The signing deadline is tomorrow. I know that it's a bad time for me to be on the road, but I hope I'll at least hear which of the Cubs draft picks signed. I expect most of them to sign, although there likely will be one or two notable exceptions.
If you hear of a signing, put it down in the comments.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs had their picnic baskets stolen by the Fresno Grizzlies, 8-5.
Starter Mitch Atkins got battered around today for seven runs over 4.1 innings. He gave up ten hits, including two home runs. Atkins didn't walk anyone (which is a good thing, if you're looking for good things) and struck out three. One of the runs Atkins allowed was unearned.
Trailing 8-0 after five and 8-2 after seven, the I-Cubs mounted a comeback in the eighth inning by hitting three solo home runs. The first was by first baseman Micah Hoffpauir, hitting his 22nd home run of the season. Hoffpauir was 2 for 5.
The next batter was second baseman Bobby Scales, who cranked out his eighth home run back-to-back with Hoffpauir. Scales was 1 for 3 with a walk on the night. Finally two batters and two outs later, third baseman Marquez Smith hit his ninth of the season. Smith went 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Shortstop Matt Camp was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Catcher Chris Robinson went 2 for 4 with a double.
Iowa's lead in the division dropped to 2.5 games.
Tennessee Smokies
The Tennessee Smokies caught the Chattanooga Lookouts by surprise, 9-6.
Chris Archer had his first poor start in AA tonight as his control abandoned him. Archer pitched 3.2 innings and allowed four runs on five hits, but really, I think the seven walks probably had more to do with it. Archer struck out five.
Kyle Smit blew a save opportunity, but got the win when the Smokies retook the lead in the top of the ninth. Smit pitched two innings and allowed one run on three hits and a walk. Smit struck out three.
Blake Parker pitched a perfect ninth to get his third AA save. He struck out two.
Left fielder Tony Campana was 3 for 4 with a walk. Campana scored twice and had two RBI. He also stole his 42nd base of the season. Yes, you can start taking him seriously as a prospect. His batting average is an even .333 right now.
Steve Clevenger had the big blow today, a pinch-hit bases-loaded double that scored all three Smokies in the ninth inning.
The Smokies magic number to clinch the second half title is 14 with 20 games to play. They already won the first half, of course.
Daytona Cubs
The Daytona Cubs dropped a double-header to the Tampa Yankees, 5-2 and 1-0.
In the first game, starter Dae-Eun Rhee saw his record drop to 5-12 as he got clubbed for five runs on ten hits over only four innings. Rhee walked two and fanned two.
Shortstop Junior Lake was 1 for 3 with the only Cub RBI.
In the second game, Chris Siegfried was the hard-luck loser. Siegfried pitched 3.2 innings and allowed one run on only two hits. Walking three batters probably didn't help. Siegfried fanned four Yankees.
Daytona managed only four singles in the second game.
Peoria Chiefs
Jae-Hoon Ha hit for the cycle as Peoria declawed the Kane County Cougars, 8-4.
Francisco Batista was the starting pitcher and he threw 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits, but mostly on a two-run home run. Batista walked two and struck out five.
Daniel Keefe blew the lead but got the win when the Chiefs came back behind Ha. Keefe gave up two runs on three hits over 1.1 innings of work. He walked one and didn't strike out anyone.
Steven Grife pitched the final two innings for his third save. Grife allowed only one hit and no runs. He walked one and struck out one.
Ha hit his triple in the eighth inning and his double in the ninth to pace the Chiefs comeback. Ha was 4 for 5 with four RBI. Ha scored three times.
Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 5 and scored twice. Second baseman Matt Cerda went 2 for 4 with a walk. He had one RBI and scored once. Left fielder Nelson Perez had a double in a 2 for 5 game.
First baseman Justin Bour was 3 for 4 with a double. He scored twice.
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks rung the Everett AquaSox through the wringer, 8-4.
Cameron Greathouse pitched the first four innings and allowed only one run on three hits. Greathouse walked one and struck out three. But he wasn't the winner because he didn't pitch five innings, so the official scored awarded the win to Brent Ebinger, who pitched four innings and gave up three runs on six hits, which makes absolutely no sense but they had to give him the win according to the rules. Ebinger walked one and struck out three.
Every Hawk batter had at least one hit tonight. Right fielder Alvaro Ramirez went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Left fielder Jesus Morelli was 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI. Catcher Micah Gibbs was 2 for 4.
AZL Cubs
Took the day off.