While most of us were watching the Cubs flounder away against Cleveland, the Cubs’ farm system was putting on a pitching clinic.
The Cubs’ farm system allowed one run yesterday. Combined. Thirty one innings in the books, one run allowed. We’re not going to see very many better pitching performances, top to bottom, than that.
In Iowa, Duane Underwood continued his very good season with six strong innings… although he was responsible for the one run. Tennessee’s Trevor Clifton added four shutout frames before his contest was suspended by rain.
And then we have A ball, where the Cubs 2017 first round draft picks each pitched excellent games for Myrtle Beach and South Bend. Alex Lange pitched probably the best game of his professional career, and the only reason I don’t say that Brendon Little looks like he’s turned a corner in his last two games is because the comment section to the article would have an allergic reaction to that phrase.
Even in a year where we expected pitching to be the big story, a day like yesterday is going to be hard to top.
The Smokies were suspended by rain leading 3-0 in the fifth. We’ll save the full stats for when the game is completed, but given the theme of the day I’ll go ahead and mention that Trevor Clifton had pitched four innings of two hit ball.
Alex Lange set a career high in strikeouts with ten yesterday, and he walked no one for the third time this season. It was also his first shutout of the season. That game dropped his ERA to 3.64 and ticked his GO/AO up to 1.13.
This was the fourth scoreless appearance of the year for Brendon Little, the second time he walked no one (the first was his previous start), and the first time he has pitched seven innings. His ERA is down to 4.50, and his GO/AO up to a healthy 1.60.
Yesterday wasn’t that remarkable at all for Duane Underwood. It was a very good game, but he has pitched so well this year that it doesn’t really stand out. It was the fourth time in his last six games that he has given up one run or less, the fourth straight game in which he threw over 90 pitches, and the first game in which he reached 100 pitches. It was also nice to see him rebound from a rocky, six run outting in his previous start.
After basically falling off the prospect radar, at least for me, last season, Underwood has not only put himself squarely back in the spotlight, he’s probably vaulted back up somewhere into the Top 20 prospects and is pitching well enough to warrant a call to Chicago should he line up nicely the next time the Cubs need a starter.
And now, how about some highlights from Myrtle Beach starring Alex Lange and his Ten Strikeouts. Watch as hitters completely fail to do anything with his curveball. And after that, some highlights from South Bend featuring Brendon Little and a nice homer by Miguel Amaya.
In the top of the seventh inning of today's 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins, Alexander Canario trotted out to left field in place of Ian Happ. At first, we thought (or maybe just hoped) that Craig Counsell was giving...
And just like that the Chicago Cubs are the first team in the NL Central to reach 12 wins! They're not technically in first place yet because the Brewers (11-6) have played fewer games, but we're talking about a matter...
With a lefty Marlins starter on the mound this afternoon, Nico Hoerner lead off today's game for the Chicago Cubs. And he did it in style, ripping a leadoff double to the left-center field wall, before coming into score a...
*The Cubs were rained out yesterday, but today? Today, we've got a Friday 1:20 start at Wrigley Field, and that means all is right in the world. Before you take a look at the Cubs lineup against Miami, check out...
Happy Friday! Well, for everyone except for the pilots who were supposed to be manning the Colorado Rockies flight last week but instead allowed a member of the Rockies coaching staff to hop in the pilot's seat for a fun...
Justin Steele, arguably the single most irreplaceable player on the Chicago Cubs 2024 roster, went down with a hamstring injury just 4.2 innings into his Opening Day start against the Rangers on March 28. In his place, the Cubs sixth...
If you do this job long enough, it's really wild to see the range of topics that can somehow become attached to sports. That is to say, I did not envision myself at some point writing about flight safety, cockpit...
The Iowa Cubs were rained out, but the rest of the farm was in action, and so was Kevin Alcántara, who picked up four hits and now has seven in his last three games as he breaks out of an...
Well, the rain stole one from us yesterday, which is a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, the bullpen gets an extra day of rest (on top of the day Hayden Wesneski bought them). But on the flip...
The Chicago Cubs are against theft. Of bases: https://twitter.com/codifybaseball/status/1781046629103231339 The Chicago Cubs this year have stolen just three bases, the fewest in all of baseball. Dansby Swanson has stolen two bases, Nick Madrigal has stolen one. That's it. I don't...
Today's NBA playoff schedule has four quality competitions on the docket. Among those contests is the Phoenix Suns playing the Minnesota Timberwolves.One of the most fun ways to wager on the NBA is via NBA player prop bets. There are...
On Saturday at 4:05 PM ET, Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-11) play Michael Conforto and the San Francisco Giants (9-11) at Oracle Park.The article below will provide you with everything you need to know to watch Arizona take...
The Los Angeles Dodgers (12-9), who will give the start to Gavin Stone, host the New York Mets (10-8) with Jose Butto on the hill, Saturday at 4:05 PM ET.If you're planning on watching this game, keep reading for TV...
The St. Louis Cardinals (9-11), who will give the ball to Miles Mikolas, host the Milwaukee Brewers (12-6) with D.L. Hall on the hill, Saturday at 2:15 PM ET.Keep reading to find out how to watch the St. Louis-Milwaukee matchup...
The Chicago Cubs (12-7), with Javier Assad on the hill, host the Miami Marlins (4-16) who will start Jesus Luzardo, at 2:20 PM ET on Saturday.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to watch Chicago play Miami...
Bailey Ober will take the ball for the Minnesota Twins (6-12) when they host starting pitcher Reese Olson and the Detroit Tigers (11-9) on Saturday, with first pitch at 2:10 PM ET.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading...
Nestor Cortes Jr. takes the mound for the New York Yankees (14-6) when they host starter Zach Eflin and the Tampa Bay Rays (11-10) at 1:05 PM ET on Saturday.The article below will provide you with everything you need to...
On Saturday, Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds (10-9) face Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels (9-11), with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM ET at Great American Ball Park.The article below will provide you with everything...
Logan Allen takes the mound for the Cleveland Guardians (14-6) when they host starting pitcher Alex Wood and the Oakland Athletics (8-12) at 6:10 PM ET on Saturday.See how to watch the Cleveland-Oakland matchup below.When is Guardians vs. Athletics and...
The Seattle Mariners (9-10), led by Mitch Haniger, visit Ryan McMahon and the Colorado Rockies (4-15) at 8:10 PM ET on Saturday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and TV options for the Seattle-Colorado matchup.When is...
NEWSLETTER
