Chicago Cubs Minor League Report: Kevin Alcántara Sets I-Cubs On-Base Record in 7-3 Win

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Triple-A Iowa Cubs
Series at Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves): Stripers win, 4-2
Season Record: 43–56-1

Double-A Knoxville Smokies
Series at Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels): Tied, 3-3
Season Record: 52–44

High-A South Bend Cubs
Series vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers): Cubs win, 5-1
Season Record: 56–36

Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Series at Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers): Crawdads win, 4-2
Season Record: 38–56

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 43–56-1
Series Opponent: Gwinnett Stripers (52-48)
Series Standing: Lose, 4-2

July 26: The Iowa Cubs closed out their series at the Gwinnett Stripers with a 7-3 win on Sunday at Gwinnett Field. Moisés Ballesteros (1-for-5) launched a two-run shot in the first, his second of the season, and Kevin Alcántara (0-for-3) made it 3-0 in the opening frame with a sacrifice fly three batters later. The Stripers pulled one of those runs back in their first trip to the plate but an RBI-single from Brett Bateman (3-for-4) and an RBI-double from Jonathan Long (2-for-5) in the fourth made it 5-1. Another RBI-double from Long in the sixth made it 6-1 and Owen Ayers (3-for-4) extended the lead further with an RBI-single in the seventh. Gwinnett would score twice after the stretch to make it 7-3 but Zac Leigh and Collin Snider each tossed a scoreless inning in relief to end the game. Grant Kipp got the start on the mound for Iowa and earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the season. Kipp allowed one run on four hits to go along with three walks and two strikeouts. Ayers’ three-hit game was his second such performance in his first eight Triple-A contests and he now has four total multi-hit games during that span. Alcántara drew a walk in the ninth, which extended his on-base streak to an I-Cubs record 36 games.

Double-A: Knoxville Smokies

Season Record: 52–44
Series Opponent: Rocket City Trash Pandas (48–47)
Series Standing: Tied, 3-3

July 26: The Knoxville Smokies earned a series split with a 6-5 victory, in extra innings, over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Sunday at Toyota Field. Ariel Armas’ (1-for-3) solo blast in the second opened the scoring in the ballgame before the Trash Pandas rallied for a pair of runs in the fourth to grab the lead. Carter Trice (1-for-4) made it 2-2 in the sixth with an RBI-single and Edgar Alvarez (2-for-4) would give Knoxville the lead later in the frame with a two-run double. Rocket City scored twice in the eighth and neither team was able to break the deadlock in the ninth, sending the ballgame to extras. In the 10th, Jefferson Rojas (2-for-5) crushed a two-run shot with two outs, his 15th of the season, to give the Smokies a 6-4 lead. The Trash Pandas would score in their trip to the plate in the 10th but Jacob Wallace was able to strand a pair of runners to earn his first save of the year. Kevin Valdez got the start on the mound for Knoxville and took no decision. Valdez allowed two runs on three hits over five innings of work, walked one and struck out four.

High-A: South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 56–36
Series Opponent: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (49–42)
Series Standing: Win, 5-1

July 26: The South Bend Cubs earned an 8-3 victory in their series finale vs. the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday at Four Winds Field. Angel Cepeda’s (2-for-4) RBI-single in the first would put the Cubs in front and the home team would later make it 3-0 in the third thanks to an RBI-double from Josiah Hartshorn (2-for-4) and another run-scoring single from Cepeda. The Timber Rattlers would rally for three runs in the sixth to tie the contest but South Bend answered with a three-spot of its own in the home half of the frame. Michael Hallquist (1-for-3) doubled home a pair of runs and Justin Stransky (2-for-4) made it 6-3 with a run-scoring single. Stransky would then put the game out of reach in the eighth with a two-run homer, his fifth of the season, helping the Cubs to their seventh win in their last nine games. Pierce Coppola got the start on the mound for South Bend and took no decision. Coppola spun five scoreless frames, allowing just two hits while walking one and striking out four. After allowing six runs in his High-A debut, Coppola has now thrown eight-straight scoreless innings in his last two outings.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 38–56
Series Opponent: Hickory Crawdads (55–38)
Series Standing: Lose, 4-2

July 26: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans split their doubleheader at the Hickory Crawdads on Sunday, winning the opener, 4-1, before falling in the second game, 9-2.

Game 1: The Pelicans claimed a 4-1 victory to open the twin bill, thanks to five innings of scoreless baseball from starter Riely Hunsaker, who picked up the win to improve to 3-2 on the season. Hunsaker allowed just two hits, struck out seven batters and issued just one walk. Derik Alcantara (1-for-3) gave Myrtle Beach a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI-single. That score would hold until the seventh, where the Pelicans scored some much needed insurance runs to go up 4-0. Fernando Cruz (1-for-3) launched the first home run of his professional career, a solo shot, and Edward Vargas (1-for-3) also went yard, his homer a two-run blast. Hickory would score once in the ninth but Anhuar Garcia was able to shut down the rally and earn his first save of the season.

Game 2: Myrtle Beach dropped the second game of the doubleheader to Hickory, 9-2, splitting the two games on Sunday. The Pelicans split both doubleheaders against the Crawdads during this series. Derniche Valdez (0-for-2) put Myrtle Beach in front in the first with a sacrifice fly but Hickory would eventually plate six in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Geuri Lubo (1-for-3) hit a solo home run in the seventh, his sixth of the season, as a consolation run in the final inning of the game. Pelicans starter Jordan Henriquez took the loss in the start, falling to 2-4 on the year. Henriquez allowed five runs, three earned, over 2 1/3 innings of work to go along with one walk and one strikeout.

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