  Rusin went seven innings giving up one run on six hits while striking out five.  Hisanori Takahashi, and Zach Putnam each tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to keep things close.

Smokies 5-1 line

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At The Plate – Yeah, only five innings as this one was shortened by rain.  In those five innings the Smokies did nothing, well almost nothing, they did get singles, yep that’s it.  The Smokies didn’t even have a chance to hit with anyone in scoring position in this one.  Rubi Silva and Rafael Lopez were each 1-for-2 in the loss.

On The Mound – Much more important things taking place on the mound in this one as Matt Garza made his first rehab start.  That’s the other part of minor league baseball, sometimes it’s not for development, it’s for getting healthy, and Garza took his first step towards that today.  Garza went 2.2 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking two, but more importantly made it out of today seemingly healthy, so that’s good news.  Kevin Rhoderick tossed 1.1 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out one.  Matt Loosen couldn’t keep things close “late” as he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up two runs on two hits while walking one.

Daytona 5-1 line

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At The Plate – Really solid game all around from the D-Cubs in this one as they found just enough offense to knock off the Cardinals.  Jorge Soler was 1-for-3 with a double, and a stolen base, nice to see Soler starting to get a few hits here and there after slumping, his average is back up to .275 on the season.  Ben Carhart is on fire of late, that continued tonight as he went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .312 on the season.  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the win.

On The MoundBen Wells was outstanding today, and really has been good all year.  Wells went seven innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out three.  Eduardo Figueroa took it from there as he worked two scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out three to earn his first save of the season.

Kane County 5-1 line

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At The Plate – Looked like the Cougars were going to cruise to a victory, but as we have learned so far this season, nothing is easy for the Cougars and they needed ten innings to get the win.  Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored.  Daniel Vogelbach played the hero tonight as he was 1-for-5 with two RBI’s, that one was a huge one, a walk-off single in the tenth inning.

On The MoundPierce Johnson has been disgusting (in a good way) as of late, and tonight was no different.  Johnson went 6.2 innings giving up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out four.  Eddie Orozco did a solid job out of the pen tossing a scoreless inning while giving up one hit while walking two and striking out two. Jeffry Antigua had a rough go of it as he blew the save, but also got the win, he went 2.1 innings giving up three runs on five hits while striking out four.

Thanks for reading,
- George

Minor Matters – April 28, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)

Iowa 4-28 line

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At The Plate – Offensive explosion from the Cubs in this one as they pounded out thirteen hits, four of those being home runs, and scored ten runs in defeating Omaha 10-6.  Logan Watkins was 2-for-6 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run scored.  Brett Jackson was 1-for-3 but blasted his first home run of the season, he also walked, had three RBI’s and a run scored.  Brent Lillibridge continues to be king of AAA, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.  Brian Bogusevic was just as good as he went 3-for-4 with a walk, a home run, three RBI’s, and a run scored.  Ryan Sweeney hit his sixth home run of the season, he ended the day 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBI’s and a run scored.

On The Mound – Some good, some okay from the Cubs on this day, but they didn’t need much with that kind of offense backing them.  Brooks Raley got the start and his third win of the season going six innings giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out one.  Hisanori Takahashi, and Zach Putnam each worked a scoreless inning in relief. Rafael Dolis worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while striking out one.

Daytona 4-28 line

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At The Plate – Plenty of offense to go around in this one for Daytona as they scored seven times on eleven hits to down the Cardinals 7-4.  Timothy Saunders was 2-for-5 with an RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.  Javier Baez is locked in right now, he went 2-for-4 with a home runs, two RBI’s and a run scored, he’s now hitting .263 on the season.  Dustin Geiger had a rather patient day at the plate going 1-for-1 with three walks.  Ben Carhart has been on fire of late, he went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s in the victory.

On The Mound –  P.J. Francescon had a solid outing on Sunday and earned his second win of the season.  Francescon worked six innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out five.  Austin Reed finally had a scoreless outing, he working one inning giving up on hit while walking one and striking out two.  Frank Del Valle was finally touched up a bit, he worked two innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out three, his ERA now sits at 2.53 on the season.

NOTES:  The weather continues to suck, both Kane County and Tennessee were postponed due to inclement weather.  On the bright side that means there are SIX games scheduled today, hopefully they all get in.

Thanks for reading,
- George

Minor Matters – April 26, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

Iowa 4-26 line

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At The Plate – Iowa fought back in this one scoring twice in the ninth inning to tie the game at four, only to lose it in the bottom of the tenth.    Ryan Sweeney continues to pound the ball as he went 2-for-5 with his fifth home run, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s hitting .404 this season.  Brian Bogusevic is just as hot as he went 3-for-4 in the loss, he’s hitting .394 on the season.  Brad Nelson extended the game in the ninth inning with a pinch hit two run homer, his fourth of the season to tie it at four.

