Cubs MiLB Midweek Report: Cepeda Ignites Pelicans, Kalmer Walks Off Again, Iowa Bounces Back

[Travis Klosinski]

Image courtesy of © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Farm System at a Glance

Iowa Cubs: 1–1 vs. Sugar Land | Season: 59–62
Knoxville Smokies: 0–2 vs. Montgomery | Season: 55–59
South Bend Cubs: 1–1 vs. Cedar Rapids | Season: 50–65
Myrtle Beach Pelicans: 2–0 vs. Charleston | Season: 34–14 (59–53 overall)

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Iowa Cubs

August 19 – Sugar Land 4, Iowa 3
Antonio Santos was charged with the loss despite yielding just two earned runs in five innings, striking out six. The I-Cubs fell behind early on a Pedro León homer and couldn’t fully recover despite late offense. James Triantos collected two hits, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. Carlos Pérez drove in a run with a double, while Kevin Alcántara also notched a multi-hit night.

August 20 – Iowa 5, Sugar Land 0
Keegan Thompson fired two scoreless innings of relief for the win in a combined shutout, and the bats broke through in the eighth with five runs. James Triantos doubled in the go-ahead run before Jonathon Long and Carlos Pérez followed with run-scoring doubles of their own. Moisés Ballesteros added a single and reached twice. The victory gave Iowa a split across the two days.

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Knoxville Smokies

August 19 – Montgomery 5, Knoxville 2
The Smokies managed just two runs in the loss. Ethan Hearn supplied the big swing with his sixth home run of the year, while Brett Bateman went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Starter Chase Watkins pitched four innings, allowing two unearned runs.

August 20 – Montgomery 4, Knoxville 1
Knoxville couldn’t solve Montgomery’s pitching in a 4–1 defeat. Walker Powell kept the game close with three runs allowed in five innings, but the Biscuits scratched across runs in the third and fifth and tacked on insurance late. Pedro Ramirez doubled in the ninth to score Bateman for the Smokies’ lone run. Jefferson Rojas finished hitless, though he contributed defensively.

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South Bend Cubs

August 19 – South Bend 3, Cedar Rapids 2
Connor Schultz struck out six over 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a pitchers’ duel. Ariel Armas extended his hit streak to six with an RBI double, and Brian Kalmer capped the night with a sacrifice fly to right that plated the winning run in walk-off fashion.

August 20 – Cedar Rapids 6, South Bend 4
South Bend built an early 3–0 cushion on Alexis Hernandez’s two-run double in his first Four Winds Field at-bat. Kevin Valdez cruised through five innings before defensive miscues and a bases-loaded single from Poncho Ruiz flipped the game in the sixth. On rehab assignment, veteran reliever Eli Morgan worked a clean seventh. Cristian Hernandez doubled home a run in the eighth, but the Kernels held on.

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Myrtle Beach Pelicans

August 19 – Myrtle Beach 8, Charleston 2
The Pelicans strung together a decisive fourth inning, scoring three runs on RBIs from Cepeda, Christian Olivo, and Ty Southisene. Cepeda later crushed a three-run homer in the seventh, finishing 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Eli Lovich tripled and drove in a run, while Victor Zarraga earned the win in relief.

August 20 – Myrtle Beach 8, Charleston 7 (11 innings)
Cepeda delivered again, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, while Dilan Granadillo launched his first homer of the season. Charleston briefly took a 7–5 lead in the 10th, but the Pelicans rallied with two outs as Cepeda doubled home a run and Granadillo tied it. In the 11th, Ty Southisene’s grounder plated Jose Escobar for the walk-off. Mathew Peters earned the win with a scoreless frame, while Escobar contributed three hits.

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