Haydn McGeary – Picture by Todd Johnson

f you are a fan of the pitching in the Cubs system, tonight was not your night as the offense stole the show for every affiliate!

Myrtle Beach

Before the rains came, the Pelicans put up a seven spot in large part due to a Moises Ballesteros Grand Slam which also wins our Dinger of the Day honor. Unfortunately for us, the Lynchburg Hillcats video feed is atrocious but you get the idea that Ballesteros knew it was gone and he admired his damage for a second.

Lost in the shadow of that performance was that SS Cristian Hernandez went 2-for-2 with 2 RBI to get his average up to .250 and he also walked.

The game was called after 6 innings when a deluge descended upon Lynchburg.

The Pelicans are now at 3-3.

South Bend

The good fortune of South Bend’s pitching staff the first two nights this week dissipated tonight as they gave up 10 runsas they allowed the first runner to reach seven times. They did have a 6-3 lead before Beloit began to chip away and take it outright in the eighth inning to lead 8 to 7. The previous inning, South Bend had the bases loaded and nobody out and could not get anybody in. Beloit added two more in the ninth to take a 10 to 7 lead. The Cubs scored one more run

For South Bend, Hayden McGeary punished a baseball as he went to for three with three RBIs. Outfielder DJ Artis went three for five to raise his average to .294 while McGarry is it .321. Bradley Beasley and Scott McKean also had two hits, but the Cubs just ran out of juice down the stretch.

Murdered Ball of the Day

For me, the highlight of the South Bend game was a serious jack by Haydn McGeary, his second in two nights. He’s not long for High-A as well as he is hitting.

Tennessee

In the Smokies got off to a good start after Jordan Nwogu hit a solo shot. Then, the Montgomery Biscuits scored four unanswered runs off of starter Jordan Wicks. In the top of the fifth, the Smokies erupted for five runs. Pete Crow-Armstrong, doubled in a run, and then a few batters later, Bryce Ball cranked a grand slam to make it 6 to 4 Smokies.

In the seventh, Pete Crow-Armstrong singled, stole second, and came around to score on a single by Nelson Maldonado to make it 7-5. Owen Caissie then singled off the glove the pitcher to give him his team high 11th RBI on the season. And the hits kept coming even against a position player in the ninth as the Smokies finally won 11-5.

Video of the Day

This is PCA hitting a triple he had no business trying to get to third. Most people would have pulled up at second. But not PCA. It is completely insane that he was able to get in under the tag. What I love most about the whole video is just how sweet that swing is. That is probably the most important aspect of the play, but most will focus on the slide or lack thereof.

Iowa

Starter Javier Assad gave up two runs in the first inning, but the Iowa Cubs came storming back in the bottom of the first and tied it up with a Christopher Morel home run, and a Brennen Davis sacrifice fly. After Omaha, tacked on a run in the fifth, Iowa scored two more in the bottom of the inning to finally take the lead for the first time on the night via a double by Matt Mervis and the single by Mike Tauchman.

Sergio Alcantara added a two run jack to make it 6-3 in the sixth. After Cam Sanders struck out 3 in the seventh, the Cubs added another run in the seventh before giving up the lead in the 8th as the Stormchasers came back and tied it at 7. The Cubs scored again on a bases loaded walk to Mike Tauchman and retook the lead. Manny Rodriguez, who shut down a rally in the 8th returned for the ninth. It did not go well for Iowa as they lost 11-8.

Hot Take of the Day

PCA’s 8 Day performance at Double-A has been an impressive start to the season. He is looking very much like the PCA we saw last August in South Bend. He is not ready to be promoted to Iowa….right now. However, he is not far from it. Owen Caissie is in the same boat. Both are just having their way at AA with the Rays’ AA squad, one of the most talented teams in the minors. That’s the thing most people forget when talking about prospect performance is that it matters more when get the job done against elite teams.