Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 5

Robel Garcia has indeed signed with the LG Twins of Korea’s KBO. Good luck to him there.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were smote by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 16-7. Iowa won two and lost four in the six-game series.

Iowa pitchers gave up a franchise-high eight home runs in this game. The previous record was seven home runs allowed in Colorado Springs in 2007.

Things got off to a bad beginning when starter Matt Dermody gave up a home run to the first batter of the game, Spencer Speer. Two batters later, it was 2-0 with another home run by Tim Beckham. Dermody would give up a two-run home run in the second for his third and final home run allowed for the game.

Dermody took the loss after he allowed five runs on five hits in just two innings. He struck out three and walked one.

Other than Bryan Hudson, who pitched one scoreless inning of relief, the other five Iowa pitchers were hit hard in this game.

Center fielder Nelson Velazquez hit Iowa’s only home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. It was Velazquez’s 13th home run this year and fourth in Triple-A. He was 1 for 5 and scored twice.

Left fielder Narciso Crook was 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He also stole a base. Crook scored once and drove home one run.

DH Nelson Maldonado went 2 for 3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Maldonado had two RBi and scored one run.

Greg Deichmann’s four-game home run streak came to an end as he was 0 for 3 with two walks.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies usurped the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 3-2 in 12 innings. The Smokies won the six-game series, four games to two.

Javier Assad started and pitched four scoreless innings. He gave up only one hit, but he had major control issues as he walked five batters. Of the 70 pitches Assad threw, just 38 were strikes. Assad did strike out four.

This game was scoreless until the top of the ninth inning when the Barons’ Evan Skoug homered off of Scott Kobos, who threw two innings and allowed the one run on three hits. Kobos struck out four and walked no one.

Nicholas Padilla pitched three innings in extras with a man on second each time and allowed just one unearned run on one hit. He struck out two and walked no one and got the win.

Second baseman Christian Donahue won the game with a walkoff, one-out single in the bottom of the 12th. Donahue was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Center fielder Cole Roederer went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He also had a key bunt single in the bottom of the 12th to set up Donahue’s winner.

Right fielder Yonathan Perlaza was 2 for 4 with a walk.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were eaten by the Dayton Dragons (Reds), 8-3. Dayton won five games of the six-game series.

Jordan Wicks retired the first six batters of the game and then got into major trouble in the third inning. Wicks finished the game after three innings, having given up five runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked no one.

Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his first South Bend home run in the fourth inning with the bases empty. It was Crow-Armstrong’s eighth home run this season. Crow-Armstrong also had an RBI single in the top of the first inning to give South Bend an early 1-0 lead. He was 2 for 4.

The other South Bend run came on left fielder Yohendrick Pinango’s ninth home run, a solo blast in the seventh inning. Pinango was 2 for 4.

Here’s Crow-Armstrong’s blast. It was no cheapie at 439 feet.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans split a doubleheader with the Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles), losing the continuation of Thursday’s suspended game 9-8 and winning the regularly-scheduled seven-inning game 12-2. The Pelicans won the series, 4 games to 2.

Back on Thursday, Richard Gallardo started and took the loss. Gallardo gave up five runs, four earned, on six hits over three innings. He walked two and struck out two.

The Pelicans were trailing this game 8-1 at one point but came back to make it close, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth and having the bases loaded before Miguel Fabrizio grounded out to end the game.

Right fielder Ezequiel Pagan had a big day (in both games), going 3 for 5 with two RBI singles. He scored once and had the two runs batted in.

Third baseman James Triantos was 3 for 5 with an RBI.

Second baseman Reginald Preciado was 2 for 4 with three runs batted in.

First baseman B.J. Murray Jr. went 2 for 4 with a double. He scored twice.

DH Juan Mora was 2 for 5 with a double and one run scored in game one,

In game two, starter Luis Devers cruised to an easy win as he allowed just two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked no one.

Johzan Oquendo threw the final two innings without allowing a run or a hit. He did walk one, the first batter he faced, and Oquendo struck out two.

Ezequiel Pagan finished an eight-RBI day by going 3 for 3 with a triple and a two-run home run. He also walked once. The home run came in the bottom of the sixth inning and was his fourth on the year. He had five RBI in game two and all three of his RBI in game one came today after the resumption of play. Pagan scored three times.

Third baseman James Triantos also had a really good day, going 2 for 4 with an RBI triple in the sixth. Triantos scored twice.

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