Eloy Jimenez started for the World Team in the Futures Game yesterday afternoon, and unlike last year when he put on a highlight reel performance on both sides of the ball, he had a quiet game. He struck out in both at bats as the World team went on to lose to the US team.
Batting practice was a bit of a different story. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper sketched out where the various home run balls hit during the Futures Game batting practice landed, and it looks to me like the two longest balls are both labeled “Eloy”.
Take a look just to the left of the center field monstrosity at Marlins Park and see what you think:
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa 9, Omaha 4
Good pitching plus scoring lots of runs equals a Cubs’ win.
Jen-Ho Tseng: 5.1 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 9 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Casey Kelly: 3.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K
John Andreoli: 3 for 5, HR, SB
Jaocb Hannemann: 2 for 5, SB
Mark Zagunis: 2 for 4, BB, SB
Chris Dominguez: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Jemile Weeks: 2 for 4, 2B, 3B
Bijan Rademacher: 2 for 4, SB
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Montgomery 1, Tennessee 0 in sixteen innings.
This marathon pitchers’ duel featured more total strikeouts (35) than walks and hits combined (24).
Adbert Alzolay: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K
Steve Perakslis: 2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
Daury Torrez: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB
David Garner: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Brad Markey: 3 IP, 2 K
Trey Martin: 1 for 5, 2B, SB
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Frederick 5, Myrtle Beach 3
Take away the three unearned runs the Pelicans gave up in the first, and this game has a different outcome.
Ryan Kellogg: 2.1 IP, 3 R (0 ER), 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Kyle Miller: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K
P.J. Higgins: 2 for 4, 2B, BB
Trent Giambrone: 2 for 3, BB
Jesse Hodges: 2 for 4, 2B
Tyler Alamo: 1 for 3, 2B
Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 13, Dayton 5
The Cubs scored in seven different innings.
Bryan Hudson: 5 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Pedro Silverio: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Vimael Machin: 5 for 6, 2B, HR
Austin Upshaw: 2 for 5, 2B, BB
Isaac Paredes: 3 for 4, 2B, 2 BB
Alberto Mineo: 3 for 5, 2B, 3B, SB
Luis Ayala: 2 for 5, 2B, BB, SB
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 2, Tri-City 1
Despite three errors, Eugene won a tight game.
Jose Albertos: 5 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Jesus Carmargo: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Aramis Ademan: 2 for 3, BB
Brandon Hughes: 2 for 2, HR
Rookie: AZL Cubs
Athletics 5, Cubs 2
The Cubs were held to just three hits in this one.
Carson Sands: 2.2 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Stephen Ridings: 1.1 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Eugenio Palma: 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 9 K
Jonathan Sierra: 1 fof 4, 2B
Other Notes
The first Triple A start for Jen-Ho Tseng went pretty well. He threw 98 pitches, pitched into the sixth inning, and allowed just two earned runs. On the downside, he gave up nine hits, three walks and a homer while striking out just two. On the upside again, he picked up ten groundouts. It certainly wasn’t the best game we’ve seen from him this season, but for a first start in Iowa, it really wan’t bad at all.
The first Double A start for Adbert Alzolay went very well. Alzolay needed 84 pitches to pitch five shutout innings, striking out ten in the process.
Vimael Machin collected five hits for the first time in his career.
Prior to this season, Eugenio Palma had not piled up significant strikeout numbers during his time in the Caribbean Leagues. After striking out nine batters in three innings for Arizona yesterday, though, he is up to 16 over 11 innings for the season.
I’m not sure why, but the automatic script I use to auto-populate Baseball Reference links on player names has stopped working the past few days. So far I haven’t been able to troubleshoot it, and until I do solve it we’ll be continuing to live a link-less existence in the Daily.
There are no Cubs in the 2017 Home Run Derby, but there is one guy with strong connections to the Cubs. Justin Bour, the slugging first baseman from Miami, spent five years in the Cubs’ farm system before being claimed by Miami in the minor league phase of the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Bour was a fan favorite with the Smokies as much for his personality as his play on the field, and I don’t doubt but that I’m just one of many Cubs’ fans who still keep an eye on his career with interest.
As of last night, you amazing readers had raised over $2,300 towards the $12,000 goal in the Bleacher Nation Blogathon for Make-A-Wish, and I am not at all surprised. We still have a ways to go before we completely drive Brett insane from sleep deprivation, though, and I’m thinking the Cubs’ prospect connection in the Home Run Derby might be a fun way to help things along. Anyone else in?