I'm wondering if the Daytona Cubs are thinking to themselves "We're Cubs and we don't play home games at night." I hope not, because the D-Cubs pretty much only play day games on Sundays early in the season. But the sunshine sure seemed to agree with them today.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were swept by the Nashville Sounds, 4-2.
Starter Casey Coleman pitched well but got the loss anyway. Coleman went six innings and gave up three runs, only two of which were earned. He gave up only four hits, although one of them was a two-run home run. He struck out four and walked one. He also singled, walked and scored a run at the plate.
The rest of the I-Cub offense came from Jason Dubois, who hit his second home run of the season. Dubois was 2 for 4 with one RBI.
Tennessee Smokies
While the I-Cubs haven't won yet, the Smokies haven't lost yet. Today, the Smokies tomahawked the Mississippi Braves, 4-1,
Hung-Wen Chen started and picked up his first win of the year. Chen only allowed one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out two.
Alex Maestri threw three shutout innings of relief. Jake Muyco came into the game in the ninth and got his second save with a 1-2-3 inning. Muyco struck out one.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Daytona Cubs
Daytona made it two in a row by harpooning the Brevard County Manatees, 10-5.
Starter Chris Archer only went four innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Nonetheless, I consider this a great start by Archer because he struck out five and only walked one. That's a big deal for Archer, who needed to work on control.
Ryan Searle got the win with four innings of relief. Searle also surrendered two runs over four innings. He gave up three hits. He walked one and struck out four.
DH Josh Vitters broke out in a big way today, going 3 for 5 with two doubles. He had three RBI and scored twice.
Center fielder Brett Jackson was 2 for 4 with two walks. Jackson scored twice and had an RBI.
Second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 3 for 6 with a double. He crossed the plate once and knocked one one.
Catcher Mark Reed was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored
Peoria Chiefs
The Chiefs turned the Beloit Snappers on their backs, 2-0.
Starter Trey McNutt dominated the first three innings, allowing only two hits. McNutt walked two and struck out seven.
He was relieved by Su-Ming Jung, who was pretty dominating himself for four innings. Jung allowed only one hit over the four innings. He walked two and struck out one for his first win of the season.
Jordan Latham pitched the ninth for his second save. Latham allowed one hit, a one-out double. He didn't walk anyone and struck out one.
Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. DH Greg Rohan was 3 for 4 with two RBI.