Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Halbach, Wing Lead Mixed Night Across Farm System

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Iowa Cubs Blanked By Indianapolis Despite Assad's Strong Start

Iowa was shut out 3-0 at Indianapolis, stranding 12 runners on base despite collecting seven hits and drawing six walks. The Cubs went without an RBI on the night.

Javier Assad turned in the start of the night, working 4 1/3 innings while allowing four hits, one earned run, and one walk with five strikeouts on 78 pitches. Assad retired the first batter of the fifth before walking Shawn Ross and being lifted with one out and a runner aboard. 

Luis Peralta entered and allowed Assad's runner to score on a single, then surrendered a two-run home run that broke the game open and accounted for all of Indianapolis's offense. Peralta finished with 1 1/3 innings, two hits, two earned runs, one walk, three strikeouts, and the lone home run allowed by Iowa pitching. Tyler Ferguson followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Corbin Martin added one scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

BJ Murray led the offense with a 2-for-3 effort and a walk. Owen Miller drew two walks. Justin Dean added two walks and a stolen base. James Triantos, Brett Bateman, Jonathon Long, Ben Cowles, and Eric Yang each added a base hit.

Smokies Drop One-Run Decision To Chattanooga

Knoxville fell 3-2 at Chattanooga, leaving 15 runners on base despite reaching base 12 times via eight hits and four walks.

Connor Schultz delivered five strong innings as the starter, allowing two earned runs on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. He left with the game tied 2-2.

The Smokies struck first in the top of the first. Alex Ramírez led off with a double, then Jefferson Rojas singled to put runners on the corners. Ramírez scored on a throwing error during the play, and Rojas advanced to second on the same miscue. 

Rojas stole third and later scored on another defensive lapse during Ethan Hearn's at-bat. Both Knoxville runs were unearned. Chattanooga answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half on a two-run double, tying the score at 2-2.

Nick Dean took the loss after a rough sixth inning. He retired the first batter, then surrendered two singles and walked two consecutive hitters, the second of which forced in the eventual winning run. Dean finished with two innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks, and two strikeouts. Evan Taylor closed with one scoreless inning, one walk, and one strikeout.

Ramírez led the offense at 3-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases. Rojas added a hit, a stolen base, and a run scored. Cameron Sisneros, Alex Madera, Carter Trice, and Ethan Hearn each picked up a hit.

Halbach's Bases-Clearing Double Lifts South Bend Past Fort Wayne

South Bend rallied from a 2-0 hole with four runs in the bottom of the fifth and never looked back, beating the Fort Wayne TinCaps 6-3.

Starter Cole Reynolds turned in five innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and striking out five. The damage came on solo home runs in the second and the fifth, accounting for both runs charged to his line.

The decisive frame came in the bottom of the fifth. Justin Stransky was hit by a pitch, and after a fly-out, leadoff hitter Kane Kepley, Ty Southisene, and Josiah Hartshorn drew consecutive walks, the third of which forced in Stransky to put the Cubs on the board. Matt Halbach then cleared the bases with a double to left, scoring Kepley, Southisene, and Hartshorn to push South Bend ahead 4-2. 

The Cubs added a run in the sixth when Miguel Useche singled and later scored on Kepley's triple to right, and Useche tacked on a solo home run in the eighth. 

Adam Stone followed with three innings, allowing one earned run on a solo home run with three strikeouts. Ethan Bell closed with a scoreless ninth.

Kepley finished 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, a run, an RBI, and a stolen base. Useche went 2-for-4 with the home run, two runs, and an RBI. Halbach added the three-RBI double, and Hartshorn drew two walks and scored.

Pelicans Drop Tight Ninth-Inning Decision To Wilson

Myrtle Beach gave up the lead late and fell 4-3 to the Wilson Warbirds, falling just short despite a Logan Poteet home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Kaleb Wing started and tossed three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Edwardo Melendez followed with four innings of work, giving up two earned runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts, including the two runs that tied the game in the seventh on a two-run double. Jordan Henriquez surrendered the go-ahead and insurance runs across his two innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Eli Lovich opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with a solo home run to right center, and the Pelicans extended their lead in the fifth when Derniche Valdez came around to score on a fielder's choice and a Wilson throwing error, an unearned run. 

Wilson tied it 2-2 with the two-run double in the seventh and took the lead in the eighth on a run-scoring double off Henriquez. The Warbirds added an insurance run in the ninth when Henriquez induced a fielder's choice and a Pelicans throwing error allowed a run to come home.

Poteet led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to right center to make it 4-3, but Myrtle Beach could not push the tying run across. Valdez finished 2-for-4. Lovich and Poteet both went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI.

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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