The Cubs did not just have good pitching in the minor league playoffs last night. They had great pitching. If you were not listening in to either Daytona or Boise you missed out on two beautifully pitched games. In Boise two pitchers combined on a three hit shutout, and in Daytona the Cubs gave up just a single meaningless run in the ninth while striking out a dozen.
And we might see the same thing again today. There is no weak link in that Daytona rotation, and Boise sends another of the Cubs’ more promising young arms to the mound. Both teams could clinch their best of three series by the end of the day.
Scores From Yesterday
Tennessee – The Southern League playoffs begin on Thursday.
Daytona – The Cubs broke this one open with a big sixth inning. They went on to win 6-1.
Boise – Boise broke out of their slump with a nice combination of good pitching and plenty of hits. They won Game One 3-0.
Performances of Note
[Daytona] Corey Black gave up 5 hits over 5 innings and struck out 7 in the process. Frank Del Valle (2 IP) and Austin Reed (1 IP) put up zeroes in relief. Lendy Castillo gave up the meaningless tally in the ninth, but struck out a pair as well.
[Daytona] The Cubs had just 6 hits in this game, and Kris Bryant was only batter to pick up more than one of them. Bryant finish 2 for 3 with a walk and a 2 RBIs.
[Daytona] The only extra base hit for the Cubs came from Pin-Chieh Chen. The leadoff hitter walked in addition to his double.
[Boise] Paul Blackburn pitched the best game of his professional career. Over 7 innings, the young starter, who has had some control issues this season, allowed just 2 hits, walked no one, and struck out 8. It doesn’t get much better than that. [Brett: Wow. Kid must be a gamer.]
[Boise] As a team the Hawks pounded out 11 hits, and the top of the order accounted for most of them. Kevin Encarnacion was in the leadoff slot for this game, and he responded by going 3 for 4 with a double. Daniel Lockhart hit second and doubled in his 2 for 4 game. Yasiel Balaguert, the three hitter, was a perfect 3 for 3.
Other News
Daytona goes for the series win tonight in Dunedin at 6:30 PM, but they’ll have to beat one of the Blue Jays best pitching prospects to get that win. Dunedin is sending Aaron Sanchez to the mound with their playoffs on the line. As of last night the Cubs had not announced who their starter will be, but it could appear on the Daytona website anytime today.
Boise can also wrap up their first round series tonight on the road in Salem-Keizer. Game time is 7:35 Mountain Time. The Hawks have played well in that park this season, and the door is wide open for them to advance and move on before the day is out. Duane Underwood takes the ball for Boise. He had a bad outing against S-K on the August 30, but prior to that he had strung together four pretty good games in a row. On the mound for the Volcanoes will be Chris Johnson, a right hander who has been very good at home this season. This could be a very good, very close game.
And now for the most gloriously overly edited and artificially dramatic fake movie trailer you will watch all day. Possibly all week. From the staff of the Daytona Cubs, a crew who know rain as well as anyone in baseball, prepare yourself for… Tarp.
NEWSLETTER
