Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs lost to Indianapolis (Pirates), 8-1.
Matthew Boyd started this game on a rehab assignment and it went well. Much better than his final line would indicate. Boyd pitched 4+ innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits. Two of those runs came after he allowed two singles to start the fifth inning, after which Boyd exited after reaching his 60 pitch limit. Both of those runs came around to score. Boyd struck out two and walked one.
Here’s the Statcast breakdown of Boyd’s afternoon.
Iowa only managed four hits. Right fielder Brett Bateman doubled home shortstop Ben Cowles in the eighth inning for the only Iowa run. Bateman was 1 for 3 with a walk and Cowles was 1 for 4.
Bateman came just short of a home run.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies clouded the vision of the Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds), 4-2. The win moved the Smokies to within a half game of first-place Chattanooga in the Southern League North Division.
Brooks Caple turned in another good start, going five innings and allowing just one run on four hits. Most impressively, Caple struck out seven and walked just one.
The win went to Jace Beck, who pitched the next two innings and did not allow a run or a hit. Beck did walk one while striking out three.
Vince Reilly gave up a leadoff home run in the eighth to the first batter he faced, but threw the final two innings and got the save. The final line on Reilly was one run on one hit and three walks over two innings. Reilly also struck out three.
Knoxville didn’t even have a hit in this game until the sixth inning, but they scored one run in the sixth and three more in the eighth to get the win. Third baseman Jefferson Rojas had an RBI single in the sixth and another one in the eighth. He was 2 for 4 and also scored once.
Left fielder Carter Trice and first baseman Edgar Alvarez had back-to-back RBI singles in the eighth. They were both 1 for 4.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs cracked the Ft. Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-5. The win moves South Bend’s record on the year to 30-17 with a 4.5 game lead over second-place Wisconsin.
Will Sanders started this game on a rehab assignment as he tries to work his way back to Iowa. Sanders pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three runs, all in the first inning, but only one of the three runs was earned. Sanders gave up four hits. He walked one and struck out two.
Nazier Mulé threw three middle innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Mulé gave up one hit. He walked two and hit one while striking out five.
Ethan Bell came on to pitch the ninth in a non-save situation with South Bend leading 7-3. But he couldn’t find the plate—giving up a single and four walks—and exited the game after giving up two runs and leaving with the bases loaded and two outs. So Kenton Egbert relieved Bell and got a one-pitch save by inducing a fielder’s choice on a grounder to short.
Right fielder Miguel Useche hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for South Bend’s first run. Useche was a triple shy of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a double and the home run. He drove in three runs and scored twice.
Catcher Justin Stransky was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run batted in.
Shortstop Ty Southisene was 2 for 4 with a walk and one run scored.
Useche’s fourth home run on the year.
RBI single for Useche.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got their wings clipped by the Wilson Warbirds (Brewers), 10-1.
Pierce Coppola started and took the loss, although he pitched better than the guys who came after him. Coppola allowed one run on one hit over three innings, but he did have control issues as he walked five and had a wild pitch. Coppola struck out four.
The Pelicans managed just four hits. Right fielder Eli Lovich was 1 for 4 with a double. Second baseman Alexis Hernandez went 0 for 2 with two walks and he scored the one run.
The one run scored after Lovich’s double sent Hernandez to third and he scored on a groundout.
ACL Cubs
Off day.
