Chicago Cubs Minor League Report (4/23): Iowa Stumped, South Bend Rolls

Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Cubs Transactions

• Colorado Rockies traded 3B Nicky Lopez to Chicago Cubs for cash.

Iowa Cubs Held Scoreless In 1-0 Home Loss

The Iowa Cubs fell 1-0 at home to the Louisville Bats, managing only three hits across nine innings.

Ty Blach took the loss, pitching 5 1/3 innings while allowing five hits, one earned run, one walk, and one strikeout. Starter Jordan Wicks worked 2 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and a walk but keeping Louisville off the board while striking out two. Tyler Beede closed out the game with one inning of scoreless work, striking out two without allowing a hit. 

Louisville scored the game's only run in the top of the sixth. Blach allowed a leadoff single and followed with a walk, before Owen Miller, Pedro Ramírez, and Jonathon Long turned a 6-4-3 double play that moved the lead runner to third base. A two-out double to center field then drove in the run.

Iowa's offense was quiet across the board. Cleanup hitter Dylan Carlson finished 1-for-3 with a walk, Pedro Ramírez went 1-for-3 with a walk, and Brett Bateman added a single and a walk. The team drew four walks, struck out four times, grounded into a double play, and stranded five runners on base. Iowa also committed two errors behind the pitching staff.

Garriola's Two Home Runs Not Enough In Smokies' 6-4 Loss

The Knoxville Smokies dropped a 6-4 home decision to the Chattanooga Lookouts despite a big afternoon from cleanup hitter Andy Garriola, who hit two home runs and drove in three of Knoxville's four runs.

Grant Kipp took the loss after a five-inning start in which he allowed six hits and five earned runs, walking four and striking out seven. A three-run home run in the top of the second and a two-run triple in the third accounted for the bulk of the damage. Frankie Scalzo Jr. followed with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts. Tyler Ras allowed one run over the final two innings.

Knoxville drew first blood in the bottom of the second when Garriola took a pitch out to left-center field for a solo home run. The Smokies then pieced together three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Karson Simas led off with a triple and scored on an Alex Ramírez groundout. With two outs, Owen Ayers singled to right field, and Garriola followed with a two-run homer to left that trimmed the deficit to 5-4.

Garriola finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, and three RBI. Simas added a single, a triple, a run scored, and a pair of strikeouts. Ayers reached base twice with a single, a walk, and a run scored. Knoxville drew four walks, struck out 10 times, and left five runners on base.

Halbach's Three Doubles Lead South Bend To 10-4 Win

The South Bend Cubs cruised to a 10-4 road win over the Dayton Dragons, collecting 11 hits and five doubles while drawing six walks.

Starter Cole Reynolds worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs on five walks with six strikeouts. Nate Williams picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief, surrendering one hit, one earned run, one walk, and a home run while striking out three. JP Wheat followed with two innings in which he gave up two hits, one earned run, and five walks. Adam Stone closed out the final two scoreless innings with a hit, a strikeout, and no walks.

South Bend broke through with three runs in the top of the third. Justin Stransky, Christian Olivo, and leadoff man Kane Kepley drew three consecutive walks to load the bases. Two wild pitches then plated a pair of runs during the next at-bat, and Kade Snell's sacrifice fly brought Kepley home.

The Cubs blew it open with four runs in the top of the fifth. Kepley walked and Cole Mathis singled to put two on. After Snell moved the runners up on a groundout, cleanup man Matt Halbach ripped a two-run double to right field. Cameron Sisneros followed with a double that scored Halbach, Reginald Preciado singled, and Drew Bowser added an RBI single before being thrown out at second. 

Halbach finished 3-for-5 with three doubles, two runs, and two RBI. Sisneros went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. Snell added a solo home run in the top of the ninth and drove in two. Preciado contributed two hits and a walk, and Kepley reached three times with two walks and scored twice. South Bend struck out nine times and left six runners on base.

Brockett's Long Relief Can't Salvage Pelicans' 7-1 Loss

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans fell 7-1 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, managing only three hits and one walk across nine innings.

Starter Kevin Camacho was charged with the loss after a disastrous bottom of the first. He issued four walks and allowed a hit while recording just two outs, giving up four runs, only one earned. A Pelicans error during the frame allowed two additional runners to score. David Bracho took over and worked 2 1/3 innings, giving up three hits, three earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts while allowing a solo home run in the third. Jackson Brockett was the bright spot, tossing five scoreless innings of relief with one hit allowed, one walk, and four strikeouts.

The Pelicans pushed across their only run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Derniche Valdez singled, then moved to third when Edward Vargas reached on a throwing error. Leadoff hitter Ty Southisene followed with a single to center that brought Valdez home.

Valdez finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored. Southisene went 1-for-4 with the team's lone RBI. Josiah Hartshorn drew the team's only walk. The Pelicans struck out 13 times and left four runners on base, and each team committed one error.

Cubs Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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