Chicago Cubs Minor League Recap: Farm Goes Four-For-Four On A Pitching-Rich Night

[Travis Klosinski]

Chicago Cubs Transactions

• Chicago Cubs signed free agent LHP Ty Blach to a minor league contract.

Ty Blach And Bullpen Blank Indianapolis As Iowa Wins 1-0

Iowa scored the game's only run in the top of the first inning and then leaned on its pitching staff to hold off the host Indianapolis Indians, 1-0.

With one out, Jonathon Long singled and BJ Murray followed with a single to push Long to third. Owen Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Long came home on a wild pitch for the lone run. Iowa managed five hits, played errorless defense, and stranded eight runners, but it never needed more offense. Long led the lineup with two hits and a run scored, Christian Bethancourt added two hits, including a double, and Murray reached twice on a single and a walk.

Ty Blach set the tone, allowing two hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings while walking three and striking out six. The bullpen finished the shutout in order. 

Gavin Hollowell struck out two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Collin Snider worked a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and Christian Roa closed with two scoreless innings, one hit allowed, and three strikeouts. Roa retired the side in both the eighth and the ninth to finish the combined three-hitter, and the four Iowa arms together allowed three hits and struck out 12 while issuing just three walks.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
James Triantos	4	0	0	0	0	1
Jonathon Long	4	1	2	0	0	1
BJ Murray	3	0	1	0	1	1
Owen Miller	3	0	0	0	0	2
Chas McCormick	4	0	0	0	0	3
Ben Cowles	3	0	0	0	1	1
Christian Bethancourt	4	0	2	0	0	0
Scott Kingery	3	0	0	0	1	0
Brett Bateman	2	0	0	0	2	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Ty Blach	4 2/3	2	0	0	3	6	0
Gavin Hollowell	1 1/3	0	0	0	0	2	0
Collin Snider	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Christian Roa	2	1	0	0	0	3	0

Carter Trice's Tenth-Inning Single Lifts Knoxville Past Chattanooga 5-4

Knoxville and the host Chattanooga Lookouts traded the lead through regulation before the Smokies pulled out a 5-4 win in 10 innings.

The decisive run came in the top of the tenth, when zombie runner Andy Garriola scored on a leadoff single from Carter Trice. Marino Santy then worked a scoreless bottom of the tenth, striking out two, to seal it. Knoxville had built its earlier cushion in the sixth. Cameron Sisneros singled home Jefferson Rojas to break a 1-1 tie (his first AA hit of his career), and Devin Ortiz followed with an RBI single, aided by a throwing error, to make it 3-1.

The Lookouts answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and a solo shot in the seventh to even the score again. Trice finished 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, including a solo blast in the second inning.

Owen Ayers homered, drew two walks, and scored a run.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Alex Ramírez	5	0	2	0	0	1
Owen Ayers	2	1	1	1	2	0
Jefferson Rojas	5	1	1	0	0	2
Andy Garriola	5	1	0	0	0	0
Carter Trice	5	1	2	2	0	1
Cameron Sisneros	3	1	1	1	1	1
Hayden Cantrelle	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ariel Armas	4	0	1	0	0	1
Devin Ortiz	5	0	1	0	0	2
Alex Madera	4	0	1	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Grant Kipp	5	4	1	1	0	8	0
Jace Beck	2	6	3	3	0	2	2
Vince Reilly	2	1	0	0	0	4	0
Marino Santy	1	0	0	0	0	2	0

Josiah Hartshorn Drives In Five As South Bend Routs Fort Wayne 13-5

South Bend pounded out 15 hits and pulled away from the Fort Wayne TinCaps for a 13-5 win. The home team broke through in the first when Leonel Espinoza tripled home Ty Southisene and Josiah Hartshorn for a 2-0 lead, then blew the game open with a five-run third inning.

That third inning began with a Hartshorn sacrifice fly that scored Kane Kepley. Espinoza followed with an RBI single, Dilan Granadillo drew a bases-loaded walk, and Christian Olivo capped the rally with a two-run single, pushing the lead to 7-1.

