Cubs Affiliate Overview (July 12 – July 13)

Triple-A Iowa Cubs
Series at St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins): Cubs lose series 2-4
Season Record: 47-45

Double-A Tennessee Smokies
Series vs. Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays): Smokies win series 4-2
Season Record: 42-44

High-A South Bend Cubs
Series at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers): Cubs win series 5-1
Season Record: 34-53

Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Series at Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox): Pelicans split series 3-3
Season Record: 39-45

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 47-45
Series Opponent: St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins)
Series Standing: Win 4-2

July 12: Despite an exhilarating 9th inning comeback attempt, the Cubs were smited by the Saints 9-10. The Cubs went with a bullpen game today, and things didn’t go well for lights out reliever Luke Little. Little went two innings, walking three, and giving up two runs. Starting a game is a noticeably different mental headspace for pitchers compared to high leverage relief, so it’s hard to blame Little for struggling when he still boasts a 1.69 ERA. Veteran reliever Tommy Romero gave up the bulk of the damage, giving up six runs on four walks, five hits, and a home run between the fourth and fifth innings.

The Cubs offense put up nine runs on nine hits – four of those runs coming from third baseman Jonathan Long. He’s continued this blistering stretch, slashing .388/.456/.796 in July so far. Long went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. He opened up scoring with a three run blast in the third to put the Cubs up 3-2, and then led the rally charge in the ninth with an RBI double to bring the Cubs within four.

July 13: The Cubs bounced back to dethrone the Saints in the series finale 8-2. Ben Brown made his second start for the Iowa Cubs after being demoted from the Major League club on June 23rd. This start went better than his last as he finished with 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, and 5 SO. His strikeout numbers are climbing again and he’s avoiding bats. The Major League front office will hope he can get back on track and provide depth in the second half if needed.

The Cubs had five hitters post a multi hit game – Christian Franklin went 2-for-4 with a walk, Jonathan Long stayed hot and went 2-for-3 with a double, Dixon Machado went 2-for-4 with a homer, and James Triantos had a 2-for-5 game of his own. 

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 42-44
Series Opponent: Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays)
Series Standing: Split 3-3

July 12: The Smokies were baked by the Biscuits, dropping today’s game 6-3. Antonio Santos started for Knoxville today and picked up his third loss of the season. He went 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 SO. Santos has had an interesting season bouncing between starting and coming out in relief, but in four of his last five starts he’s pitched five innings and hasn’t given up more than two runs in an outing all season. Despite being 3-3, he has an impressive 2.06 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP on the season.

Most of the Smokies offense today came from second baseman Corey Joyce who went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Joyce is enjoying his breakout season – he leads the team with a .761 OPS.

July 13: The Smokies rolled out the Biscuits today, securing the series split with a 3-0 win. Sam Armstrong made one of his strongest starts of the season, going 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO. Mitchell Tyranski, Sam Thoresen, and Brad Deppermann combined to throw three innings of two hit ball, and A.J. Puckett picked up his 14th save of the season.

BJ Murray Jr. kicked off scoring today with an RBI single in the 6th inning to score Pedro Ramirez. Ramirez is having himself quite the season, he went 2-for-4 with a double today, bringing his OPS up to a team leading .766, stealing the crown from Joyce.

Felix Stevens ended up as the star of the game, blasting a two run home run in the 7th to give the team some insurance.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 34-53
Series Opponent: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: Win 5-1

July 12: The Cubs got bit by the Rattlers, blowing a 2-0 lead late in the game to fall 3-2. Ryan Gallagher bounced back in a big way, showing he can induce weak contact and go deep into games. He finished with his longest start of the season, going 7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 SO. This was the first game where Gallagher hasn’t struck out at least six batters since May 3rd, but he made up for it by making his longest start and allowing his fewest hits since June 14th. This was his third quality start of the season – he’s stood out in a lot of ways in his pro debut, but the length he gives his team has been one of the overlooked aspects of his game. He’s pitched six or more innings in half of his starts so far.

The offense was almost nonexistent today as the Cubs put up just four hits. Their two runs came from a fourth inning sac fly by Miguel Pabon and a bases loaded walk by Rafael Morel.

July 13: The Cubs narrowly defanged the Rattlers, ending the series with a 5-4 win. Connor Schultz took the mound for South Bend, picking up his first win of the season thanks to a 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1BB, 6 SO performance. The Cubs entered the fifth inning with a 4-2 lead that was briefly threatened after Jackson Kirkpatrick gave up a solo home run to bring the game within one. Grayson Moore was able to stop the bleeding in the ninth, picking up his third save.

Miguel Useche tied the game in the fourth for the Cubs with a sac fly, and Rafael Morel gave the team a much needed lead with a two RBI single later in the inning.

Third baseman Reginald Preciado came in clutch in the eighth to add a game winning RBI double. He would finish the day going 2-for-4 with a two RBIs.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 39-45
Series Opponent: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox)
Series Standing: 

July 12: The Pelicans blew out the Cannon Ballers 5-0 thanks in part to Kevin Valdez making his best start of the season. Valdez went 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 5 SO. This was the 23 year olds seventh start this season and his second win. Valdez missed the entirety of the 2024 season due to injury, but has looked much better in his return this year, posting a 3.49 ERA in his first full season in Low-A.

Angel Cepeda went 1-for-4 and opened up scoring for the Pelicans with an RBI single in the third inning. Christian Olivo added the insurance runs the following inning with a two RBI single, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, but it was Owen Ayers who added the fireworks. He hit his fourth homer of the season to center field in the eight to cap off a 5-0 rout of the Cannon Ballers.

July 13: The Pelicans couldn’t defuse the Cannon Ballers, falling 2-4 in the series finale. Starter Nazier Mule continued his up and down season, going 4 ⅓ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, and 5 SO. The swing and miss stuff is still a strong point for Mule who has 48 SO in 42 IP, but he has a hard time consistently avoiding contact and high walk numbers which have contributed to his 1.52 WHIP this season.

The Pelicans managed to put up seven hits but struggled to get people across the plate. Both of their two runs came from a two RBI single in the fourth inning by Eli Lovich to tie the game. 

They briefly threatened with a double from Matt Halbach in the ninth inning, but Eli Lovich would strike out to end the game.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

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