Chicago Cubs Minor League Recap: Myrtle Beach powers their way to victory

Iowa Cubs (AAA) (50-35)
Tennessee Smokies (AA) (44-36)
South Bend Cubs (A+) (34-46)
Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A) (47-33)

Iowa Cubs (AAA) (50-35)

The Iowa Cubs lost to the St. Paul Saints 20-4

That’s a big oof. Anytime you can multiply your score by five and only tie your opponent it’s not a great day, and when that day comes when you’ve got one of the top prospects in your system on the mound it makes it hurt that much more. The Cubs still enter the All-Star Break 15 games over .500 so one game doesn’t change that, but you’d love to see more from your “ace”.

Nelson Velazquez (OF) went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, leaving six men on base but he did steal a base.

Yonathan Perlaza (OF) went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk.

Matt Mervis (1B) went 1-for-3 with a single, a walk and a run scored.

Ben Brown (RHP) was rough. He couldn’t make it through the second inning as he gave up six earned runs on only one hit but five walks while striking out three over 1.1 innings.

Adrian Sampson (RHP) was also bad, just in a different way. He lasted 1.2 innings and also gave up six earned runs on five hits and a walk with only one strikeout.

Tennessee Smokies (AA) (44-36)

The Tennessee Smokies beat the Birmingham Barons 7-1

As dominated as the Iowa Cubs were yesterday, the Smokies were almost equally dominant in the opposite direction. They beat the Barons in just about every way and they did it with four pitchers going multiple innings.

Owen Caissie (OF) went 1-for-4 with a double.

Pablo Aliendo (C) went 1-for-2 with a single, two walks and a run scored. He’s only batting .229 but he has an .807 OPS due to his ability to hit for power and draw walks.

Cole Roederer (OF) went 1-for-4 with his 7th homer of the season.

Chris Kachmar (RHP) started the game and went three scoreless innings only allowing one hit and no walks while striking out three.

Blake Whitney (RHP) gave up the lone run in this one as he went two innings giving up two hits and two walks while striking out three.

Luke Little (LHP) also went two innings in which he gave up a walk and a hit while striking out four.

Zac Leigh (RHP) went two scoreless hitless innings only giving up a walk while striking out three.

South Bend Cubs (A+) (34-46)

The South Bend Cubs lost to the Peoria Chiefs 6-3

South Bend lost again and as strong as the rest of the system has been, this team just can’t seem to right the ship. After a rough start to this one, the bullpen came in and mostly shut down the Chiefs the rest of the way, but the damage was done and South Bend would fall to twelve games under .500 going into the break.

Ezequiel Pagan (OF) went 0-for-2 with two walks.

Luis Verdugo (3B) went 3-for-3 coming only a triple short of the cycle with two RBIs and a run scored.

Brody McCullough (RHP) started and had a rough day. He went three innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Eduarniel Nunez (RHP) went two scoreless innings allowing only one hit and no walks while striking out four.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. (RHP) threw two perfect innings.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A) (47-33)

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans beat the Augusta GreenJackets 7-1

The Pelicans had the power on display yesterday as they hit four homers and then trotted out five pitchers to shut the GreenJackets down, allowing only one run and striking out 13. This is an awesome way for the Pelicans to close out the first half and hopefully, they can build on it going into the second half.

Andy Garriola (OF) went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run.

Pedro Ramirez (3B) went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk.

Malcolm Quintero (C) went 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks and another run scored as well as a stolen base.

Reivaj García (2B) went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and a stolen base.

Luis Rujano (RHP) gave up one earned run over three innings on two hits and three walks while striking out five.

Koen Moreno (RHP) went 3.2 scoreless innings and only gave up one hit and two walks while striking out five to lower his ERA to 2.91.

Jose Romero (RHP) went 1.1 scoreless innings and gave up one hit and one walk while striking out two.

Starlyn Pichardo (RHP) closed it out with a perfect inning with one strikeout that dropped the 19 year-old’s ERA to 5.21 on the year.