Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: August 19

I have to admit that I scanned tonight's Boise Hawks lineup and asked myself "Who are these guys?" because I momentarily forgot that Boise isn't a Cubs affiliate anymore.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs stung the Salt Lake Bees (Angels), 8-2. The win snaps an 11-game losing streak to Salt Lake that dates back to 2012.

Felipe Paulino started and got the win after allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out one.

Shortstop Javier Baez was 3 for 4 with a walk. He scored one run and drove one in.

Right fielder John Andreoli was 3 for 5 with two steals. Andreoli had one RBI and two runs scored.

Second baseman Chris Valaika was 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the eighth inning. He also scored once.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies split a doubleheader with the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), winning game one 7-6 in nine innings and losing game two 4-2 in a game shortened by rain to five innings. So they ended up playing 14 innings after all, just not in the way they planned on.

Pierce Johnson started game one and allowed four runs, three earned, over 6.1 innings. Johnson gave up five hits. He walked three and struck out one.

Johnson had a 5-2 lead going into the seventh, but he got into trouble after putting two on after a leadoff error and a one-out single. Johnson then gave way to P.J. Francescon, who gave up a three-run home run to the first batter he faced. Francescon stayed in the game and looked like he was going to take the loss when he allowed a solo home run in the top of the ninth. But he ended up getting the win when the Smokies struck back for two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

The final line of Francescon was two runs on four hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out two and walked no one.

The Smokies scored the two runs in the bottom of the ninth without the benefit of a hit. After Stephen Bruno and Bijan Rademacher walked to lead off the inning, Jonathan Mota sacrificed the runners to second and third. Then with one out, Bruno scored on a fielder's choice, with Rademacher going to third. Jacob Hannemann then won the game with a suicide squeeze play, scoring Rademacher.

Rademacher was 2 for 3 with a walk and he scored twice. Hannemann was 0 for 3 with a walk. Mota went 1 for 3 with two RBI.

Albert Almora was 0 for 3, ending his hit streak at 13 games.

In game two, Felix Pena took a complete game loss. Pena pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. He struck out eight and walked only two.

Almora started a new hit streak in game two, going 1 for 2 with a double and one run scored. The Smokies only had three hits total in this game.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans swept a doubleheader from the Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox), 4-1 and 4-2 in nine innings.

In game one, Jonathan Martinez pitched the first four innings and allowed no runs and only one hit. He struck out three and walked one.

Tyler Skulina got the win because Martinez didn't go five innings. Skulian pitched three innings and gave up one run on two hits. Skulina struck out two and didn't walk anyone.

DH Chesny Young was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. Third baseman Jason Vosler was also 1 for 3. He doubled home Young in the top of the fourth inning for the Pelicans first run of the night. Vosler later scored that inning.

In game two, Jen-Ho Tseng pitched the first six innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Tseng struck out seven and only walked one.

Jasvir Rakkar pitched the next two innings without allowing a run and got the win. Rakkar gave up three hits. He struck out two and intentionally walked one. He pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth inning to preserve the tie.

David Berg pitched the ninth and got his third save. He gave up one hit. He struck out one and walked no one.

Daniel Lockhart hit a Little League home run in the third inning. With Trey Martin on first base, Lockhart laid down a sacrifice bunt. After both the Dash third baseman and first baseman made throwing errors, both Martin and Lockhart had circled the bases for two runs.

In the ninth inning, Lockhart walked with the bases loaded to push home the go-ahead run. Lockhart was 1 for 2 in game two.

With the sweep, the Pelicans moved half a game ahead of Winston-Salem for first place in the second-half Carolina League Southern Division standings. The Pelicans already won the first half.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs subdued the Dayton Dragons (Reds), 8-3.

Trevor Clifton started and got his sixth win. Clifton allowed two runs on four hits over 6.1 innings. Most impressively, Clifton struck out seven and walked nobody. (He did hit one batter.)

Shortstop Gleyber Torres hit his third home run of the season with a man on in the sixth inning. Torres was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Center fielder Rashad Crawford was 2 for 4 with a triple and four RBI. Second baseman David Bote was 2 for 4.

All nine SB Cubs in the lineup had at least one hit.

South Bend is 3.5 games out of a wild card spot at 27-24 in the second half.

Eugene Emeralds

The Eugene Emeralds grounded the Boise Hawks (Rockies), 11-5.

Ems starter Justin Steele pitched the first two innings and he gave up two runs on four hits. One of the two runs was unearned. He struck out two and walked no one.

The Ems staked Steele to five runs in the top of the first inning so Jose Paulino got the win because Steele didn't go five innings. Paulino gave up just one run on three hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out four.

The Ems banged out the 11 runs on 18 hits. DH Frandy Delarosa was 3 for 6 with a double and three RBI. He also stole a base and scored once. Second baseman Sutton Whiting went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored twice and had one RBI. Whiting also had one stel.

Right fielder Ricardo Marcano was 3 for 5 with a double. He scored two times and had two RBI. Third baseman Vimael Machin was 2 for 4 and was hit by a pitch. Machin scored one run and drove one in.

Left fielder Eloy Jimenez was 2 for 6. He had one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Albert Mineo was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

AZL Cubs

Beat the Padres 6-0.