Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Kepley's Three-Run Blast Powers South Bend to 19th Win in Last 24

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Chicago Cubs Minor League Report - June 10

Affiliate Overview

Triple-A Iowa Cubs
Series at Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds): Cubs lead, 1-0
Season Record: 26–36

Double-A Knoxville Smokies
Series at Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays): Biscuits lead, 1-0
Season Record: 30–27

High-A South Bend Cubs
Series vs. Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals): Cubs lead, 1-0
Season Record: 35–19

Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Series vs. Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves): GreenJackets lead, 1-0
Season Record: 21–35

Affiliate Highlights

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 26–36
Series Opponent: Louisville Bats (33–30)
Series Standing: Lead, 1-0

June 9: The Iowa Cubs opened their series at the Louisville Bats with a 10-2 win on Tuesday at Louisville Slugger Field. The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to an RBI-double from Owen Miller (2-for-5) and a two-run shot from BJ Murray (2-for-5). Iowa pushed its lead to 7-0 with a four-spot in the fourth. Christian Bethancourt (1-for-5) launched a three-run homer and Miller picked up his second RBI of the ballgame with a single. James Triantos slugged the I-Cubs’ third home run of the game, a two-run blast in the fifth, to make it 9-0. The Bats finally stopped the scoring run with two runs in the sixth but Iowa got one of those runs back in the seventh thanks to a solo shot from Jonathan Long (1-for-4). Iowa would hold Louisville scoreless over the final three frames to cruise to the 10-2 victory. Doug Nikhazy got the start for the Cubs but did not factor into the decision. Nikhazy worked four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits to go along with two walks and two strikeouts. Christian Roa picked up his first win of the season thanks to 1 1/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit and whiffing two.

Double-A: Knoxville Smokies

Season Record: 30–27
Series Opponent: Montgomery Biscuits (31–25)
Series Standing: Trail, 1-0

June 9: The Knoxville Smokies dropped their series opener to the Montgomery Biscuits, 6-5, on Tuesday at DABOS Park. The Biscuits took a 4-0 lead in the third but the Smokies were able to halve the deficit with runs in the fourth and fifth. Owen Ayers (2-for-4) launched a solo shot, his 10th of the season, and Hayden Cantrelle (0-for-1) would bring home a run on a sacrifice fly. Carter Trice’s (2-for-4) two-run blast in the sixth tied the game at 4-4 and Ariel Armas’ (2-for-4) RBI-single in the seventh gave Knoxville the lead. The advantage would be short lived as Montgomery instantly scored twice after the stretch to take a 6-5 lead. The Smokies would leave the tying run on second in the eighth and go down in order in the ninth to end the ballgame. Grant Kipp got the start for Knoxville and took no decision. Kipp allowed four runs on five hits over four innings of work, whiffing four batters and walking one. Tony Santana turned in two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit while striking out two.

High-A: South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 35–19
Series Opponent: Peoria Chiefs (30–28)
Series Standing: Lead, 1-0

June 9: The South Bend Cubs continued their winning ways with a 6-3 victory in their series opener vs. the Peoria Chiefs at Four Winds Field. The Cubs took a 4-0 lead in the second thanks to a pair of home runs, first a solo blast from Cole Mathis (1-for-4) and then a three-run shot from Kane Kepley (2-for-2). The Chiefs made it 4-2 with a pair of runs in the fourth but South Bend was able to restore their four-run advantage in the seventh with two runs, thanks to RBI-singles from Matt Halbach (1-for-5) and Leonel Espinoza (1-for-4). Peoria would score once more in the ninth but Alfredo Romero would still go on to earn his fourth save of the season, thanks to three innings of one-run ball, to give the Cubs their 19th win in their last 24 contests. Nazier Mulé got the start for South Bend but took no decision. Mulé allowed two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings of work, striking out six with just one walk issued. Jackson Brockett picked up the win in relief to improve to 4-1 on the season. Brockett tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing just one hit while punching out three.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 21–35
Series Opponent: Augusta GreenJackets (31–27)
Series Standing: Trail, 1-0

June 9: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans dropped their eighth-straight contest as they fell in their series opener to the Augusta GreenJackets, 5-2. Augusta opened the scoring with a run in the fourth and it would take until the seventh for the Pelicans to get on the board. Geuri Lubo (1-for-4) launched a solo-shot to tie the game, his third of the year, and Eli Lovich (1-for-3) gave Myrtle Beach the lead with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Augusta, however, would score four times in the top of the ninth to hand the home team the loss. David Bracho started on the mound for the Pelicans but did not factor into the decision. Bracho tossed four innings on one-run ball, allowing just two hits to go along with six strikeouts and a walk. Daniel Avitia turned in four scoreless frames in relief, allowing five hits while whiffing seven batters and walking two.

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