Down on the Farm: I-Cubs’ offense stagnant in Saturday loss

In a day full of Minor League action, results lacked for Cubs affiliates, with only Class-A Advanced Daytona picking up a win on Saturday behind yet another 11-run outburst offensively. At the Triple-A level, lefty Chris Rusin struggled, dropping to 4-10 on the year, Tennessee managed just one run and Kane County was postponed due to storms in the area.

Here’s the latest recaps from Down on the Farm:

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 4 – Iowa Cubs 0  (F)

Iowa managed just six hits all night and lefty Chris Rusin struggled and was charged with four runs in 6 1/3 innings of work as the Iowa Cubs dropped a Saturday night contest to the Albuquerque Isotopes by a 4-0 final.

The Isotopes struck first, when Alex Liddi grounded a ball to Kris Bryant at third with runners on the corners. Bryant went to second for the force out, but the Cubs couldn’t turn two, allowing Joc Pederson to score the game’s first run and give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Rusin (4-10, 4.14 ERA) settled back in until the sixth, when Albuquerque (35-40) hung a two-spot on the board to push the lead to 3-0. A Clint Robinson sacrifice fly was followed by a Mike Baxter line drive single later in the inning against the Cubs’ southpaw, who made it through the frame, but after allowing another run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Delvis Morales, his night was done.

Iowa (37-36) couldn’t muster much of anything offensively, going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 12 men on base. Welington Castillo, who is on a big league rehab assignment with the Cubs, accounted for one-third of the team’s hits, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks in the contest.

Double-A: Chattanooga Lookouts 4 – Tennessee Smokies 1 (F)

In another display of weak offense, the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate managed just five hits on the night, falling to the Chattanooga Lookouts by a 4-1 final at home, despite a respectable outing from starting pitcher Corey Black, who pitched into the fifth, allowing just two runs.

Black (2-5, 3.30 ERA) lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. He notched five strikeouts and walked two in the tough-luck loss.

However, the offense was horrendous, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Only Jae-Hoon Ha tallied more than one hit on the night for the Tennessee lineup.

The Lookouts (27-46) tallied single runs in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings to cruise to the win over Tennessee (35-37). An RBI groundout by Daniel Mayora opened the scoring in the top of the first against Black. An RBI single to left in the fourth accounted for the second Chattanooga run two more RBI singles in back-to-back innings against reliever Zach Cates made it a 4-0 Lookouts advantage heading to the late innings.

Cates lasted just two innings, allowing the aforementioned two runs on four hits. The Smokies also left eight men on base throughout the course of the ballgame as the needed hit seemed to elude the club all evening long.

Class-A Advanced: Daytona Cubs 11 – Tampa Yankees 4 (F)

At George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees, the Daytona Cubs poured it on against the Bronx Bombers’ Advanced Class-A affiliate Tampa, hitting a pair of home runs in an 11-4 rout Saturday.

A six-run three inning was the big difference in the contest for Daytona, which went robust 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position on Saturday – a stark contrast form several other Cubs’ affiliates.

Zeke DeVoss opened the scoring with an RBI double in the third,  which was followed by a Wes Darvill RBI single and an RBI groundout by Dan Vogelbach, making it a 3-0 contest. But Daytona (28-43) wasn’t done there, adding three more runs in the frame via a three-run blast by Rock Shoulders, his fourth on the season.

Justin Amlung (1-2, 6.23 ERA) pitched well for Daytona, allowing two runs on five hits in five innings of work while striking out one and walking three. However, his erratic control was overcome by the potent Cubs offense, which relentlessly pounded Tampa (34-39) all night long.

Jordan Hankins hit his first home run of the year with Daytona after being promoted from Kane County last week, making it a 9-2 Cubs’ lead in the seventh. A wild pitch and an RBI single by Vogelbach added the final two runs on the night for the Cubs’ affiliate.

Short-Season: Spokane Indians 3 – Boise Hawks 2 (F)

Two runs by the Spokane offense in the bottom of the eighth were enough to sink the Boise Hawks’ hopes of a win on Saturday night as the Cubs’ short-season affiliate fell at home by a 3-2 final.

Leading heading into the bottom of the eighth, Boise (4-5) handed the ball to right-hander David Garner (0-1, 1.80 ERA), who immediately ran into trouble against the Indians (7-1), who are off to a red-hot start to the season.

Seth Spivey led off the frame with a double to right field and two batters later, he came around to tie the game on a single to center by Luke Tendler. The next batter, Alberto Triunfel singled to center fielder Rashad Crawford, putting runners at first and second with one out. However, an errant throw by Crawford allowed Tendler to advance to third on the play, setting up what proved to be the game-winner, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Juremi Profar that put the Indians up for good.

Tendler opened the scoring for Spokane in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, as part of a three-hit night that also included a pair of RBIs. Boise answered back in the top of the third when Varonex Cuevas hit his first homer of the years – a solo shot – to tie the game at one apiece. An RBI groundout by Crawford in the top of the fifth accounted for the second, and final, Hawks run of the night.

Cuevas joined teammate Alex Tomasovich with two-hit efforts in the loss. Boise starter Trevor Clifton allowed just one earned run in 4 1/3 innings of work, walking two and striking out seven.