Down on the Farm: Kris Bryant, Manny Ramirez homer in Iowa Cubs’ win

With severe weather pounding much of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin on Monday night, many people were more focused on their roofs and vehicles than Minor League Baseball, but regardless, four of the five Chicago Cubs affiliates were in action, splitting to go 2-2 on the evening, with several of the contests going into extra innings.

Kane County, the Cubs’ Class-A affiliate, was postponed in Beloit, while Tennessee dropped an extra-inning nail biter at home to Montgomery. Boise lost a road game to Tri-City and Daytona barely snuck out a 9-8 win over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The highlight on the farm, though, was a Kris Bryant grand slam and a Manny Ramirez home run that led Triple-A Iowa to a 7-6 win at home in ten.

Here’s a closer look at the games from Monday.

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs 7 – Omaha Storm Chasers 6 (F/10)

Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Iowa Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant connected for a grand slam that put his club ahead – albeit for a short while. Omaha rallied for a run in the top of the ninth against Iowa closer Blake Parker before Josh Vitters sent the home faithful to the parking lot happy with a walk-off RBI single that gave the Cubs a 7-6 win in the bottom of the tenth.

Chicago’s top prospect, Javier Baez, led off the tenth with a double to left. He then advanced to third on a Chris Valaika sacrifice bunt, giving Iowa a man at third with just one out. Omaha reliever Wilking Rodriguez then opted to intentionally walk both Kris Bryant and Logan Watkins to set up force outs at any base. However, Josh Vitters spoiled the strategic moves, singling to right, scoring Baez and putting Iowa ahead for good.

Iowa (44-38) trailed until late after Omaha plated four runs in the top of the second, coming via a three-run shot by Carlos Peguero and a solo shot by Francisco Pena – both of which came against Carlos Pimentel, who did not factor into the decision Monday. The right-hander allowed four runs on four hits in five innings of work, walking two and striking out eight.

Ramirez hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh, a two-run shot that Bryant was along for the ride on, in his first home game as a member of the Cubs’ Triple-A club. The veteran outfielder went 3-for-4 on the night with 2 RBIs. Bryant joined the two-time World Champion as the only other Iowa player to record multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with a pair of runs, 4 RBIs and a walk.

Despite the game-winning single, Vitters is hitting just .234 this season with Iowa, and went just 1-for-5 on Monday night.

Class-A Advanced: Daytona Cubs 9 – Lakeland Flying Tigers 8 (F/11)

The Daytona Cubs’ offense answered back in the bottom of the 11th after Lakeland had scored three runs in the top of the frame, plating four runs of their own and walking off against the Flying Tigers Monday night at home.

Trailing 8-5, Daytona (34-45) pushed its first run of the inning across in the form of a wild pitch that allowed Chadd Krist to score. A throwing error then led to the second Cubs’ run and suddenly, the complexion of the game changed entirely. After Albert Almora was intentionally walked, Alex Burgos entered for Lakeland, replacing Brennan Smith on the mound. The first batter Burgos faced, Bijan Rademacher, hit a sacrifice fly, tying the game 8-8. The next batter, Dan Vogelbach, delivered once again, singling to give Daytona another late-inning win.

The Cubs led through the mid-to-late innings after trailing early, leading 5-2 at the end of seven after Almora doubled, scoring two, but the eighth and ninth innings proved to be an issue for Daytona pitching.

An RBI groundout and a fielding error by shortstop Marco Hernandez led to Lakeland scoring twice in the eighth and another groundout in the ninth tied the game 5-5, where the score remained until the 11th.

Hernandez, Almora, Vogelbach and Krist all had two hits apiece for Daytona and the team was red-hot with runners in scoring position, going 5-for-10 on the night. Lakeland (45-33), however, was abysmal in such situations, going 4-for-17.

Although he did not factor into the decision, Cubs starter Felix Pena pitched well, allowing two earned on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He struck out six and walked just one.

Class-A: Kane County @ Beloit Snappers (PPD)

The Cougars and Snappers’ game was postponed as strong storms rolled through Wisconsin Monday night.

Kane County returns home Tuesday to open a series against the Peoria Chiefs, the Class-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Cubbies Crib will be live from the game on Thursday and will also have an interview with 2014 first-round pick Kyle Schwarber.

Short-Season: Boise Hawks 5 @ Tri-City Dust Devils 11

In the only Cubs’ minor league action that wasn’t close, the Boise Hawks were more than doubled up by Tri-City, falling on the road by an 11-5 final Monday night.

The game was much closer than the final score indicates, however, as the Dust Devils (8-10) scored six times in the bottom of the eighth, breaking a 5-all tie. A pair of RBI singles and a pair of RBI triples accounted for the five runs as Boise pitching seemingly imploded in the inning. Reliever Jasvir Rakkar (0-1, 18.56 ERA) was charged with six runs – all earned – on seven hits in just two-thirds of an inning.

Halfway home, Boise (7-11) led Tri-City 4-0, thanks largely to a solid night at the dish by Rashad Crawford, who finished the night 2-for-5 with three RBIs. However, from that point on, the Hawks were outscored 11-1, some of which can be attributed to the fact that the Dust Devils hit .500 (7-for-14) with runners in scoring position.