Luis Verdugo – Pic by Todd Johnson
Tonight was nowhere near as long as last night. I actually got out of the ballpark in a decent amount of time with a decent amount of pictures. So, it is without further adieu that I present to you today’s North Side Bound Daily close toon time.
Starting Pitcher of the Day
The night began in Myrtle Beach with the Drew Gray show. He went three innings and did not allow a run. He did walk three, but he also struck out three as the young 20-year-old continues to be impressive for the Pelicans.
As for the rest of the game, it was one of those games where teams exchanged the lead back-and-forth. David Avitia started the scoring with a 2 run home run for Myrtle Beach. Heading into the ninth, the Pelicans had a 5 to 3 lead thanks in part to a two run error. But bullpen issues resulted in the game being tied after 8 and a half innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Rafael Morel walked, stole second, and came home on a walk off single by Pedro Ramirez to give up the Pelicans a 6 to 5 win.
Trouble in Tennessee.
The Southern League went back to regular baseballs tonight and the Smokies pitchers actually struggled giving up seven runs on the night. Pete Crow Armstrong was not in the lineup, but BJ Murray, Pablo Aliendo, and Bradlee Beesley each had two hits. They all paled compared to Levi Jordan, who seems to destroy Double-A itching but struggles when he gets to Iowa. Tonight Levi had three hits. But with all that offense, the Smokies only managed to score four runs as they lost 7-4.
Dinger of the Day
One of the top Royals prospect Frank Mazzicato walked the bases loaded in the top of the first inning. That brought up Luis Verdugo who worked a full count before smacking a grand slam home run to centerfield! At that point, that had to feel like 1 million runs for the Quad Cities River Bandits and their struggling offense.
Later, Ezequiel Pagán hit a solo home run in the second to make it 5 to 0.
Michael Arias pitched well. He didn’t strike out a lot of guys (1), but he gave up just one run in four innings. Max Bain came on and threw two solid innings while flashing his new cutter that looked pretty vicious. A Moises Ballesteros double made it 6-1. Eduarniel Nunez pitched two innings hitting triple digits and Sheldon Reed closed it out in the ninth.
Pictures of the Day
The Web Gem of the Day
Power Outage in Iowa
Riley Thompson returned off the development list today and pitched very well going five innings, and he allowed one run. Unfortunately, Thompson got no offensive support whatsoever. The Cubs only managed three hits on the day by Darius Hill, Matt Mervis, and Jake Slaughter as the Columbus Clippers won 4-0.
