Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 22

This information is important to understand tonight’s recap:

Dude should change his name every game.

All four teams won today and two of them won in extras. The ACL was off. The Pelicans win was a big one.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs broke the Louisville Bats (Reds), 5-4 in ten innings.

It was a good start for Norwalk, Iowa’s Matt Dermody, who allowed just one run on six hits over five innings. Dermody kept the ball in play as he struck out two and walked no one, although he did hit one batter.

Erich Uelmen came on to save a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning, but he blew the save after giving up three singles—two of which came after two were out. But Uelmen stayed in the game in the tenth and retired the side in order to get the win. Uelmen’s final line was one run on three hits over two innings. He struck out four and walked none.

Jackson Frazier hit a run-scoring double in the top of the tenth inning to score ghost runner Narciso Crook. Frazier also had a two-run single in the third inning for three total RBI on the game. Frazier went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Crook hit two doubles and went 3 for 5. He scored twice and had two runs batted in.

DH David Bote stayed hot, going 2 for 5 with one run scored. Since he resumed his rehab assignment on June 17 after a dizzy spell, Bote is 10 for 20 with three doubles and a triple.

Here’s Frazier’s game-winning double.

Tennessee Smokies

Jake Slaughter hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Tennessee Smokies blinded the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 11-7.

Anderson Espinoza got off a rocky start as he gave up back-to-back solo home runs to the second and third batters of the game. In the end, he allowed four runs total on eight hits over 4.1 innings. He did strike out four and walked no one.

Samuel Reyes blew a save when he gave up a game-tying solo home run in the top of the eighth. But he stayed in the game and got the win after allowing just the one run on three hits over three innings. Reyes walked one and struck out one.

The Smokies loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the tenth with the score still tied, but it looked like the Lookouts were going to get out of it after they struck out Yonathan Perlaza and got a two-strike count on Slaughter. But Slaughter connected on the 0-2 pitch and hit a moonshot over the left field wall. It was his tenth home run of the season and seventh with the Smokies.

Slaughter went 2 for 6 with five RBI. He scored twice.

DH Matt Mervis tied the game 2-2 with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. It was Mervis’ 17th home run and tenth in Double-A. Mervis went 3 for 5 with three runs batted in.

Third baseman Chase Strumpf was 2 for 5. He drove in one and scored one run.

First baseman Bryce Ball was 2 for 3 with two walks.

The Smokies were 6 for 12 with runners in scoring position. I so often highlight that number when it’s bad, so I thought to be fair I should mention that here.

Here’s Mervis’ home run.

And here’s Slaughter’s walk-off.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs demoted the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 1-0.

Daniel Palencia pitched the first five innings and surrendered just three hits. He struck out seven and walked one as he got his first win of the season.

Riley Martin kept the shutout going for three more innings. Martin allowed one hit. He did walk three while striking out two.

Zac Leigh retired all three batters in the ninth for his first career save. Leigh struck out two.

Center fielder Yohendrick Pinango doubled home shortstop Fabian Pertuz in the third inning for the only run of the game.

Pinango went 1 for 3 and Pertuz was 2 for 4.

Not a lot of highlights, but the ones we have are good ones.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans defused the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 5-3. The win reduces their magic number to one with one game to play in the first half.

Starter Porter Hodge had a lot of trouble finding the plate in this game. Hodge allowed three runs on three hits and five walks over 3.1 innings. He also gave two free base runners by the hit-by-pitch. Hodge struck out six.

All three Kannapolis runs in this game came in the fourth inning on three bases-loaded walks: two by Hodge and one by reliever Tanner Jesson-Dalton.

But the Birds fought back and Adam Laskey got the win with two innings of scoreless relief. Laskey gave up one hit. He walked one and struck out two.

Alfredo Zarraga pitched the ninth inning and with the help of some good defense, he retired the side in order for the save. Zarraga struck out one.

The Pelicans completed the comeback when left fielder Ezequiel Pagan hit a two-run single in the top of the eighth inning, which gave Myrtle Beach a 4-3 lead. Pagan went 3 for 4 with three RBI tonight.

Third baseman James Triantos doubled in the seventh inning and scored the first Pelicans run on a single by Pagan. Triantos went 2 for 4.

Third baseman Reivaj Garcia added an insurance run in the ninth with his first Pelicans hit of the season. Garcia went 1 for 4 and scored one run. He also made a great defensive play when he leaped to spear a line drive in the bottom of the ninth.

The RiverDogs beat Columbia 11-0, so the Pelicans did not clinch the first half tonight. Myrtle Beach will win the first-half division title with a win tomorrow over Kannapolis or a loss by Charleston. Since the RiverDogs have outscored Columbia 21-2 in the first two games of their series, I wouldn’t count on a Charleston loss.