Down on the Farm: Weekend Update; Kyle Schwarber off to hot start

The Iowa Cubs were able to halt their losing streak at five with a 4-3 win over Sacramento on Sunday, and the Tennessee Smokies needed 11 innings to top Mississippi 7-6 in a weekend that saw the Cubs affiliates have much better results in Sunday’s games.

Triple-A Results

6/14 – Sacramento River Cats (Athletics) 9, Iowa Cubs 4

Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada looked impressive through four innings, in the fifth is when the wheels came off. The River Cats erupted for six runs in the bottom half of the inning, and the I-Cubs were not able to close the gap. The River Cats added two more in the sixth when Nate Freiman hit a two-run shot off reliever Alberto Cabrera to take an 8-1 lead.

The I-Cubs would score three in the top of the eighth, including a leadoff homer from catcher Luis Flores. Javier Baez had a huge opportunity to chip away with the bases loaded, but grounded into a double play, allowing the second run to score. Chris Valaika added one more with a two-out single, but it was all they could muster in taking the loss.

6/15 – Iowa Cubs 4, Sacramento River Cats 3

Baez hit his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot in support of Kyle Hendricks who pitched seven solid innings as the I-Cubs snapped their five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win. Zac Rosscup, recently activated from the DL, pitched an inning, allowing a run on two hits.

Marcus Hatley worked the ninth, striking out two while allowing one hit in earning his first save of the season.

Double-A Results

6/14 – Mississippi Braves 6, Tennessee Smokies 4

In a back-and-forth contest, the Braves got the final three tallies to beat the Smokies 6-4. Kris Bryant reached twice for the seventh straight game, but it was not enough as the Braves used an RBI triple from Kyle Kubitza to take the lead in the eight. They would add one more in the ninth for the 6-4 win.

Stephen Bruno was the only Smokies player with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Pinch hitter Taylor Davis hit a two-run home run in the  seventh that had given the Smokies a 4-3 lead.

6/15 – Tennessee Smokies 7, Mississippi Braves 6  F/12

After a dramatic four-run comeback in the ninth to force extra innings, Elliot Sota hit a clutch walk-off single to give the Smokies an exciting 7-6 victory to close out the first-half of the season with a 33-36 record.

The Smokies relievers, Armando Rivera, who got the victory, along with Lendy Castillo and Arodys Vizcaino held the Braves scoreless while allowing only two hits.

Bryant will now join three other Smokies players eligible to play in the Southern League All-Star game. He’s expected to start at third and bat third for the North Division squad.

Single-A Results

6/14 – Beloit Snappers (Athletics) 12, Kane County Cougars 11

In one of the wildest games in the Cougars season, they saw a 9-0 lead evaporate as the Snappers battled back to snatch away a 12-11 victory. Jen Ho-Tseng held Beloit quiet for five innings, and then his team exploded for six more to drive the lead to 9-0.

Then the Snappers got their turn.

They took advantage of the new pitcher, Alberto Diaz, as he struggled with his command. Eventually he would load the bases for a second time before Luis Baez hit a grand slam to left. after the next hitter doubled for the seventh straight batter to reach base, the Cougars made another pitching change. The Snappers added one more to cut it to 9-7.

After jumping back up by three in the eight, Beloit answered with four in the bottom half to take a one run lead. The Cougars would tie it in the top half of the ninth, only to see the Snapper’s Phil Pohl hit a two-out walk-off home run for the 12-11 victory.

6/15 – Beloit Snappers (A’2) 5, Kane County Cougars 4  F/12

Beloit is riding an emotional high into the break, while Kane County will be happy to see some time off. For the second straight day, the Snappers rallied, and won on a walk-off home run again.

With a 3-1 lead headed into the ninth, the Cougars looked to be closing out the half with a victory. Beloit didn’t feel the same.

James Pugliese would surrender two runs, allowing the Snappers to tie the game and force extras. In the 12th, the Cougars hit their third home run of the game as Jacob Rogers hit his team leading sixth to put them up one.

Zak Hermans took the mound in the bottom of the 12th and quickly allowed a single to Jaycob Brugman. Tyler Marincov then lifted a two-run walk off to left for the second walk-off homer in as many days.

Class-A Short Season

6/14 – Boise hawks 10, Tri-City Dust Devils 5

First round pick Kyle Schwarber is settling in nicely in Boise. He went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI as Boise opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 2005.

Boise jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two innings, but Tri-City was able to chip away. Two Boise errors, combined with four walks and five wild pitches helped the Dust Devils narrow it to 6-5.

But the Hawks would add four in the seventh, including Schwarber’s third RBI hit of the night to send the Hawks to the 10-5 victory. Boise tallied 14 hits on the day.

Hawks starters have allowed only four hits and no runs in a combined 10 innings of work.

6/15 – Boise Hawks 11, Tri-City Dust Devils 9

In a seesaw battle, the Boise Hawks got the last tally to move to 3-0 on the season after an 11-9 win on Sunday night. Kyle Schwarber stayed hot as he hit his second of the season, and he drove in to more to move his league leading RBI total to eight. Justin Marra knocked in three for the Hawks as the bullpen was able to hang on for the victory.