Cubs Minor League Wrap: April 16

Albert Almora turned 20 today and did not play in the Daytona loss. However, he says he's fine and will start tomorrow's game.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs zipped past the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins), 6-3. The win puts Iowa over .500 at 7-6 for the first time this season.

Kyle Hendricks started and got his second win after allowing three runs on five hits over seven innings. Hendricks impressively pounded the strike zone, striking out nine and walking only one.

Brian Schlitter came on in the top of the ninth for the save and gave up singles to the first two batters he faced. But with the tying run at the plate and no outs, Schlitter retired the next three batters without incident.  He had one strikeout as he collected his first save.

Second baseman Arismendy Alcantara had a big afternoon, a home run short of the cycle. Alcantara was 3 for 5 with a double and a triple. He scored two runs and had two RBI.

Shortstop Logan Watkins hit a solo home run in the second inning, his first of the year. Watkins went 1 for 2 with two walks.

Left fielder Josh Vitters had two doubles in a 2 for 4 game. He had two runs batted in. Right fielder Chris Coghlan went 2 for 4 with a double and two stolen bases.  Coghlan scored once and had one RBI.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies accepted the surrender of the Jackson Generals (Mariners), 7-2.

Jake Arrieta had his longest start of the season, going 5.2 innings and allowing only one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out two.

The Smokies put this game away with a five-run fourth inning, when they tallied three singles and four walks.

Second baseman Stephen Bruno was 2 for 4 with a walk. Catcher Rafael Lopez was 1 for 2 with two walks and two runs scored.

Third baseman Kris Bryant was 1 for 2 with a double, a walk and a hit by pitch. He scored once.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs lost again to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 5-1. The loss drops the D-Cubs to 2-11.

Starter Tayler Scott saw his record fall to 1-2 after he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. Scott walked two and struck out one.

Right fielder Pin-Chieh Chen doubled to lead off the game and scored two batters later on a Dan Vogelbach single. It was all downhill for Daytona from there. Both Chen and Vogelbach were 1 for 3 with a walk.

Shortstop Marco Hernandez was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Kane County Cougars

Make that seven wins in a row as the Kane County Cougars left the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) eating fumes, 6-2.

Starter Tyler Skulina went 5+ innings and was charged with two runs on four hits, although both runs scored after he exited for Gerardo Concepcion. Skulina struck out four and walked two.

Here's where I normally bury Concepcion, but aside from one wild pitch, he pitched pretty well. The only baserunner he allowed over 2.1 innings was a hit batsman. The two inherited runners scored on two sacrifices and a wild pitch. He had one strikeout.

Tyler Bremer got his first as a professional when the Cougars struck for five runs in the top of the ninth. Bremer gave up a hit and a walk over 1.2 innings. He struck out two.

The Cougars had nine hits this afternoon, evenly divided at one apiece among the nine starters. Six of those hits came in the five-run ninth inning.

Center fielder Jacob Hannemann was 1 for 2 with a double to lead off the game and a walk. He was also hit by a pitch in the ninth inning. Hannemann stole two bases.

Shortstop Carlos Penalver was 1 for 3 with two walks and an RBI. He stole one base.

The win improves Kane County's record to 10-3. That's the best record in the Midwest League and Kane County's best start to a season since 2008 when they were an Athletics affiliate.