Michael Arias – Picture by Todd Johnson

The day began with the completion of South Bend’s delayed game from yesterday. The game began in the bottom of the ninth and ended in the bottom of the tenth with a 7-6 walk off win for the Cubs. Kevin Alcantara scored on a throwing error by the pitcher to end the game.

A No-No!!!

However, it was the nightcap that provided all the highlights. Michael Arias, Jarod Wright, Eduarniel Nunez, and Frankie Scalzo combined to throw a no-hitter!!!!! Arias went three innings with 5 Ks. Wright had 2 K in four innings while Nunez and Scalzo went one each. It is a great accomplishment!

The Cubs did win (don’t laugh as no-nos have been lost in the minors) scoring 2 in the second and one each in the seventh and eighth. Kevin Alcantara is starting out July just like he finished June….HOT! He went 3-for-4 with 1 RBI. Fabian Pertuz, Ed Howard, and Fabian Pertuz all went 2-for-4 of the day in the 4-0 win.

Pics of the Day

The Pelicans Went Down in Georgia….and Had the Reliever of the Day

The Birds came out with another win against the Green Jackets thanks in part to Kenyi Perez throwing darts tonight. He went three scoreless innings, allowed just 2 hits, and struck out 5. That’s about an impressive first two outings as one will see in the minors.

Miguel Pabon had 3 hits on the with a RBI and Parker Chavers showed why he should be in South Bend as he had 2 hits again. As well, David Avitia singled twice and drove in a run.

Starting Pitcher of the Day

Kohl Franklin was a stud today. He struck out 7 in 4 frames and allowed two hits without any runs scoring. Ben Hecht, Luke Little, and Zac Leigh threw 5 an additional scoreless innings to keep the shutout. Andy Weber hit a two run single and PCA also had an RBI in the 3-0 Smokies win. But PCA was also a star in the field. See below.

Web Gem of the Day

Iowa Comes Back

After a Matt Mervis solo shot got the I-Cubs on the board, Jordan Wicks gave up a 3 run homer. Luckily, the I-Cubs have plenty of firepower and came back and won 5-3 for an organizational sweep. Nelson Velazquez had a 3-run shot to put the Cubs back in the lead and Luis Vazquez drove in another run after another 2-for-4 day as he is hitting .346 at Iowa. Ryan Jensen had 2 scoreless frames and Cam Sanders got the save.

As for Vazquez’s future, he could play some third if needed. I think it might be.

Double Play of the Day

Tomorrow, the finale of prospectalooza will take place. It begins with an Alexis Hernandez tomorrow morning. Then at noon comes Anderson Suriel of Mesa, who is impressing everyone with his work ethic.  At 3 PM, Yovanny Cabrera, a Myrtle Beach pitcher will drop, and then the afternoon wraps up at 5 PM with an examination of the influx of international free agent pictures in the lower parts of the system. I interviewed Carlos Chantres and South Bend pitching coach, Clayton Mortensen about the recent wave of international pictures moving up through the system.

Here are the 8 profiles from over the last two days.

Jefferson Rojas
Leonel Espinoza
Angel Gonzalez
Kenyi Perez 
Rafael Morel 
Luis Rujano 
Reivaj Garcia 
Ismael Mena