Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap; April 10

First, a quick reminder. Other than a few rare exceptions, there are no minor league ballgames on Mondays anymore. (The Fourth of July falls on a Monday this year. That’s the biggest exception.) Even the Pacific Coast League, which played on Mondays in 2021, go dark on Mondays this year.

So there will be no Minor League Wrap tomorrow, or any Monday this year other than the Fourth of July. If there are changes to the schedule, I’ll keep you informed.

Last night everyone but Myrtle Beach won. Tonight everyone lost except Myrtle Beach.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were penned up by the Buffalo Bison (Blue Jays), 2-1.

Starter Cory Abbott only allowed one hit in his second start of the season, but it was a solo home run by Vinny Capra. Abbott pitched 3.1 innings and allowed one run. He struck out four and did not walk anyone, but he did hit one batter.

Matt Swarmer was strong over 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Schwarmer gave up three hits and one walk while striking out three.

Ben Leeper gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to take the loss. Leeper allowed one hit over one inning. He struck out one, walked one and hit one batter.

Iowa’s only run came on a solo home run by first baseman Jared Young in the fifth inning. It was his second home run of the year already. Young was 1 for 3.

Iowa only had three hits in this game.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies couldn’t hide from the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 9-5.

Starter Riley Thompson gave up a home run to the first batter of the game and a double to the second one. That second batter would score two batters later on a sacrifice fly. But Thompson settled down after the double and didn’t allow another baserunner. The final line on Thompson was two runs on two hits over three innings. He struck out five and walked no one.

The bullpen let the Smokies down and the loss went to Graham Lawson, who gave up two runs in the seventh inning. Lawson allowed two hits and a walk in the one inning he pitched. After allowing the first three batters to reach in the seventh (and two of them to score), Lawson then struck out the next three to end both the inning and his day.

DH Nelson Maldonado had a huge day, hitting two home runs. The first one came with a man on in the bottom of the first inning and the second one was a solo shot in the third inning. Maldonado went 3 for 4.

Third baseman Christopher Morel doubled and scored in the first inning. Morel was 2 for 4 with a walk and a steal.

Here’s Maldonado’s second homer.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were mugged by the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals), 8-2.

Kohl Franklin pitched for the first time since 2019. He struck out the first two batters he faced and then gave up a home run to the third. Franklin took the loss after allowing one run on three hits over 1.2 innings. Franklin walked two and struck out three. He threw 43 pitches, 24 of which were strikes.

Shortstop Ed Howard was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans told the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) that they were bad dogs, 7-6.

Starter Richard Gallardo gave up a leadoff triple to lead off the bottom of the first, but mostly settled down after that. He finished allowing one run on four hits over four innings. Gallardo struck out three and walked one.

The win went to Adam Laskey because Gallardo didn’t go five innings. Laskey pitched one inning in relief of Gallardo. Laskey struck out the first two batters he faced and then gave up singles to the next two. But then he got his third strikeout of the inning to end the threat.

When Laskey left the game, the Pelicans had a 7-1 lead after five innings. The bullpen came as close to blowing it as they could without actually blowing it. Johzan Oquendo, who pitched a scoreless eighth, gave up three singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly (as well as a strikeout) before he exited the game with two outs in the ninth and the Pelicans hanging on to a 7-5 lead.

Jarod Wright allowed an RBI double to the first batter he faced and then walked the bases loaded. He worked a 3-0 count to the next batter before throwing two called strikes (and the second one was a generous call). But on the next pitch, he got a hard-hit grounder to short that ended the game with a 6-3 put out.

The final line on Oquendo was 1.1 innings allowing three runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out one. Wright got the ugly save, giving up a hit and a walk (an an inherited run) in one-third of an inning.

First baseman Felix Stevens gave the Pelicans the lead in the third inning with a two-run home run. Stevens was 1 for 4 with a walk. It was the Pelicans’ first home run this year.

Right fielder Jacob Wetzel went 2 for 3 with a double and two walks. Wetzel had one run batted in.

The Pelicans scored seven runs on just five hits, thanks in large part to drawing ten walks.

Here’s Stevens’ home run.