Smokies win their 7th-straight. Pelicans rebound to beat Charleston. South Bend blasts Ft. Wayne.
Yet another 3 out of 4 day in the minors. I could get used to this.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were blanked by the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 2-0. The loss snapped Iowa’s five-game winning streak.
Cam Sanders was great in his Triple-A debut, but great wasn’t good enough as he took the loss. Sanders allowed just one run on two hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine and walked four. He threw 86 pitches and 55 were strikes.
Dakota Mekkes allowed just one hit and no runs over 1.1 innings of his season debut.
Right fielder Greg Deichmann went 3 for 3. The rest of the I-Cubs lineup was 1 for 27. Andrelton Simmons played the entire game at shortstop in a rehab assignment and was 0 for 4.
Tennessee Smokies
The Tennessee Smokies baked the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 7-3. It’s the Smokies’ seventh-straight win.
Starter Max Bain threw the first four innings and surrendered two runs on three hits. Bain had some control issues as he walked four batters and hit one. Bain struck out three.
Dalton Stambaugh pitched the next three innings after Bain and got the win because Bain didn’t go five innings. Stambaugh gave up one run on five hits. He struck out five and did not walk anyone.
The Smokies scored four runs in the sixth inning thanks to two home runs. FIrst, third baseman Levi Jordan connected for a solo home run, his fifth of the season and third with Tennessee. Jordan went 2 for 4 and scored twice.
Later in the sixth, center fielder Christopher Morel connected for a three-run home run, his seventh of the season. Morel went 1 for 3 with two walks.
Second baseman Chase Strumpf went 2 for 3 with a triple and a walk.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs melted down the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) 11-7.
DJ Herz did not allow a run or a hit over the first four innings, but things kind of fell apart for him when he started the fifth inning. Herz left the game after loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth and all three runners came around to score after he left. His final line was three runs on one hit over 4+ innings. Herz walked three and struck out five.
Walker Powell had a really rough outing, but he was awarded the win because Herz didn’t go five innings. In addition to allowing the three runners inherited from Herz to score, Powell gave up four runs on eight hits over three innings. He did throw strikes and he struck out two and did not walk anyone,
Jeremiah Estrada pitched the final two innings for the save. Estrada allowed just one hit and no runs. He struck out four and walked no one.
Left fielder Yohendrick Pinango gave the SB Cubs a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run. It was Pinango’s third home run in the past three at-bats and his fifth of the year. Pinango went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and two driven in.
Catcher Pablo Aliendo gave South Bend an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run. It was his first home run of the season. Aliendo went 3 for 4 and scored twice.
Right fielder Owen Caissie is starting to heat up after a miserable start to the season. Today Caissie was 2 for 4 with a double. He also stole second base on the back end of a double steal of second and home with Jake Slaughter. Caissie drove in two runs and scored once.
After hitting just .122 with a .173 OBP in April, Caissie is now hitting .276 with a .382 OBP in May.
Slaughter was 1 for 3 with a walk and the steal of home. He scored twice.
Shortstop Fabian Pertuz was 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the seventh inning.
Highlights:
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans swatted the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) with a newspaper, 4-2.
Starter Tyler Schlaffer did not give up a hit over the first 3.2 innings, but he did allow a run thanks to five walks—three of which came in the first inning. He struck out three.
The win was claimed by Jose Miguel Gonzalez in relief. Gonzalez allowed one run on four hits over the next 4.1 innings. He walked four and struck out two.
Jake Reindl pitched the ninth inning and while he did give up two baserunners—a walk and a single—neither runner scored and he claimed the save. Reindl struck out three in his one inning.
The Pelicans comeback in this game started with a solo home run in the sixth inning by left fielder Ezequiel Pagan. It was Pagan’s second home run of the season. He was 1 for 3.
The Birds tied it up in the seventh inning after catcher Ethan Hearn tripled and second baseman Reginald Preciado singled him home. Hearn went 1 for 4 and Preciado went 1 for 3.
The Pelicans took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning when third baseman James Triantos connected for his first Low-A home run. Triantos went 1 for 3 with a walk and the one RBI.