On The MoundChris Rusin was really good just didn’t get any help from his offense is this one.  Rusin went six innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one.  Hisanori Takahashi couldn’t keep things tied during his outing, he went one inning giving up one run on one hit while striking out one.  Blake Parker was decent out of the pen going two innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out three.  Zach Putnam took the loss in this one, he worked a third of an inning giving up one run on three hits.

Smokies 4-26 line

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At The Plate – The Smokies just continue to roll on as they walked away with another win Friday Night.  Jae-Hoon Ha filled up the score book going 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs scored.  Rubi Silva had a big night as well going 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run, three RBI’s, and a run scored.  Rafael Lopez knocked in the other run for the Smokies and that’s all they would need, Lopez finished the night 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

On The MoundAlberto Cabrera was outstanding for the Smokies going six innings giving up one run on three hits while walking three and striking out six to earn the win.  Kevin Rhoderick was touched up a little bit again, he went two-thirds of an inning giving up one run on two hits while walking one.  A.J. Morris also allowed Clearwater to get closer in his one inning of work, he gave up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one.  Trey McNutt got the train back on the tracks in this one to earn his second save of the year.  McNutt went 1.1 scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out one.

Daytona 4-26 line

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At The Plate – Daytona jumped all over the Flying Tigers early and often en route to a 7-3 victory Friday Night.  Javier Baez is rounding into form right now, he went 2-for-4 in this one with a double, two RBI’s and a run scored, he’s now hitting .253 on the year and .341 in his last ten games.  Dustin Geiger was also productive going 2-for-4 with three RBI’s, he’s an RBI machine, he now has twenty-one on the season.  Chad Noble was 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Taiwan Easterling was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and a stolen base.

On The MoundBen Wells battled command issues but was able to work effectively enough to earn the win.  Wells went 5.2 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit while walking five and striking out one.  Eduardo Figueroa found some trouble out of the pen going two-thirds of an inning giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one, and would have given up a couple runs if not for the work of Hunter Cervenka.  Cervenka bailed out Figueroa while working 2.2 scoreless innings to earn his second save of the season, he didn’t give up any hits while walking three and striking out four.

Kane County 4-26 line

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At The Plate – Kane County might not have another loss all year that stings as much as this one, and they really only have themselves to blame.  The cougars lead 5-1 in the ninth inning but gave up four in the ninth and lost in the tenth, they made five errors in the process.  Rock Shoulders continues to hit, he was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, he’s hitting .403 on the season.  The bulk of the damage was done by the bottom of the Cougars order.  Eight hitter Oliver Zapata was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored.  Nine hitter Yaniel Cabezas was 3-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored.

On The MoundPierce Johnson continues to dominate as of late, he went 5.2 innings giving up one run, unearned, on five hits while walking two and striking out seven.  Jeffry Antigua was great out of the pen going 2.1 scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out three.  Then things went bad, Nathan Dorris was roughed up in one-third of an inning, he gave up four runs, two earned (sending a theme?), on three hits while walking one.  Eddie Orozco was officially charge with the blown save and the loss, he worked 1.1 innings giving up one run on three hits while walking two.

Thanks for reading,
- George

Minor Matters – April 22, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

Iowa 4-22 line

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Iowa had several solid performances in this one and it led to a solid victory over a good Redbirds team.  Logan Watkins went 1-for-3 with two walks, a double, a stolen base, and a run scored.  Ian Stewart finally showed some life as he went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  Brian Bogusevic was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .389 on the season.  Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with a home rune, two RBI’s, and a run scored in the victory.

On The MoundBrooks Raley had another solid outing, and was rewarded with his second win of the season.  Raley went 5.1 innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out three.  Zach Putnam, Rafael Dolis, and Blake Parker combined to shut the Redbirds down over the final 3.2 innings to preserve the win.  Putnam went 1.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out three.  Dolis and Parker also worked scoreless innings with Parker walking a tightrope to earn his second save, he didn’t give up a hit while walking two and striking out two in the ninth.

Smokies 4-22 lineFull Box Score

At The Plate – The Smokies wasted no time in getting back into the win column as they destroyed the Biscuits…Biscuits!  Arismendy Alcantara was in the middle of everything once again for the Smokies, he was 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI’s, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.  Eight of the nine hitters had at least one hit for the Smokies, Alcantara was the only one to have a multi-hit game.  Jae-Hoon Ha was 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored.  Jonathan Mota was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s in the victory.

On The MoundEric Jokisch continued his tremendous start to the season tonight, he went 6.1 innings giving up three runs, one earned, on eight hits while walking two and striking out three to move his record to 3-0.  Brian Schlitter, who has been just as good, if not better, did the rest out of the pen.  He went 2.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits and striking out one, he has yet to give up an earned run this season.

