Cubs Minor League Weekend Recap: Jameson Taillon struggles in Iowa, Myrtle Beach Surges

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of © Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Cubs Affiliate Overview (August 2 – August 3)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series vs. Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates): Loss 2-4
  Season Record: 53-54

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series at Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds): Win 4-1
  Season Record: 48-52

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series vs. Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals): Split  3-3
  Season Record: 40-61

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series at Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays): Win 4-2
  Season Record: 51-48

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 53-54
Series Opponent: Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Series Standing: Loss 2-4

August 2: The Iowa Cubs were taken down by the Indians 5-2. Starter Spencer Turnbull took home his fourth loss of the season despite putting up one of his better performances so far. He went five innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out six batters. Just short of the quality start, but not enough to get it done. Connor Noland came in for long relief and continues to hit his stride as we get deeper into the season as he went four innings of three hit and one run ball.

The Cubs couldn’t get much working on offense in the game, racking up just two runs on four hits. Moises Ballesteros rejoins Iowa from the Major League Club and went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Jonathan Long remains on the squad despite the trade deadline chatter and continues to contribute this season, going 1-for-4 with an RBI of his own.

August 3: The Cubs got smacked in a lopsided 12-4 loss on Sunday. Jameson Taillon made his rehab start as he looks to reinforce a Major League rotation in desperate need of reinforcements. Things did not go well for the reliable veteran as he gave up seven runs on seven hits, including two home runs in just three innings. He managed to avoid giving up a walk but struck out just one. Rehab starts can kind of be like spring training, you never quite know what a pitcher is working on that day—while it can be hard to pass any judgements on the outing, it would’ve been nice to see his arm with a little less rust as he has his sets set on a return to a team making a series playoff push and vying for a divisional title.

Luke Little, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, and Ethan Roberts combined to go give innings of one run ball until things were blown open when Keegan Thompson took the mound in the ninth. He pitched ⅔ of an inning and gave up four runs on five hits and a walk.

The offense didn’t do much to provide any relief for the struggling arms today. They logged 10 hits but struggled to string things together enough to consistently get runs across the plate. Moises Ballesteros did most of the heavy lifting today, going 2-for-2 and driving in three of the teams four runs.

Ben Cowles put up a fight to steal the MVP of the game from Ballesteros, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run of his own.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 48-52
Series Opponent: Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds)
Series Standing: Win 4-1

August 2: The Smokies couldn’t keep their eye on the Lookouts, falling victim to an 11-1 drubbing. Antonio Santos continues to string together quiet quality performances for Knoxville. He went five innings today, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out three. It was his fourth loss of the season (3-4), but he maintains a 2.17 ERA and manages to keep his team in the game each outing. Things quickly went south as relievers took the mound. Evan Taylor gave up three runs on four hits in 1 ⅓ innings while Johzan Oquendo promptly put this game out of reach by giving up four runs of his own in just ⅓ of an inning of work.

The offense mustered up just one run on seven hits. Ben Joyce was the star of the day going 2-for-4 with a run, and Jordan Nwogu gets credit by going 1-for-4 and driving that run in.

August 3: Today’s game was cancelled due to wet grounds.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 40-61
Series Opponent: Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals)
Series Standing: Split 3-3

August 2: South Bend squeaked a narrow victory past the River Bandits today, taking home a 1-0 win in the penultimate game of the series. Evan Aschenbeck hurled a gem, tossing five and ⅓ innings of no run ball. He gave up just two hits and struck out five batters while lowering his ERA to 2.75. Kenten Egbert was equally as impressive in long relief. He picked up the win after pitching 2 ⅔ innings, giving up two hits while striking out three without allowing a run.

The offense was all left fielder Edgar Alvarez—he went 4-for-4 on the day with a double, eight total bases, and an RBI solo home run that would eventually be the winning run.

August 3: The Cubs pick up a 6-2 win over the River Bandits in the series finale to secure a series split. Starter Yenrri Rojas continues to have a great pro season after his promotion from the Cactus League - he went five innings, allowing zero runs on just two hits while striking out seven batters. He continues to perform well as he climbs up the affiliate ladder in his age 21 season and hopes to start the season in A ball or higher next year.

Reginald Preciado led off the scoring with an RBI single in the 2nd inning and finished the day 2-for-3 with a double. Cameron Sisneros tied the game later with an RBI walk in the bottom of the eighth, but it was first baseman Brian Kalmer who tacked on the insurance runs and put the game out of reach late. Kalmer went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run on the day.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 51-48
Series Opponent: Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay Rays)
Series Standing: Win 4-2

August 2: The Pelicans continue their second half surge as they clobber the RiverDogs 19-1. Ethan Flanagan picked up his fifth win of the season and set the Pelicans up for a romp as he pitched five innings of shut out ball - he struck out four batters while only allowing three hits and lowered his season ERA to 0.97. Flanagan is having a great pro debut, flashing some unexpected upside after the Cubs took him in the 17th round of the 2023 draft.

The offense stole the show with seven players recording a multi hit game. Matt Halbach led the way in the four spot by going 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a walk.

Angel Cepeda kept the runs coming by going 2-for-6 with his fifth homer of the season.

It was Derik Alcantara who stole the show today, he went 2-for-5 with three runs and five RBIs thanks to his first career home run. Hard to top a grand slam your first time going yard as a pro.

The Pelicans continue to play a great brand of baseball in the second half. They’ve run away with the division hoping to clinch the second half playoff spot and have catapulted into third for the season standings.

August 3: The Pelicans continue their run of fury with a 9-1 takedown of the RiverDogs. Alfredo Romero continues to get outs and string together quality innings for Myrtle Beach. He went four innings today, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out three batters. It was the relief corps that shined today though, with Charlie Hurley, Dominic Hambley, and Landon Ginn combining for five innings of scoreless ball. Hambley in particular has been a force multiplier for the Pelican bullpen. He’s let up a grand total of two earned runs since May 1st.

The offense stays red hot once again as the team put up nine runs on 12 hits. Matt Halbach continues to hit the cover off of the baseball, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs. Leonel Espinoza and Angel Cepeda keep the ball rolling by adding the slug, each notching a double and RBI on the day.

Alcantara once again made his impact felt as he kept his RBI machine whirring with a 1-for-4, three-RBI day.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• Iowa Cubs released RHP Kenta Maeda

• Chicago Cubs sent RHP Jameson Taillon on a rehab assignment to Iowa Cubs

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