Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 6

Quick announcement before the big news. Five South Bend Cubs, catcher Miguel Amaya, first baseman Jared Young and right-handed pitchers Javier Assad, Brendan King and Rollie Lacy (more on him later) were named to the Eastern Division team of the Midwest League All-Star Game! Congratulations to those five. The game will be played June 19 in Lansing.

Also, congratulations to Myrtle Beach Pelicans (now Tennessee Smokies) pitcher Matt Swarmer, who was your choice fo the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month! When someone pitches like Matt did last month, they get promoted, and that’s exactly what happened.

We’re starting with South Bend today. By the way, we had a sweep tonight.

South Bend Cubs

Rollie Lacy and Ben Hecht combined for a no-hitter as the South Bend Cubs no-hit the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-0.

Lacy was dominating over the first seven innings. A batter reached on an error by Jhonny Bethencourt in the third inning and then he walked two batters in the seventh inning. Those are the only baserunners he allowed. Lacy struck out six.

After 96 pitches, Lacy was done after seven innings and Hecht came on to get the final six outs. He retired all six batters he faced, striking out two, including the final batter of the game. (Honestly, the final pitch looked outside. Also, two pitches earlier in the count that probably should have been strike three were called balls. So it evened out. Also, Midwest League umpiring.)

On the offensive side, All-Star Young had three RBI singles and a sac fly in a 3 for 3 night. He had four total RBI.

Center fielder Zach Davis went 3 for 4 with a triple and a steal. He stole one base and scored twice.

DH Roberto Caro was 2 for 3 with two steals, including a steal of home after a pickoff play at first. It wasn’t quite the same as what Javier Baez did this past weekend (Caro didn’t break to home until after Davis broke to second base on the pickoff), but it was close. Caro also had one RBI.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs ionized the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies), 4-3.

Alec Mills started and allowed three runs on five hits over six innings. Two of the runs came on a Josh Fuentes home run in the fourth inning. Mills walked one and struck out four.

Dillon Maples pitched the top of the ninth and got the win. Maples allowed a two-out single but nothing else. Maples struck out one.

Catcher Victor Caratini had a two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Mark Zagunis and Mike Freeman. Caratini was 2 for 4 with a walk and three total RBI.

Freeman went 2 for 5 with a double and two runs scored.

First baseman Efren Navarro was 2 for 3 with a double and two walks. He drove in one run.

Second baseman Stephen Bruno was 2 for 4 with a double. Center fielder Jacob Hannemann went 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies beat the Jackson Generals (Diamondbacks), 7-5 in ten innings.

Thomas Hatch had a rough start, giving up five runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Craig Brooks and Tommy Nance, on the other hand, retired the final 12 batters of the game in order. Each pitched two innings. Both struck out three. Nance got the win.

Third baseman Jason Vosler hit a two-run home run in the third inning, It was his 11th of the season, which ties him for the Southern League high. Vosler was 1 for 4 with a walk.

Right fielder Jeffrey Baez connected for a solo home run in the fourth inning, his sixth of the season. Baez went 3 for 5 with a stolen base and three runs scored.

Second baseman Vimael Machin continues to destroy the Southern League as he was 2 for 5 with a double. He scored once and had one run batted in.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans scored three runs in the top of the ninth and then hung on after giving up three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Buies Creek Astros, 4-3.

Alex Lange continues to impress in Myrtle Beach as he tossed six scoreless innings tonight, allowing just two hits. He struck out four and walked one. Lange’s ERA is now down to 2.89.

Casey Bloomquist came on to pitch when Wyatt Short got into trouble in the ninth. He walked the first batter he faced and then gave up an RBI single to make it 4-3. But with the tying run on second and the winning run on third, Bloomquist got a grounder to himself to end the game and get his first save of the season.

Third baseman Wladimir Galindo hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to give the Pelicans that cushion that they would end up needing. Galindo now has three home runs this year. Galindo was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Left fielder Kevonte Mitchell drove him Galindo with a double in the fourth inning for the first run of the game. Mitchell was 2 for 4.

The win gets Myrtle Beach to .500 at 29-29 for the first time this season.