Chicago Cubs Minor League Recap: Ben Brown racks up double-digit strikeouts

Iowa Cubs (AAA)

The Iowa Cubs beat the Indianapolis Indians 8-1

Our national nightmare is over, Ben Brown is back and he dominated yesterday. We’ll dive into his stat line, but any time a starter can go six scoreless it puts a team in a good position to come away with a W, and that combined with the six runs Iowa scored in the bottom of the third inning led them to cruise easily.

Nelson Velazquez (OF) went 2-for-4 with two singles, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored while playing center field in this one. 

Chase Strumpf (3B) went 2-for-5 with two singles and an RBI.

Darius Hill (OF) went 1-for-4 with his 15th double  of the season, a walk, an RBI and a run scored. 

Edwin Rios (DH) went 2-for-5 with a double, a single, an RBI, a run scored and three strikeouts. 

Bryce Windham (C) went 2-for 3 with a double, a single, a walk and two runs scored. 

Ben Brown (RHP) was spectacular. He went six innings of scoreless baseball and gave up no walks, six hits and struck out eleven to drop his AAA ERA to 3.52.

Keegan Thompson (RHP) was fine? Lucky? I don’t know, I’m bummed out every time I bring up his stat line in the same way I am with Brennen Davis because I don’t enjoy dunking on Cubs’ players but there’s no alternative. Thompson went two innings and gave up a run on a walk and a hit while striking out three. 

Manuel Rodriguez (RHP) slammed the door, throwing a perfect 9th inning and striking out two of the batters he faced. 

Tennessee Smokies (AA)

The Tennessee Smokies beat the Birmingham Barons 5-4

The Smokies came away with a close win in this one by scoring three runs in the top of the 9th inning. They jumped out to an early lead and then gave it back in the middle innings, but Pete Crow-Armstrong (because of course it was him) came to the rescue with a bases-clearing double to create a lead that Birmingham couldn’t overcome. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF) went 2-for-5 with a double, a single, three RBI and a run scored. He’s a legitimate wrecking ball in AA right now. 

Nelson Maldonado (DH) went 1-for-4 with a solo home run.

Porter Hodge (RHP) went five innings and gave up three runs on only two hits and two walks while striking out seven. 

Luke Little (LHP) went two scoreless innings and only gave up two hits and no walks while striking out four. 

Zac Leigh (RHP) got the call up to AA and pitched one inning. He gave up a solo homer and a walk while striking out one. 

South Bend Cubs (A+)

The South Bend Cubs lost to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 7-2

South Bend was the only team within the Cubs’ organization to come away without a win yesterday and there was plenty of blame to be passed around. They only had one player get on base multiple times and didn’t have anyone with a multi-hit game. On the pitching side, the bullpen was disappointed after a stellar second outing from a prospect we haven’t seen in a little while. 

Kevin Made (SS) went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a run scored. 

Kevin Alcantara (OF) went 1-for-4 with a double, and the other run scored. 

Yohendrick Pinango (OF) went 1-for-4 with a double.

Luis Devers (RHP) had a nice bounceback from his last start. He went four scoreless, hitless innings and only gave up two walks while striking out two. 

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A)

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans lost to the Fredericksburg Nationals 1-0

What a pitching performance from the Pelicans. Three pitchers combined to strike out 15 Nationals while only giving up five combined hits and two walks. That’s a recipe for success, even if the offense couldn’t get anything going. Myrtle Beach did manage to steal three bases in this one, but once they got runners in scoring position they couldn’t do much with them. 

Felix Stevens (OF) went 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and his fourth stolen base of the season. 

Cristian Hernández (DH) went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored. 

Moises Ballesteros (C) went 1-for-2 with a single, and two walks. 

Jefferson Rojas (SS) was the only Pelican with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-4 with two singles. 

Michael Arias (RHP) may have had his best performance yet yesterday. He threw five scoreless innings, only walked one and gave up two hits while striking out ten.

Erian Rodriguez (RHP) went three scoreless innings and gave up two hits and a walk but struck out five.

Saul Gonzalez (RHP) closed out the 9th by allowing just one hit and no walks to earn the save. 

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