Kyle Hendricks would be the ace of a good Iowa rotation were it not for the incredible numbers being posted by Tsuyoshi Wada. Even Wada, though, might envy the work turned in by Hendricks on Thursday. Not only did the Cubs right hander pitch eight shutout innings against a pretty good Round Rock team, he walked no one in the process and struck out eleven. Through eight games his Triple A strikeout to walk ratio now reads 54 to 11.
Meanwhile, if you are a fan of the minors, you are probably also a fan of the more interesting uniforms and hats that are frequently seen in the minors. If you would like to help pick the best of those hats, then head on over to Minor League Baseball’s Clash of the Caps and vote until your mouse finger just can’t vote any more.
Only three Cubs affiliates are in the Top 100 on the Caps leaderboard, and Boise is the highest of the three at just number 31. I think we can raise that up a few notches.
And even if not, there are some seriously cool looking hats on display. It is well worth checking out.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Thanks to some great pitching Iowa scored twice as many runs as they needed to in this 2-0 win. Tennessee – The Smokies tied it in the eighth, but lost in eleven innings by a final of 6-5. Daytona – Daytona was rained out. Kane County – Kane County was shut out 7-0.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Kyle Hendricks struck out 11 in 8 innings of 3 hit ball, and walked no one. All the hits he allowed were singles.
[Iowa] Arismendy Alcantara walked, doubled, and tripled as he finished 2 for 3.
[Iowa] Javier Baez, on the other hand, finished 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
[Tennessee] John Andreoli singled twice and stole 2 bases. He finished the game 2 for 4 and with 20 steals for the year.
[Tennessee] A double by Kris Bryant and a homer by Rafael Lopez were the only extra base hits for the Smokies in this one.
[Tennessee] Joel Pineiro made his Smokies debut. He lasted 5 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits.
[Kane County] Jacob Rogers, with 2 hits, had the only multi-hit day for Kane County.
[Kane County] Carlos Penalver singled and stole his 10th base.
[Kane County] Jose Arias pitched the final 2 innings and allowed just one hit while striking out a pair.
Other News
Hendricks needed just one hundred pitches to work his masterpiece on Thursday. Of those hitters who were retired on balls in play, the ratio of ground balls to fly balls was seven to two. That is a very nice ratio.
Although Kane County was shut out, they only struck out four times while earning four free bases. The final outcome was still undesirable, but that aspect was nice to see.
A very scary scene in Pittsburgh, where Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis, currently on the IL with a shoulder impingement, took a batting practice ball off the neck and went down. Junis was apparently on the ground for a long...
On April 9, I took an early look at Nico Hoerner's apparently evolving approach at the plate, which featured a lot more patience and a lot more big hacks. Effectively, it seemed like he was trying for a little more...
There's been much debate about pitcher arm injuries lately, much of it sparked by Spencer Strider's season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Strider spoke to the media for the first time since the injury on Friday. Spencer Strider on pitcher arm...
A new signing popped up on the Chicago Cubs' transaction log: lefty Mitchell Tyranski. Tyranski, 26, put up a 3.83 ERA over 42.1 innings at High-A last year in the Dodgers organization, striking out 47 and walking 21. Were you...
We already dove deep into Shota Imanaga's latest impressive start against the Marlins yesterday. And there's been no shortage of love for Michael Busch this season either. But I do want to take this time to illustrate just how good...
Even though Sunday ended in a loss for the Chicago Cubs, we did get some good news in the form of positive injury updates. Ian Happ (hamstring) was available off the bench and could be good to go tomorrow, when...
I know that sometimes there is a history between an umpire and a manager. I know that sometimes a manager can subtly get under the skin of an umpire without doing much that we can see or hear. And I...
Let's get caught up on all of the action down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report | April 22, 2024 Triple-A Iowa Cubs (13-8) The Cubs were swept in a doubleheader by the Louisville Bats...
What started as a small convo for the bullets ballooned into a deeper dive on Kyle Hendricks, what's going wrong, and where the Cubs go from here. So if you're looking for the Hendricks discussion, that was earlier today. Despite...
Baseball America today released its updated (version 2.0) 2024 MLB mock draft. With more of the amateur season taking place, we are starting to see more of the top tier become firmly crystalized with eight names, none of whom are...
The Philadelphia 76ers are 4-point favorites in Game 3 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, beginning at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. The Knicks lead the series...
The Orlando Magic are slight 1-point favorites heading into Game 3 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Amway Center on Thursday, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on NBA. The Cavaliers lead the...
The Indiana Pacers are slight 1-point underdogs in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, beginning at 8:30 PM ET on NBA. The Bucks are ahead 1-0 in...
The Minnesota Timberwolves are slight 3-point favorites in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns at Target Center on Tuesday, starting at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. The Timberwolves hold a 1-0 series...
The Los Angeles Clippers bring a 0-1 series record into Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. The Mavericks are favored by 2.5 points in the matchup, which airs on TNT at 10:00 PM ET. The point...
On Tuesday, Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals (10-13) take on Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks (11-13), with first pitch scheduled for 7:45 PM ET at Busch Stadium.Keep scrolling to find out all the details on how to...
The Carolina Hurricanes travel to face the New York Islanders on Thursday, and are -155 favorites on the moneyline, with the home team at +130.Hurricanes vs. Islanders Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Hurricanes (-155)Underdog: Islanders (+130)Total: 5.5Best Hurricanes vs. Islanders Promo Codes[lasso...
The Toronto Maple Leafs meet the Boston Bruins on April 24 at 7:00 PM ET, and are -115 on the moneyline, with the latter at -105.Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Maple Leafs (-115)Underdog: Bruins (-105)Total: 5.5Best Maple Leafs...
On Tuesday at 9:45 PM ET, Michael Conforto and the San Francisco Giants (11-13) play Pete Alonso and the New York Mets (12-10) at Oracle Park.The article below will give you everything you need to watch San Francisco take on...
The Baltimore Orioles (15-7), who will give the ball to Grayson Rodriguez, visit the Los Angeles Angels (9-14) with Griffin Canning on the hill, Tuesday at 9:38 PM ET.Keep reading to find out how to watch the Baltimore-Los Angeles matchup...