Cubs Minor League Weekend Recap: Rising Star Eli Lovich Goes Back-to-Back

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of Eli Lovich (@LovichEli)

Cubs Affiliate Overview (June 21 – June 22)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series at Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers): Cubs lose series 2-4
  Season Record: 39-35

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series at Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers): Smokies lose series 2-4
  Season Record: 32-36

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series vs. Lake County Captains (Cleveland Guardians): Cubs lose series 2-4
  Season Record: 23-43

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series vs. Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros): Pelicans win series 4-2
  Season Record: 25-39

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 39-35
Series Opponent: Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: loss 2-4

June 21: The Cubs drop their weekend opener against the Sounds 7-4 despite a serviceable start from Connor Noland. Noland threw five innings of four-run ball, giving up seven hits and four walks while only striking out two, putting the Cubs down 4-0 heading into the sixth inning.

The Cubs’ offense — despite only generating two hits all game — managed to put a few runs on the board in the sixth inning thanks to the bat of Carlos Perez. After Christian Franklin was hit by a pitch, Moises Ballesteros and Jonathan Long walked to load the bases with two outs. Perez drove in all four with a game tying grand slam to left center field.

Kevin Alcantara, Ben Cowles, and Chase Strumpf would combine to walk the bases loaded again, but Darius Hill struck out swinging to end the rally and the Cubs would go hitless for the rest of the game.

Luke Little came in to relieve Noland and continued his seemingly never ending hot streak, pitching one inning, allowing no runs, and striking out two. After Nate Pearson’s struggles at Wrigley, all eyes turn to Little as the next man up if the team decides to rotate relievers again and send Pearson back down (EDITOR's NOTE: Pearson was demoted for Michael Fulmer after publishing). With a 1.35 ERA and a long stretch of no run outings, Little hopes to be a strong lefty reliever for the MLB club as we head into the dog days of summer. 

June 22: Kenta Maeda shines and pitches a gem, but the bats go cold again as the Cubs drop the series finale to the Sounds 1-0.

Maeda turned heads and dazzled on Sunday, pitching seven innings of no run ball while allowing only a single hit that came in the bottom of the seventh. Maeda has struggled to start his Cubs career, but it’s impossible to argue with a near no-hit performance. Hopefully he can continue to keep the momentum rolling and put himself in a position to be a viable depth option if the major league team should need it.

Porter Hodge came in to relieve Maeda with his fourth appearance in the minors since coming back from injury. Unfortunately for the electric young right hander, he picked up his second loss on the season in as many days after giving up a walk and a hit to let in the game winning run after pitching only ⅔ of an inning.

The offense didn’t give Maeda much help, going scoreless while striking out ten times to only six hits. Two of those came from Carlos Perez who continued his hot run. Perez went 2-for-4 in the loss.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 32-36
Series Opponent: Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: loss 2-4

June 21: The Smokies kick off the weekend with a 4-3 victory over the Shuckers thanks to another stellar outing from starter Grant Kipp. Kipp went six innings, allowing just two runs on three hits and striking out six batters. He’s continued to build on his success this season as he’s given up two or fewer runs in seven of his last eight starts and has racked up 26 strikeouts in his last four outings.

On offense, Pedro Ramirez continues to build on his hot streak with a two RBI double in the third to put the Smokies up 2-0. After the Shuckers came back to tie the game, it was Felix Ramirez who delivered the game winning run with a two-run single in the top of the fifth to put the Smokies up 4-2. Center Fielder Jordan Nwogu quietly had himself an impressive game at the bottom of the lineup, going 3-for-4 with a caught stealing.

Reliever Tyler Santana picked up the save after allowing one run in the bottom of the ninth to put the crowd on edge. He finished with three innings pitched, giving up just one run and keeping his composure to seal the win.

June 22: The Smokies mount a late comeback but ultimately drop the series finale to the Shuckers 2-3. Starter Chris Kachmar picked up a loss and moved to 2-5 despite a decent outing on the mound today. Kachmar finished with five innings pitched, allowing three runs on three hits. All of the damage came on one pitch as he gave up a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth. Zac Leigh, Brad Depperman, and Nick Hull would go on to combine for three innings of no run ball to keep the game close, but the offense wasn’t able to drive enough home.

