Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 30

Seiya Suzuki takes on Des Moines and he did not disappoint. The I-Cubs pitching staff did though.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were cut off by the Columbus Clippers (Guardians), 12-6.

Starter Luke Farrell pitched four innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out three and walked no one.

Iowa was leading 6-2 in the sixth inning when Wyatt Short gave up a grand slam to tie the game. Two more runs would be charged to Short after Brendan Little let in two inherited runners for a six-run sixth inning. Short final line was six runs on four hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. It was Short’s first loss of the year.

Seiya Suzuki played five innings in right field in a rehab assignment and went 2 for 3 with a solo opposite-field home run in the fourth inning. Suzuki’s first inning single scored a run as well and he later scored that inning for two total RBI and two total runs scored.

Catcher Erick Castillo was 2 for 4 with a two-run single in the first inning.

Here is Suzuki’s RBI single.

And here’s the home run.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies trashed the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 4-2.

Riley Thompson tossed the first two innings and surrendered one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out two.

Dalton Stambaugh pitched the next five innings without allowing a run and got the win. Stambaugh gave up three hits. He struck out four and walked no one.

CD Pelham threw a perfect ninth inning for the save. He struck out two.

Three of the Smokies four runs came on solo home runs. Catcher Harrison Wenson tied the game 1-1 with his fourth home run of the season. Wenson went 1 for 4.

In the fifth inning, shortstop Luis Vazquez and left fielder Yonathan Perlaza hit back-to-back homers. It was Vazquez’s fifth on the year and Perlaza’s ninth.

Perlaza also had an RBI double in the seventh inning in a 2 for 4 game.

Vazquez went 1 for 3 with a walk.

Here’s Vazquez’s home run.

And here’s Perlaza going back-to-back.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs shot down the Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins), 5-3. The win was South Bend’s eighth-straight.

Kohl Franklin started and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits over four innings. One of those three hits was a home run for the earned run. Franklin walked one, hit one batter and struck out one.

Michael McAvene pitched the next two innings and gave up one run on two hits. McAvene got the win because Franklin did not last five innings. McAvene struck out one and walked no one, but he did hit one batter.

Walker Powell got the three inning save without allowing a run. (It would have been a save even if it weren’t three innings.) Powell allowed three hits, but he walked no one and struck out four.

Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong walked to start the game, stole second and scored the first run of the game on a Yohendrick Pinango single. Crow-Armstrong was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. (He was caught stealing once.) He scored twice.

Third baseman Luis Verdugo was 3 for 4 with a double. He scored one time and drove in one.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans kenneled the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 8-3. With the win, Myrtle Beach became the first minor league team to win 50 games this season.

Easy win tonight for Tyler Schlaffer, who cruised by allowing just three hits, all singles, over six innings. Schlaffer struck out seven and walked one.

Second baseman Josue Huma connected for a three-run home run in the fifth inning, his third of the season. Huma also had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth for a fourth RBI. Huma went 1 for 4.

First baseman Felix Stevens went 2 for 3 with a walk. He drove in the first run of the game in the second inning and scored once.

Catcher Ethan Hearn was 2 for 3 with a walk. He scored once and had one RBI.

And because I know some of you don’t watch the highlights, you need to see this Little League home run by Ezequiel Pagan.

ACL Cubs

Losing to the Royals, 6-4 in the seventh.

Last season’s 20th-round draft pick, Wilson Cunningham, made his professional debut in this one. He pitched one inning and only allowed one baserunner on a hit-by-pitch. Cunningham struck out two.