The spotlight has been focused on Albert Almora lately, and for good reason given the hot streak he has been on, but he is not the only Smokies’ outfielder who is playing very good baseball right now.
Billy McKinney, the other guy in the Addison Russell trade, is hitting .284/.346/.418 in Double A. In August, though, that jumps to .317/.404/.512 over 10 games (sample size alert). McKinney has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, has had two hits in 4 of his last 5, has had an extra base hit in 5 of his last 6, and has not struck out more than twice in any one game since May 23. Yes, May.
He gets the headline today because it was his hit in the thirteenth inning last night that drove home Wes Darvill and Jacob Hannemann to set the Smokies up for their marathon win. If you’re getting a feeling of deja vu, it is because McKinney also hit a game winner in final inning just last week.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa turned their four hits into just enough runs to pull out a 3-1 win. Tennessee – The Smokies scored twice in the thirteenth to pick up a 4-2 win. Myrtle Beach – The Pelicans could not climb out of an early hole and ultimately lost 5-4. South Bend – South Bend had just enough offense in this 2-1 win. Eugene – A sixth inning tie turned into a deficit that led to a 6-1 loss. Arizona – The Cubs piled on the runs in the late innings to win 11-5.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Javier Baez, at shortstop, tripled, walked, and finished 1 for 2.
[Iowa] Dallas Beeler gave up a run on 6 hits over 6.2 innings, walked 2, and struck out 3.
[Tennessee] Felix Pena slid back into the rotation for this game. Over 5 innings he allowed 2 hits and a walk while striking out 5.
[Tennessee] Andres Santiago (2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K) and Fernando Cruz (3 BB, 1 K) each pitched 3 innings of relief.
[Tennessee] Albert Almora saw his multi-hit games streak come to an end. He only had one hit and got hit by two pitches in this one.
[Tennessee] Billy McKinney, 2 for 5 with a double, had the only multi-hit game.
[Myrtle Beach] Jen-Ho Tseng struck out 5 over 6 innings, but he also allowed 5 runs on 11 hits (4 of those runs came in the second inning). James Farris allowed nothing and struck out 2 in his 2 innings of relief.
[Myrtle Beach] Pin-Chieh Chen doubled twice and finished 2 for 4.
[South Bend] Jeffrey Baez doubled, tripled and finished 2 for 5.
[South Bend] Matt Rose hit his first Midwest League homer in this one. Gioskar Amaya added his 2nd triple.
[South Bend] Trevor Clifton struck out 7 over 6 innings. He allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks.
[Eugene] Frandy Delarosa doubled twice and finished 2 for 4. He had the only extra base hits and the only multi-hit day for the Emeralds.
[Eugene] Carson Sands gave up a run on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4 over 5 innings of work.
[Arizona] Darryl Wilson, with a triple (his 2nd), and Jose Paniagua both finished with 3 hits for the Cubs. P.J. Higgins doubled and tripled (his 3rd) on his way to a 4 hit game.
[Arizona] Carlos Sepulveda and Daniel Spingola both doubled and finished 2 for 4. Andruw Monasterio homered (his 1st) and also finished with 2 hits.
Other News
Javier Baez the outfielder? Sounds like he is on board. If he can play even average defense in center (and I have no idea if he can play center at the major league level at all), even with the strike outs his bat would be very valuable.
Brennan Davis' fifth home run of the season was not enough for the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday as they fell to the Syracuse Mets in a rain-shortened affair. That and more in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report |...
I know that Joe Buck is a polarizing broadcaster. Some people love him. Some people hate him. I also know that he seems to have gone through phases in his career where there were stretches I thought he was mutably...
Pete Crow-Armstrong put on a show last night, which I mean in the most literal sense. It was more like a performance than a baseball game. Bases-loaded HBP while showing bunt? OK, sure. Running easily to first on a dropped...
Northwestern will be making a return to Wrigley Field not just once this season, but twice! Due to the construction of their brand new football stadium, the Cats will be playing five of their seven home games at its temporary...
The Cubs come back home from the Pittsburgh-Atlanta road trip having split it 3-3, and I gotta say, that's a pretty solid outcome when (1) you're facing Jones and Skenes, (2) you're playing three in Atlanta where they'd lost just...
Just about as soon as I could talk about how Brennen Davis had homered for the third time in four games, he homered AGAIN, making it four times in five games. And this time, just for fun, B.J. Murray Jr....
The Chicago Cubs' bats finally came alive last night in Atlanta, albeit with a little bit of help from Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton. On the other side, Javier Assad was brilliant once again. Good win. Needed win. Enjoy the...
The Cubs took the lead on the very first pitch of the game and didn't look back. They needed that. I needed that. Offense up and down the lineup. Two extra-base hits for Seiya Suzuki. Three times on base for...
There's fast, and then there's Curt Casali fast. Er, well, not his basepath speed, but the speed with which he went from catching at Triple-A Iowa for the Cubs to starting behind the plate tonight for the Giants in San...
The Cubs scored exactly zero runs in their last 18 innings in Atlanta. But Mike Tauchman did not let that streak continue long tonight. On the first pitch of the game, Tauchman lifted one over the left field wall for...
The Cincinnati Reds (18-25) kick off a four-game series on Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers (29-16). The contest starts at 10:10 PM ET at Dodger Stadium.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow (6-1)...
Brennan Davis' fifth home run of the season was not enough for the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday as they fell to the Syracuse Mets in a rain-shortened affair. That and more in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report |...
The Houston Astros (18-25) host the Oakland Athletics (19-26) at 8:10 PM ET Thursday for a sluggers' duel between two of the best home-run hitters in baseball. Kyle Tucker has racked up 13 homers this season (No. 1 in the...
The Chicago Cubs (25-19) are favorites (-126) on the moneyline when they square off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (19-25) Thursday at 7:40 PM ET, live on MARQ.Chicago's Justin Steele and Pittsburgh's Jared Jones have been named the starters for this...
Last week, I wrote about the leaked cover for the deluxe edition of EA Sports College Football 25. This week, the game has an official cover and an official release date! The long-awaited return of EA Sports’ college football video...
I know that Joe Buck is a polarizing broadcaster. Some people love him. Some people hate him. I also know that he seems to have gone through phases in his career where there were stretches I thought he was mutably...
It appears we won't be getting a repeat performance from last year's PGA Championship darling Michael Block. The club pro from Mission Viejo, California had an epic underdog run during last year's event at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester....
Pete Crow-Armstrong put on a show last night, which I mean in the most literal sense. It was more like a performance than a baseball game. Bases-loaded HBP while showing bunt? OK, sure. Running easily to first on a dropped...
The Philadelphia Phillies (31-13) roll into Thursday's matchup with the New York Mets (19-23) looking to extend a three-game winning streak. The contest starts at 6:40 PM ET on MLB Network with the Phillies listed as -144 favorites on the...
Bookmakers declined to choose a favorite for Thursday's matchup between the Boston Red Sox (22-21) and the Tampa Bay Rays (22-22), with both teams equal on the moneyline. The teams will take to the field at 7:10 PM ET, live...
NEWSLETTER
The spotlight has been focused on Albert Almora lately, and for good reason given the hot streak he has been on, but he is not the only Smokies’ outfielder who is playing very good baseball right now.