Pedro Ramirez had himself another consecutive hot game, going 2-for-3. He now leads the team in both batting average and OPS, hitting .297 and .764, respectively, but it was Pablo Aliendo and Felix Stevens who drove in the lone runs today. Aliendo scored Pedro Ramirez on a sac fly in the eighth, and Felix Stevens drove in BJ Murray Jr. with a ground out. They’d ultimately fall short, failing to complete the comeback in the ninth.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 23-43
Series Opponent: Lake County Captains (Cleveland Guardians)
Series Standing: loss 2-4

June 21: The Cubs fell hard to the Captains 5-10 due to a rough six run ninth inning. It was my favorite day of the week, meaning Ryan Gallagher took the mound and continued to do Ryan Gallagher things. By all accounts it was a rough start for him, as he gave up two home runs and eight hits, but he managed to go for five and ⅔ innings while only allowing three runs and striking out another six batters. That’s now seven consecutive starts where he’s pitched at least five innings and struck out at least six batters. Even with giving up eight hits today, opposing batters are only hitting .214 against him, and he’s tallied up 69 strikeouts to just 14 walks.

Most of the damage came from Grayson Moore, who gave up six runs in the ninth inning thanks to four hits and three walks in just ⅓ innings pitched.

On offense, leadoff man Carter Trice continues to smash the ball, going 3-for-5 with a home run in today's game. It was his ninth homer of the year and he’s raised his OPS to a team leading .903. Fellow rising star Ivan Brethowr made some noise today as well, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

June 22: The Cubs fell again to the Captains today by an identical score of 5-10. Starter Kenten Egbert continues to struggle, getting through just three and ⅔ innings while giving up six hits, three walks, and three earned runs, but he struck out five as well. Most of the damage came from reliever Joe Nahas, who gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits with two home runs in just one and ⅓ innings between the eighth and ninth to put the game out of reach.

The Cubs had some fight in them, putting up five runs in the third inning, but would go shut out the rest of the way. After Rafael Morel scored on a balk, Christian Hernandez delivered a two run homer, driving in Jefferson Rojas, but that would be the last time the Cubs added to the scoreboard.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 24-37
Series Opponent: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros)
Series Standing: Pelicans win series 4-2

June 21: The Pelicans walk off the Woodpeckers 2-1 in the tenth inning of a nail biter. Nazier Mule to the mound for Myrtle Beach and continues to ooze raw talent despite his struggles. He pitched 2 ⅔ innings today, giving up two hits, three walks, and an earned run, but also struck out five batters in the limited innings. Mule continues to be an intriguing arm in the lower level of the minors, and the team will continue to focus on his elite stuff and take the control issues with a grain of salt.

Things were quiet on offense with Eriandys Ramon driving in a run due to a Woodpecker error. The Woodpeckers would tie the game 1-1 with a steal of home base in the third. The only RBI in the game was from Eli Lovich, who continues to make an impact in his first season in Low-A. He walked it off for the Pelicans with a line drive single in the bottom of the tenth.

June 22: The Pelicans took home another nail biter of a win over the Woodpeckers 1-0. It was a quiet game for both teams as the lone run came in the second inning, and the two teams combined for just seven hits and twelve strikeouts. Hayden Frank picked up his second win of the season in today's start, throwing an impressive five innings of one hit ball, giving up just one walk and striking out six. Dominic Hambley and Brayden Spears would each pick up a hold for their three innings of work, and Jackson Kirkpatrick continued to impress, picking up his seventh save and dropping his ERA to 0.84. The 6’7”, 250lb righty has given up a run in just one of his 17 appearances this season.

Once again it was Eli Lovich who drove in the winning run — this time it just happened to be himself. He went long in the second inning, good for his first professional home run of his young career.

 

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• Knoxville Smokies transferred RHP Nolan Clenney to the Development List

• Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Nate Pearson from Iowa Cubs

• South Bend Cubs released RHP Joe Nahas

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