Right-hander Eli Morgan joins South Bend on a rehab assignment.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs won a showdown with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros), 5-0.
It was a bullpen game for the I-Cubs and five relievers combined to shut out the Space Cowboys. Ethan Roberts retired the side in order in the first inning. He struck out one.
Riley Martin pitched the next three innings. He gave up two hits and walked one while striking out four.
Caleb Kilian took over for the next 1.2 innings. Kilian allowed one hit. He struck
out three and walked two.
Nate Pearson got the final out of the sixth inning and then stayed in the game to pitch 1.1 innings, retiring all four batters he faced. Pearson struck out two.
Keegan Thompson pitched the final two innings of the game and got the win. Thompson was touched for two hits and one walk. He struck out four.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning when Iowa scored all five runs. Center fielder James Triantos opened the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth. Triantos went 2 for 4 with a double and also scored once.
After an error made it 2-0, first baseman Jonathon Long and catcher Carlos Pérez hit back-to-back doubles to make it 5-0. Long went 1 for 3 with one RBI. He scored on Pérez’s double.
Pérez was 1 for 3 with a two-run double.
Triantos looks good in center field.
And here is his single.
The Long double.
Pérez makes it 5-0.
Knoxville Smokies
The Knoxville Smokies were burnt by the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 4-1.
Walker Powell gave up a solo home run in the top of the first inning and the Biscuits never lost the lead. Powell’s final line was three runs on five hits over five innings. Powell walked two and struck out two.
The Smokies had just two hits in this game. Third baseman Pedro Ramirez doubled home center fielder Brett Bateman in the bottom of the ninth for Knoxville’s only run. Ramirez went 1 for 4 and Bateman was 0 for 1 with three walks.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs were creamed by the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 6-4. Beloit also lost, so South Bend stays in a tie for first place in the second half.
Kevin Valdez started and took the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings. Two of the six runs were unearned. Valdez walked three and did not strike anyone out.
Eli Morgan pitched the seventh inning on a rehab assignment. He retired all three batters he faced on infield grounders.
Second baseman Alexis Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a two-run double in the second inning.
Third baseman Edgar Alvarez went 2 for 4. He scored one run.
The Alexis Hernandez double.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans put a leash on the Charleston RiverDogs (Rays), 8-7 in 11 innings.
Starter Kevin Camacho went four innings and surrendered two runs, one earned, on three hits. He walked four and struck out two.
Matthew Peters threw the top of the eleventh, kept the automatic runner from scoring and got the win when the Pelicans pushed a run across in the bottom of the frame. Peters walked two to load the bases with one out in the ninth, but ended the threat with a 6-4-3 double play. And mozzarella sticks were enjoyed by all. Peters did not have a strikeout.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 11th, second baseman Ty Southisene hit into a fielder’s choice that scored the winning run. Southisene was 1 for 6.
The Pelicans trailed 7-5 going into the bottom of the tenth, but shortstop Angel Cepeda doubled in a run and then catcher Dillon Granadillo singled him home to tie the game. Both hits came with two outs.
Cepeda went 4 for 5 with two doubles, the RBI and three runs scored.
Granadillo also hit a two-run home run in the third inning, his first on the year. Granadillo was 2 for 5 with the three RBI.
Left fielder Jose Escobar doubled twice in a 3 for 5 game. The first double drove in two runs in the second inning. Escobar scored twice, including the winning run in the 11th.
DH Alexey Lumpuy was 2 for 5 and scored once.
Granadillo’s home run.
