
Pelicans Pitchers Turn Up the Heat at Riverview Park
Kevonte Mitchell walloped a two-run HR (off Brailyn Marquez), D. J. Wilson singled twice, doubled, walked, stole two bases, and scored two runs, and SP Paul Richan hurled six innings of shutout ball with nine stikeouts (also 6/2 GO/AO, all three hits he allowed were singles, he issued no walks, and he threw 80% strikes) and combined with five relievers to fan 20, helping the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs Hi-A affiliate) cruise past the South Bend Cubs (Lo-A affiliate of the Cubs) 6-1 in Minor League Camp Spring Training game action Friday night on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ.
The game was pre-planned as an eleven inning contest so that all of the pitchers who needed to throw could get their work, and while the twenty strikeouts racked up by Myrtle Beach pitchers was certainly aided by playing two additional innings, Pelicans pitchers did punch-out 16 SB-Cubs hitters through nine innings.
Also, three of the pitchers who threw for Myrtle Beach (Ian Clarkin, Jordan Minch, and Wyatt Short) were actually Tennessee relievers who needed work (the Minch FB was sitting 94-95 and touched 97, BTW), and another (LHP Ryan Lawlor) was recently moved-down to South Bend from Myrtle Beach but (like the Tennessee trio) he needed work and the South Bend bullpen dance card was full.
As is typical this time of year, several players from the Eugene/Mesa squad (Vicens, K. Moreno, L. Diaz, O. Nunez, Hurd, Zardon, and Daniel) served as late-inning replacements for the MB and SB starters, and the ones who played for South Bend combined to go 1-7 with six strikeouts (which also contributed to the prodigious Pelicans pitchers' strikeout total).
In Minor League Camp news, OF Brandon Hughes (Cubs 2017 16th round draft pick - Michigan State) is being converted to a LHP. Hughes is the second Cubs outfielder to be converted to pitcher this month (Jamie Galazin was the other one). Like Galazin, Hughes does have some prior experience as a pitcher in college (he appeared in seven games as a reliever in his freshman season at MSU).
Here is the box score from the game:
Recent comments
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:09 pm (view)
Candelario back at 3B and Canario is DH.
crunch 09/30/2023 - 09:47 pm (view)
morel gets 2nd…nico sitting
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:03 pm (view)
Hopefully, Jordan Wicks won’t be 2024’s Keegan Thompson. Similarly, hope KT is the 2022 version of himself.
George Altman 09/30/2023 - 09:27 am (view)
100% Agree, Crunch.
Now on to the Hot Stove season where I hope Ricketts can be convinced they need (and will have to spend whatever $$$ this becomes) on the following:
SP2 or SP3
Bellinger or comparable LH bat who can play 1B or CF.
A 3B (preferably LH bat)
At least 2, if not 3 RPs better than Fulmer.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/30/2023 - 09:09 am (view)
Totally, I was not expecting to watch meaningful baseball the final two months of the season, let alone the final week.
Cubster 09/30/2023 - 09:51 am (view)
This week’s collapse reminds me of the last week in the 2004 Season with Sosa-Alou. That team was expected to win, this team not so much. We’ll always have July-August 2023, that was fun. Thanks Crunch, your commentary has been a highlight too.
crunch 09/30/2023 - 09:59 am (view)
it is highly likely they're done. even doing very well by normal standards would most likely end in a tie, which means they don't make the post-season. they're still in it on paper, not on vegas odds.
in all seriousness...i'll take the 2 extra months of baseball that mattered. 160+ games mattered this year and it was worth tuning in to watch.
i feel like i should be a little more disappointed, but in the weeks coming into the trade deadline i strongly assumed they were already sellers and the season was pretty much chalked up to dead. the run they made up to the point where the upper management decided to go all-in was fun.
my only armchair GM regret is only adding a mid-level pen arm like cuas at the trade deadline. oddly, that cuas trade seems like one they would be looking to make whether they were going for a post-season run or not. they didn't seem to want to make room for velazquez.
long story short, it's been a fun ride and i'm glad i took it. it would be damn nice if we could get a little bit more fairy tale magic.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/29/2023 - 09:17 pm (view)
They’re done. They’ve been done since that disaster of a road trip to Colorado and Arizona, with the Arizona and Pittsburgh home series bookending it.
Pour one out for the 23 Cubs. A fun ride for a good portion of the year, much more fun than I’d anticipated.
crunch 09/29/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)
cubs lose, marlins win, reds win...
cubs have a 6-14 record since the early september sweep of SF. 6 of the 14 losses are 1-run losses.
still technically in it...looking very unlikely, though.
crunch 09/29/2023 - 09:17 pm (view)
morel out here channeling baez and taking extra bases twice in this game...and getting away with it...double and triple.