Two Smokies got honored today. Catcher Owen Ayers was named Southern League Player of the Month for June. Over the past month, Ayers hit .451/.554/.824 with 13 doubles and seven home runs. Ayers led the league in average, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging. He was second in runs scored with 23 and fourth in the Southern League for June with 21 RBI.
Smokies right-hander Jace Beck was similarly named Southern League Pitcher of the Month. Over five appearances
and three starts, Beck went 2-0 with an 0.47 ERA. Over 19 innings, Beck struck out 36 and walked nine. He also allowed just nine hits and a .138 average.
Left-hander Pierce Coppola was promoted to High-A South Bend from Low-A Myrtle Beach.
Baseball America gave the 30 farm systems a mid-season re-ranking today. (sub. req.) The Cubs moved up to 16 from a preseason ranking of 22.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs were excommunicated by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 7-4.
Jordan Wicks started and took the loss after he got rocked for seven runs, six earned, on six hits over three innings. Wicks struggled with control as he walked four and hit one.
Paul Campbell and Jayden Murray both had three scoreless innings of relief.
Left fielder BJ Murray hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, his 12th on the season. Murray was 1 for 5.
Right fielder Brett Bateman was a perfect 4 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice.
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros doubled twice in a 2 for 5 game. He scored one run.
RBI double for Jonathon Long, who was 1 for 5.
Murray’s blast went 416 feet.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies shelled the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 9-4.
Starter Connor Schultz gave up two solo home runs, but otherwise kept the Shuckers in check and got the win. Schultz’s final line was three runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked no one.
Tyler Ras pitched two innings, allowed no runs on one hit, and got the save. Ras walked one and struck out one.
Third baseman Jefferson Rojas hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, his 14th on the year. Rojas was 2 for 4 with the home run, a double and a walk. Rojas also stole a base and scored twice.
Right fielder Alex Ramírez connected for a three-run home run in the sixth inning. That was his tenth on the campaign. Ramírez was 2 for 5 with the home run. In the eighth inning, Ramírez singled, stole second, stole third and after Rojas walked, stole home as part of a double steal.
Second baseman Drew Bowser singled home a run in the sixth inning and then scored on Ramírez’s home run. Bowser went 2 for 4.
Left fielder Carter Trice went 2 for 5 with a double and a steal. He scored once.
The Rojas home run.
And the Alex Ramírez home run.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs detasseled the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 7-5 in ten innings.
Solid start for Mason McGwire, who allowed just one run on three hits over four innings. McGwire struck out three and walked one.
Adam Stone pitched the eighth and ninth innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Stone gave up two hits. He walked two and struck out two.
After South Bend scored twice in the top of the tenth, Grayson Moore retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth for the save. He struck out one.
South Bend had already taken a one-run lead when automatic runner Justin Stransky scored on an error, but first baseman Josiah Hartshorn added an insurance run with a solo home run later in the tenth. It was Hartshorn’s 15th home run and tenth with South Bend. He was 2 for 5 with a walk. Hartshorn scored twice and drove in two.
Hartshorn had been in a mini-slump the past week after tearing up the minors to start his career. Today was a good night to get back on track.
Left fielder Jose Escobar stayed hot, going 2 for 6 with a double. He scored one run.
Third baseman Matt Halbach went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Halbach had one RBI and one run scored.
Right fielder Miguel Useche went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Here’s the play that scored Stransky. Good job getting picked off!
And Hartshorn’s blast.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans vetoed the Fredericksburg Nationals, 11-9 in ten innings on a walk-off grand slam by Derniche Valdez.
David Bracho pitched the first 3.1 innings and surrendered five runs on three hits. Bracho walked three and struck out six.
Edwardo Melendez pitched the final three innings and got the win. He was in line for the loss after he allowed a two-run home run in the top of the tenth, but the Pelicans struck back with the grand slam. Melendez’s final line was two runs, one earned, on four hits over three innings. Melendez struck out three and walked on.
Shortstop Valdez sent the home fans home happy when he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the tenth. It was Valdez’s sixth home run this season. Valdez went 4 for 6 with five RBI. He also stole two bases and scored twice.
Earlier in the sixth inning, catcher Jose Silva hit a solo home run. It was Silva’s first home run with the Pelicans and third overall. Silva went 1 for 3 with two walks.
Second baseman Alexis Hernández was 3 for 6 with a double and a steal. He scored once.
Right fielder Eli Lovich went 1 for 3 with a triple, a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. He scored two runs and drove in three.
Valdez’s walk-off grand slam.
Lovich’s two-run triple.
Silva’s home run.
ACL Cubs
Beating the Angels 10-2 in the eighth.
Ethan Conrad is in right field and is 2 for 3 so far.
Yesterday, Kohl Franklin pitched four scoreless innings for the ACL Cubs in his season debut. Franklin had Tommy John surgery early in 2024, right after making his Iowa debut. He missed the rest of 2024 and made one appearance in 2025 where he had a setback in his recovery. A recovery by Franklin would be a big boost to the Cubs farm system.
