Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: May 27

There was a sweep the bad way tonight.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs gave up three runs in the top of the ninth and were beaten by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 4-2. It was Iowa’s fifth-straight loss.

Adrian Sampson allowed just one run on five hits over the first 4.2 innings. He struck out three and walked two.

Adam Morgan came on for the save in the ninth inning and it went poorly. Morgan blew the save and took the loss after he was tagged for three runs on two hits in the one inning of work. One of the three runs was unearned, but it was Morgan’s own error that led to the run. Morgan did not walk anyone, but he did hit two batters which is effectively the same thing. Morgan did not record a strikeout.

Abiatal Avelino went 2 for 4 with a double, walk and a run scored.

Trayce Thompson and Vance Vizcaino were both 1 for 3 with a walk and one run batted in.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies couldn’t escape from the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 8-7 in ten innings.

Starter Luis Lugo pitched four innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He struck out seven and walked two.

The Smokies had a 7-2 lead in this game, but the bullpen let them down. Wyatt Short allowed three runs, two earned, over two innings. Bryan Hudson allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the eighth which tied the score 7-7.

Ben Leeper pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras, but after the Smokies failed to score in the top of the tenth, Leeper took the loss after he gave up an RBI single to the first batter he faced in the tenth. His official line was one unearned run on one hit over 1+ inning. Leeper struck out one.

Catcher Miguel Amaya got the Smokies off to an early lead when he connected for a three-run home run in the top of the first inning. It was Amaya’s first home run this season. Amaya was 1 for 3 with three walks. He scored twice. He did strike out with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the tenth, which in retrospect was pretty huge.

In 18 games so far this year, Amaya is hitting .242/.422/.355. Yeah, he’s walking a lot. More than he’s striking out even: 17 walks to 15 strikeouts.

First baseman Tyler Payne went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. Payne scored twice and had one run batted in.

Right fielder Darius Hill was 2 for 4 with two walks. One of the walks was intentional. Hill scored on Amaya’s home run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs lost to the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 4-3 in a game that ended in the bottom of the sixth inning due to rain.

Starter Ryan Jensen didn’t make it out of the first inning tonight. He gave up a two-run home run to the third batted of the game. His final line was two runs on one hit and three walks over two-thirds of an inning. He struck out both batters he retired. He was pulled when his pitch count got to 34.

South Bend scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when catcher Bryce Wyndham hit a two-run single with the bases loaded and then shortstop Delvin Zinn followed up with an RBI single of his own. Wyndham was 1 for 2 and Zinn was 1 for 3.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were stuffed by the Salem Red Sox, 4-1.

Manuel Espinoza started and took the loss. He allowed all four runs on six hits over 5.1 innings. Espinoza walked two and struck out four.

DH Pablo Aliendo was 3 for 4.

Second baseman Flemin Bautista was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI single in the third inning.

Highly-regarded 2019 international signing Kevin Made made his official minor league debut tonight. He played shortstop and went 0 for 4. The positive side is that he made contact every time with three ground outs and a pop out.