Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Alcántara, Ayers, Mathis Power Affiliates to Series Leads

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Cubs Affiliate Overview (April 14–16)

Triple-A Iowa Cubs
Series at Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians): Cubs lead 2–1
Season Record: 10–7

Double-A Knoxville Smokies
Series at Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Miami Marlins): Smokies lead 2–1
Season Record: 7–5

High-A South Bend Cubs
Series vs. Beloit Sky Carp (Miami Marlins): Lead 3–0
Season Record: 7–2

Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Series vs. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox): Pelicans lead 2–1
Season Record: 7–5

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Triple-A: Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 10–7
Series Opponent: Columbus Clippers (9–9)
Series Standing: Lead 2–1

April 14: The Iowa Cubs opened their series at the Columbus Clippers with an 8-1 victory. Connor Noland earned his first win of the season, tossing 5.0 innings on one-run ball, allowing just five hits to go along with six strikeouts and no walks. The Clippers jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the opening frame but the Cubs would take the lead for good in the second when James Triantos scored on a wild pitch. The I-Cubs would break the game open with five runs in the fifth, thanks to a two-run single from Pedro Ramírez and a two-run smash from Kevin Alcántara. The duo each went 2-for-5 in the contest with Alcántara’s home run marking his seventh of the campaign. The Iowa bullpen would turn in four scoreless frames as the staff as a whole would go on to register 10 strikeouts.

April 15: The Cubs suffered a 9-4 defeat to the Clippers in the second game of the series. Iowa would jump out to a 3-0 lead in the second after a Justin Dean (1-for-5) double with two outs and would extend the lead to 4-0 with a run in the fourth but Columbus would score the next nine runs in the ballgame to earn the victory. Paul Campbell, making his organization debut in the start, allowed two runs over 4.0 innings of work, whiffing four batters and issuing no walks.

April 16: The Cubs re-took the series lead with an 11-10 victory in extra innings over the Clippers. Iowa took a 5-0 lead after two, with Pedro Ramírez (4-for-6) driving in three of those runs, two of which coming on his fifth long ball of the year in the second. After Columbus got three runs back in their half of the second, Iowa plated two more in the third to make it 7-3. The Clippers would rally to cut the lead to 8-7 in the eighth and would send the game to extras with a run in the ninth. Ben Cowles (2-for-4) gave the I-Cubs the lead in the 10th with a sacrifice fly and Brett Bateman (2-for-5) and Ramírez each had RBI-singles to give Iowa an 11-8 edge. Columbus scored twice in the 10th but Iowa would hold on for the win.

Double-A: Knoxville Smokies

Season Record: 7–5
Series Opponent: Pensacola Blue Wahoos (3–8)
Series Standing: Lead 2–1

April 14: The Knoxville Smokies opened their series at the Pensacola Blue Wahoos with a 5-1 defeat. The Smokies were held to just four hits in the ballgame, two of which came off the bat of Jordan Nwogu (2-for-3). Nwogu drove in Knoxville’s only run with his RBI-single in the third. Tyler Schlaffer took the loss on the mound in the start, allowing four runs on two hits over 2.0 innings of work, striking out two and walking three. Luis Rujano worked 2 2/3 scoreless frames out of the bullpen, picking up one strikeout.

April 15: The Smokies bounced back on Wednesday with an 8-0 shutout victory over the Blue Wahoos. Four Knoxville pitchers combined to blank Pensacola, with Jace Beck claiming the victory in relief after spinning 2 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six. The Smokies scored four times in the second, thanks to Ethan Hearn’s (2-for-4) two-run double and Alex Ramirez’ two-run single. Miguel Useche (1-for-1) launched his first homer of the year in the ninth as a pinch hitter.

April 16: Knoxville claimed their first lead of the series with a 10-9 comeback victory over Pensacola. The Smokies took a 2-0 lead in the second through a solo shot from Edgar Alvarez (1-for-2) and an RBI-double from Andy Garriola (2-for-3) but the Blue Wahoos responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame to take the lead. The hosts would add five more runs in the fifth to push their lead to 8-2. Knoxville would bring the contest level with six runs in the eighth, scoring two runs on wild pitches to begin the rally before drawing a bases-loaded walk to plate its third run of the inning. Alex Ramírez (1-for-4) would earn an RBI with a sacrifice fly followed by an RBI-single from Jordan Nwogu (1-for-6). Karson Simas (1-for-5) gave the Smokies the lead with an RBI-groundout. After the dramatic rally, the Blue Wahoos would score in eighth to re-claim their advantage but Knoxville rallied again with two in the ninth, with Ramirez driving in the go-ahead and tying runs with a base hit. Vince Reilly picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth to give the Smokies the win.