South Bend tacked on two more in the fourth on a Hartshorn single and four runs in the fifth, the last two coming on Hartshorn's home run. Hartshorn finished 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs, and five RBI. 

Southisene also went 3-for-4 and scored four times, while Espinoza added three hits, a triple, and three RBI. Kepley, batting leadoff, had two hits, two runs, and an RBI, and Olivo chipped in two hits and two RBI. South Bend left just four runners on base. Kevin Valdez covered the most ground on the mound, allowing one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings with two walks and two strikeouts. The bullpen was mostly steady, though Fort Wayne pushed across four runs in the eighth. Kenten Egbert recorded the final outs, working 1 1/3 innings and allowing no runs while striking out two.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Kane Kepley	4	2	2	1	0	1
Ty Southisene	4	4	3	0	0	0
Josiah Hartshorn	4	2	3	5	0	1
Matt Halbach	4	1	1	0	1	1
Leonel Espinoza	5	1	3	3	0	0
Miguel Useche	4	1	1	0	0	1
Drew Bowser	4	0	0	0	0	2
Dilan Granadillo	2	1	0	1	2	0
Christian Olivo	4	1	2	2	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Kevin Valdez	4 1/3	5	1	1	2	2	0
Kenyi Perez	1 2/3	0	0	0	1	3	0
JP Wheat	1	0	0	0	2	0	0
Ben Johnson	2/3	0	4	2	3	0	0
Kenten Egbert	1 1/3	1	0	0	3	2	0

Logan Poteet's Three-Run Homer Powers Myrtle Beach Over Wilson 6-2

Myrtle Beach used a three-run fifth inning to break open a tight game and beat the Wilson Warbirds, 6-2. After Yahil Melendez's RBI single in the fourth put the Pelicans ahead 1-0, Wilson tied it in the top of the fifth.

Myrtle Beach answered immediately in the bottom half, when Logan Poteet launched a three-run homer to make it 4-1. 

The Pelicans added two insurance runs in the seventh. Michael Carico and Poteet came around to score on a two-run single by Derniche Valdez, stretching the lead to 6-2.

Poteet led the offense, going 2-for-2 with a double, the home run, three RBI, two runs, and two walks. Valdez added two hits, a double, and two RBI. Carico reached base four times on a hit and three walks and scored twice, and Melendez drove in a run. Alexey Lumpuy and Darlyn De Leon each chipped in a hit, and Myrtle Beach drew eight walks as a team to keep the pressure on.

Dominick Reid was excellent in the start, striking out nine over five innings while allowing one run on two hits and two walks.

Daniel Avitia closed it out with three scoreless innings, giving up two hits, walking three, and striking out two. Myrtle Beach stranded seven runners.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Alexey Lumpuy	5	1	1	0	0	1
Alexis Hernandez	3	0	0	0	1	1
Michael Carico	1	2	1	0	3	0
Logan Poteet	2	2	2	3	2	0
Eli Lovich	3	0	0	0	1	1
Derniche Valdez	4	1	2	2	0	1
Yahil Melendez	3	0	1	1	1	1
Darlyn De Leon	4	0	1	0	0	2
Edward Vargas	4	0	0	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Dominick Reid	5	2	1	1	2	9	0
Henry Cone	1	1	1	1	1	1	0
Daniel Avitia	3	2	0	0	3	2	0

Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Jefferson Rojas: 1-for-5, 2 K
2. Jaxon Wiggins: DNP
3. Pedro Ramirez: DNP
4. Kevin Alcantara: DNP
5. Josiah Hartshorn: 3-for-4, HR, 1 K
6. Ethan Conrad: DNP
7. Kane Kepley: 2-for-4, 1 K
8. Jonathon Long: 2-for-4, 1 K
9. James Triantos: 0-for-4, 1 K
10. Cole Mathis: DNP
11. Owen Ayers: 1-for-2, HR
12. Brooks Caple: DNP
13. Juan Cabada: DNP
14. Kaleb Wing: DNP
15. Angel Cepeda: DNP
16. Dominick Reid: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
17. Jostin Florentino: DNP
18. Ty Southisene: 3-for-4
19. Will Sanders: DNP
20. Brandon Birdsell: DNP

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