Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: August 29

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs needed a four-game sweep of Omaha to have any realistic chance at the post-season. Today they did just that with a 4-2 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals).

Casey Coleman kept the Storm Chasers off the board for six innings. In the seventh, he allowed a leadoff walk and a 2 run home run to former Cub Carlos Pena before exiting. Coleman's final line was 6+ innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out three as he improved his record to 5-3.

Eduardo Sanchez threw a perfect ninth inning for his third save. Sanchez did not have a strike out.

Edgar Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. He scored one run and had one RBI. Shortstop Edwin Maysonet was 2 for 3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. Right fielder Ty Wright went 2 for 4.

Iowa kept their playoff hopes alive with the win, but the odds are still very much against them. They trail both Omaha and Memphis by two games with four to play. Iowa holds the tiebreaker over Omaha whereas Memphis holds the tiebreaker over them.

Iowa starts a four-game series at Nashville tomorrow. Memphis has a four-game series at Oklahoma City and Omaha is at home for four against Round Rock. Iowa will likely need to sweep Nashville (luckily they're terrible) and hope for some help. Oklahoma City is very good, but they've already clinched. Round Rock is also good, but they have the misfortune of being in Oklahoma City's division.

Tennessee Smokies

Three Smokies pitchers combined on a one-hitter and shut out the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers), 5-0.

Neil Ramirez got his Cubs career off to a blistering start. He retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a leadoff single in the fourth. He exited after 4.2 innings after hitting his pitch limit. He walked two and struck out five.

P.J. Francescon got his third win because Ramirez didn't go five. He pitched 1.1 hitless innings. Francescon struck out three and walked one.

It was nine up and nine down for Yeiper Castillo in an impressive three-inning save. Castillo struck out one in his first save of the season.

Third baseman Christian Villanueva hit his seventeenth home run of the season in the fourth inning. It came with the bases empty. Villanueva was 1 for 4.

Second baseman Arismendy Alcantara was 2 for 4 with a double and a triple. He scored twice. First baseman Justin Bour hit a three-run triple in the eighth inning. Bour was 1 for 4.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs won their ninth straight game 3-2 over the Brevard County Manatees (Brewers).

Corey Black got the win after allowing only one run over the first six innings. Black gave up only three hits and did not walk a batter. He struck out six.

Jeffrey Lorick got a three-inning save. He allowed one run on three hits. Lorick walked three and struck out three.

Daytona scored all three runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by second baseman Anthony Giansanti and a two-run single by catcher Chadd Krist. Giansanti was 1 for 3 with a walk and Krist was 1 for 4.

Right fielder Bijan Rademacher was 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars were caged by the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 5-2.

Daury Torrez made his Kane County debut and took the loss. He pitched five innings and allowed three runs on five hits, including a two-run home run in the fourth. Torrez struck out two and walked one.

DH Marco Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a run batted in.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks were buried in lava by the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Giants), 10-8.

Starter Paul Blackburn pitched the first three innings and allowed five runs, although only one of the five runs was considered earned. Blackburn allowed four hits. He walked three and struck out three.

Loiger Padron took the loss after he gave up five runs on five hits over only 2.1 innings in relief of Blackburn. Padron struck out three and walked three, one intentionally.

Center fielder Kevin Encarnacion hit a two-run home run in the third inning. It was his seventh homer for Boise and eighth overall.  Encarnacion was 2 for 5 with four total RBI.

Left fielder Shawon Dunston Jr. went 2 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored two runs. Second baseman Danny Lockhart was 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Lockhart stole one base. He scored one run and had two RBI.

Shortstop Carlos Penalver went 2 for 3 and was hit by a pitch twice. He scored two runs.

The loss drops Boise back into a three-way first-place tie with four games to go with Salem-Keizer and Hillsboro, who beat Eugene 9-2.

AZL Cubs

Beat the Diamondbacks, 8-1.

Ryan Sweeney was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Luis Valbuena was 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base.

This ends the AZL Cubs season. Their final record was 27-28.