High-A: South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 7–2
Series Opponent: Beloit Sky Carp (4–7)
Series Standing: Lead 3–0

April 14: The South Bend Cubs earned their fourth-straight victory with a 5-1 victory over the Beloit Sky Carp in the series opener. Owen Ayers (2-for-4) slugged a two-run shot in the first, his third of the year, that would give the Cubs the lead for good in the ballgame. Brooks Caple improved to 2-0 on the season thanks to 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, firing nine strikeouts while dealing no walks. After Beloit cut the lead to one in the sixth, South Bend added two more runs in the bottom half of the frame to restore its cushion. The Cubs added one more run in the seventh and cruised to a 5-1 win. The South Bend pitching staff limited Beloit to just two hits in the contest, racking up 13 punchouts.

April 15: The Cubs pushed their winning streak to five games with a 9-5 win over the Sky Carp on Wednesday. Beloit would take a 3-0 before South Bend stepped to the plate but the hosts hit back with two runs in the inning, thanks to an RBI-triple from Leonel Espinoza (1-for-4) and a Kade Snell (1-for-4) RBI-groundout. The Cubs would take a 4-3 lead after runs in the second and third but the visitors grabbed the lead right back after scoring twice in the top of the fourth. South Bend would take the lead for good after plating two runs in the home half of the fourth on Snell’s two-run single. Snell would pick up his fourth RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Ayers would go deep again in the eighth to make it 9-5 Cubs. Ethan Bell picked up the win in relief, blanking the Sky Carp over 1 2/3 frames, while Ethan Flanagan earned a save by tossing four shutout innings to close the game, whiffing seven batters.

April 16: South Bend continued its torrid start to the season with a 7-5 triumph over Beloit to claim at least a series split and push its winning streak to six games. The Cubs used a four-run outburst in the third to take control of the game, with Reginald Preciado (1-for-4) and Justin Stransky (1-for-4) each picking up run-scoring hits in the inning.After the Sky Carp clawed one back in the fourth, Iowa hit back with two more runs thanks to Owen Ayer’s (2-for-5) two-run blast. Nazier Mulé took no decision in the start, allowing one run on four hits over 3 1/3 innings of work, striking out four. Brayden Spears picked up the win in relief to improve to 1-0 on the season and Kenyi Perez worked two scoreless frames to close out the contest and earn his first save of the season.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 7–5
Series Opponent: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (3–9)
Series Standing: Lead 2–1

April 14: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans opened their series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers with a 4-0 shutout victory to snap a four-game losing skid. Hayden Frank worked four scoreless frames in his start, striking out three. Mason McGwire earned the win in relief after twirling three shutout innings, whiffing five batters. Cole Mathis (1-for-4) slugged a three-run shot in the third, his fourth of the season and Alexey Lumpuy picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

April 15: The Pelicans took a 2-0 series advantage with a 5-4 walk-off victory in 10 innings over the Cannon Ballers. Myrtle Beach took a 2-0 lead its first time to the plate thanks to a two-run blast with Cole Mathis (4-for-5) his fifth of the season. After Kannapolis evened the ballgame with two in the third, the Pelicans grabbed those runs right back with two more runs, thanks to another two-run shot from Mathis. The Cannon Ballers would score a run in each the fourth and eighth innings, tying the game at 4-4. The Pelicans would keep Kannapolis off the board in the 10th and Jose Escobar’s (3-for-4) RBI-single in the home half of the frame delivered the win.

April 16: Myrtle Beach had its brief two-game winning streak snapped with a 9-4 defeat to Kannapolis. The Pelicans were held to just four hits and were led at the plate offensively by Josiah Hartshorn, who went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Noah Edders took the defeat in his start, allowing one run over three innings of work, striking out five while issuing just one walk.

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