Daytona 4-22 lineFull Box Score

At The Plate – After yesterday’s poor offensive effort the D-Cubs got back at it tonight as they pounded out ten hits and seven runs.  Javier Baez, who is really turning it on of late, was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.  Dustin Geiger also had a big night going 3-for-5 with three RBI’s, he now has 18 already on the season.  Jorge Soler was finally shut down, he was 0-for-5, but did have an RBI, and scored a run.

On The Mound - Austin Kirk had some trouble navigating through five innings, but he was able to do so and improve his record to 3-0 on the season.  He gave up four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out eight over those five innings of work.  The bullpen was stout for the D-Cubs, and it was just two guys doing the work.  Zach Cates worked 1.1 scoreless, and hit-less innings while walking one, and Hunter Cervenka worked 2.2 scoreless, and hit-less innings while walking one and striking out two.

Kane County 4-22 line

Full Box Score

At The Plate – Tough one to take for the Cougars as they built an early 5-1 lead only to watch it slip away an end up in a 9-6 loss.  Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-for-4 with a walk, a caught stealing, and a run scored.  Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-5 with a run scored, but also made an error.  Daniel Vogelbach had a productive night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  Marco Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two doubles, and two RBI’s in the loss.  Rock Shoulders was finally held without a hit, but did walk three times, and scored a run.

On The MoundMichael Heesch was solid in his start today, unfortunately the bullpen and the Cougars defense kept him from getting the win.  Heesch went six innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking two and striking out five.  Brian Smith took the loss out of the pen, while he didn’t pitch well, he didn’t get much help either.  Smith went two-thirds of an innings giving up five runs, only one earned, on three hits while walking two and striking out one.  Matt Iannazzo was beat up as well, he went 2.1 innings giving up two runs on five hits while walking three.

Thanks for reading,
- George

Minor Matters – April 19, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)

Iowa 4-19 lineFull Box Score

At The Plate - The Cubs didn’t do much at the plate in this one, but didn’t need to, as the two runs they got in the first were plenty on their way to a 5-o victory.  Logan Watkins had a solid day at the top of the lineup going 2-for-5 with a run scored.  Ian Stewart, who is trying to make his way back to the big club was 0-for-2 but did draw two walks and scored a run.  Brian Bogusevic was 1-for-2 with two walks, a double and a run scored in the win.

On The Mound - Barret Loux was outstanding in this one as he earned his second win of the season.  Loux went five scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking one and striking out six.  Casey Coleman, Zach Putnam, Rafael Dolis, and Blake Parker all worked scoreless innings to close the door on Nashville.

Daytona 4-19 lineFull Box Score

At The Plate - The D-Cubs never really had a chance in this one as they fell behind 6-0 in the first and could never catch up.  Jorge Soler had another solid game going 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .414 on the season.  Dustin Geiger continues to pad his stats going 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, he now has fifteen RBI’s in just fourteen games.  Chad Noble was 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the loss.

On The Mound - Zach Cates didn’t have it tonight, and that might be putting it nicely.  He could only last two-thirds of an inning giving up six runs on three hits while walking three and striking out one.  Hunter Cervenka did a solid job out of the pen going two scoreless innings, he did walk three and struck out one, and didn’t give up any hits.  Luis Liria was good as well going 3.1 innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out five.  Frank Del Valle was effective as he usually is but didn’t have command at all, he worked 2.2 innings giving up one run on three hits while walking five(!) and striking out three.  In all D-Cubs pitchers walked twelve men in the loss.

Smokies 4-19 lineFull Box Score

At The Plate - Matt Szczur has had a solid start to the 2013 season and it continues last night as he was 2-for-5 with a triple, and two runs scored, he’s hitting .288 and has a .348 on base percentage.  Ronald Torreyes as been a house on fire since his return, he was 1-for-4 with a double, and two runs scored, he’s hitting .353 on the season.  Arismendy Alcantara continues to impress everyone associated with the Cubs, even their fans, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI’s, and a stolen base, his sixth in the last three games.  Christian Villanueva was 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, and two runs scored, his average is only at .204 on the season but he already has twelve RBI’s.

On The Mound - Matt Loosen got the start and didn’t get the win but did some solid work, he just couldn’t get through five innings.  He went four scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking two and striking out eight.  A.J. Morris came on in relief to record the win as he went three innings giving up one run on three hits while walking two and striking out two.  Brian Schlitter shut things down over the last two innings, as he didn’t give up a run, he gave up three hits and struck out three.  I would also like to thank Born on Third friend Celeste Whiteside @aspenthisyear for sending along the following picture of Trey McNutt from last night, thanks so much Celeste!

Trey  McNutt

NOTES: Kane County doesn’t play games anymore, they were rained out, again.

Thanks for reading,
- George

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