Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Pérez Crushes Grand Slam, Kachmar Whiffs 10 and Rojas Plays Hero

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Image courtesy of Chris Kachmar

Cubs Affiliate Overview (June 5–6)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
Series at Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals): Cubs lead 4-1
Season Record: 32–27

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
Series vs. Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds): Lookouts lead 2–1
Season Record: 25-28

• High-A South Bend Cubs
Series vs. Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers): Cubs lead 2-1
Season Record: 16–38

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Series at Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox): Tied 2-2
Season Record: 20–33

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs
Season Record: 32–27
Series Opponent: Omaha Storm Chasers (24–36)
Series Standing: Lead 4-1

June 5: The Iowa Cubs earned at least a series split with an 8-5 victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers. Carlos Pérez’s (1-for-4) grand slam highlighted a six-run fourth for the I-Cubs that put the game out of reach. Jonathon Long (3-for-4) drove in two runs as he collected his second-straight multi-hit game. Moisés Ballesteros (1-for-4) also collected two RBI, tallying a hit for the fifth time in his last six ballgames. Will Sanders turned in his first-career quality start at the Triple-A level, allowing four runs, three earned, over six innings, firing three strikeouts. Luke Little earned his first save of the season by turning in 1 1/3 shutout frames, striking out three.

June 6: The I-Cubs split their doubleheader with the Storm Chasers, winning the opener, 5-3, before dropping the nightcap, 9-5.

Game 1: Iowa claimed a series win over Omaha with a 5-3 triumph to open the doubleheader. The Cubs scored all their runs in the second, with Chase Strumpf’s (2-for-3) two-run double the decisive blow. Moisés Ballesteros (2-for-4) recorded his 20th multi-hit performance of the season, driving in one run to reach the 30-RBI mark on the campaign.

Game 2: The Cubs fell to the Storm Chasers, 9-5, to split their doubleheader. Owen Caissie (2-for-3) and Moisés Ballesteros (2-for-4) each tallied multi-hit efforts, while five different Iowa batters drove in at least one run. Caissie has hit safely in five of the first games in June, posting an overall slash of .381/.480/.571 this month.

Double-A: Knoxville Smokies
Season Record: 25–28
Series Opponent: Chattanooga Lookouts (26–24)
Series Standing: Trail 1-2

June 5: The Knoxville Smokies were limited to just two hits by the Chattanooga Lookouts, falling 3-0. Pablo Aliendo (1-for-3) and Jaylen Palmer (1-for-3) tallied the hits as the Smokies were held to just three baserunners and took just one at-bat with runners in scoring position. Chris Kachmar struck out a career-high 10 batters over five innings of work, allowing two runs on six hits. Tyler Santana worked two shutout innings in relief, yielding just two hits.

June 6: The Smokies and the Lookouts were postponed due to weather conditions.

High-A: South Bend Cubs
Season Record: 16–38
Series Opponent: Great Lakes Loons (28–26)
Series Standing: Lead 2–1

June 5: The South Bend Cubs and the Great Lakes Loons split a doubleheader on Thursday, with the Cubs taking the opener, 6-5, before getting blanked in the finale, 3-0.

Game 1: The Cubs captured a walk-off victory thanks to Jefferson Rojas’ sacrifice fly in the seventh. South Bend scored six runs on just three hits, drawing eight walks in the ballgame to put traffic on the base paths. Carter Trice (1-for-2) led off the home half of the contest with a home run, and Christian Hernandez (1-for-3) would later record a two-run single in the fifth. Tyler Schlaffer took no decision in his start, allowing just one run over five innings of work, striking out five.

Game 2: South Bend was no-hit in the doubleheader nightcap, earning just three walks in the ballgame. Evan Aschenbeck turned in a complete-game quality start on the mound despite taking the loss. He allowed three runs over seven innings of work, striking out five.

June 6: The South Bend and Great Lakes contest was suspended due to inclement weather. The Loons held a 2-1 advantage in the top of the fifth, with play set to resume on Saturday.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Season Record: 20–33
Series Opponent: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (29–26)
Series Standing: Tied 2-2

June 5: Myrtle Beach was handed a lopsided 12-1 loss on Thursday by Kannapolis. Leonel Espinoza and Eriandys Ramon each had two-hit performances while Angel Cepeda (1-for-5) drove in the lone run with an RBI-groundout. Charlie Hurley turned in 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, striking out four batters.

June 6: The Pelicans earned a 5-3 win in extra innings to even the series with the Cannon Ballers at 2-2. Cameron Cisneros (3-for-5) slugged a three-run blast in the 10th, his second of the season, to give Myrtle Beach the lead for good. Alfredo Romero allowed just one run in five innings of work, striking out a season-high six batters.

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