Haydn McGeary – Picture by Todd Johnson
There were only 3 games today as South Bend got rained out. Myrtle Beach almost did and then it turned into a classic.
The Pelicans and Green Jackets had about an hour delay after 3.5 innings. The Pelicans looked sluggish at the plate most of the game. Brody McCullough pitched well going just 3 innings. He struck out four and gave up one run on an inside the park homer. After the Green Jackets scored 2 runs off Angel Hernandez, Luis Rujano had them scoreless for 3 innings and the Pelicans got within a run at 3-2. Then, in the ninth inning, the Birds exploded for 6 runs and wound up winning 8-3. Parker Chavers had a sac fly and a two run single on the day. Moises Ballesteros also drove in 2.
Jefferson Rojas had been struggling until today when he hit his first HR at Myrtle Beach. In fact, he went 2-for-4 on the day.
In St. Paul, the Saints were wire-to-wire winners over Iowa today. the bright spot for the Cubs in the 8-5 loss was that Jake Slaughter seems to be breaking out of his slump this week. He went 2-for with a homer and triple. He now has a system leading 48 RBI in just 61 games.
For the Smokies, Chris Kachmar started the game and was outstanding. He went 4 scoreless and struck out two while allowing just 2 hits. He did not walk anybody. Kachmar has been pitching great out of the bullpen since missing most of 2022. He pitched all of 8 innings coming back from TJS, but this year he has already thrown 28+. In June, he has not allowed a run in three outings.
The Smokies would win 7-3 today as they broke open a 3-3 tie in the by scoring four runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Haydn McGeary hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Scott McKeon tripled in the ninth to drive in two.
Unfortunately, there was just not a lot of video today. If only I had known….
I will be back tomorrow morning with The Breakdown.
