Cubs Minor League Wrap: Smokies blind the Lookouts, 7-2

Vince Reilly was the opener for the Smokies and got tagged for two runs on three hits in the one inning he worked. Reilly struck out one and walked no one.

Nick Dean came out in the second inning, threw four scoreless innings and got the win. Dean allowed just two hits and did not walk anyone. He struck out five.

After Frankie Scalzo Jr. threw two scoreless innings, Luis Martinez-Gomez finished the game with the two-inning save. Martinez-Gomes allowed no runs and no hits. He struck out four and walked two.

Center fielder Alex Ramírez hit a two-run home run in the third inning that put the Smokies up for good. Ramírez had a big game, going 4 for 5 with the home run and three total runs batted in.

Catcher Ariel Armas was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI single in the eighth. He also scored once run.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were flamed by the Dayton Dragons (Reds), 3-0.

Starter Ethan Flanagan made two mistakes that were turned into two solo home runs. Flanagan’s final line was two runs on four hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Kevin Valdez allowed just one unearned run and one hit over three innings of relief. He struck out one and walked one.

South Bend’s bats were silenced by a rehabbing Nick Lodolo for five innings. He allowed two hits, no walks and he struck out seven.

Third baseman Brian Halbach was 2 for 4 with a double.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were swept in a doubleheader by the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros), 6-5 in ten innings in the completion of Sunday’s game and 6-2.

Mason McGwire started game one yesterday before the rains came. His first pitch was smashed over the right field wall. He retired the next six batters he faced, striking out three of them.

The Pelicans led 5-1 when the game was suspended in the middle of the third inning. Hayden Frank started today and tossed four scoreless, giving up just three hits. Frank struck out four, walked one and struck out four.

Things went south when Luis A. Reyes came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and he coughed up the lead, allowing four runs on two hits and two walks. One of those hits was a two-run home run. Reyes struck out two.

Braylon Myers relieved Reyes and retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings. But after the Pelicans failed to score in the top of the tenth, he allowed a leadoff single in the tenth to end the game.

The final line on Myers was one unearned run on one hit. He struck out one.

First baseman Josiah Hartshorn hit a three-run home run in the third inning on Saturday before the rains came. It was his third home run of the season. Hartshorn was 1 for 4 with two runs scored.

Shortstop Alexis Hernandez went 1 for 4 with a walk and two steals. He scored twice.

Hartshorn’s home run in game one.

Some Mason McGwire highlights.

Dominick Reid started game two today and got the loss after surrendering five runs on seven hits over three innings. One of the five runs was unearned. Reid struck out five and walked one.

Shortstop Ty Southisene tripled and scored on a balk in the top of the seventh. He was 1 for 3 and was hit by a pitch.