Taking a look at each night’s starters is something I’m going to get in the habit of bringing to you around the mid day when there is a night game and in the morning on a day game. Also in that post will be the minor league results from the night before and the minor league top prospect player tracker. Today, that info is after the jump. Nice win last night, now let’s go out and win again tonight.

I was impressed with the lower 3rd of the order last night. Koyie Hill played a really nice game and Jeff Baker and Rich Harden each chipped in as well. Good production from those guys.

Also, I had an idea that I wanted to kick around with you. I’d like to do some sort of new game called King of the Castle (apologies to Borat). The basic premise is that we’d get two participants and I would send them a question. They send back a 200-300 word (i.e. 2 paragraphs or so) argument as to their thought on the question. Both people are given the same question and then we posts the answers. Most convincing argument wins and stays on the mountain for another week. We would run it on either Friday or Monday. If you’re interested in participating, let me know in the comments section and I’ll get up with you ASAP.

Scouting Tonight’s Starters

Carlos Zambrano – picked up his first win since June 5 in his last start, July 12 against the Cardinals. Big Z gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out seven. He also hit his third homer of the year, and 19th of his career. Zambrano is 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA in three July starts.

Craig Stammen – Scott Olsen was scratched from this start, so Stammen will get the nod instead. Stammen seems to finally be “getting it” as a Major League pitcher. Following a hard-luck loss in which he allowed just one run in seven innings at Coors Field, the rookie right-hander pitched a complete game at Houston for his second victory of the season. Stammen scattered nine hits and walked one while allowing two runs to the Astros in a 13-2 blowout. Stammen has gone deep into games recently because of his ability to throw his sinker for strikes early in the count. (MLB.com)

Is pretty good at minimizing the damage when he gets into trouble on the mound. Can either start or relieve. Serves up too many fat pitches to hit, which leads to problems for his team. Relies too much on his defense. Back-of-the-rotation starter or reliever. (TSN.ca)

Minor League Notes

Top Prospect Tracker – 7/16


Iowa 11, Nashville 4

The Iowa Cubs erased a 4-0 deficit with six seventh-inning runs on their way to an 11-4 win over the Nashville Sounds (51-40) on Thursday night at Principal Park. With the victory, the Cubs (47-44) move within four games of the first place Sounds in the PCL American North.

Nashville starter Tim Dillard (9-4) had allowed just two hits through the first six innings before the Cubs put their big inning together in the seventh.

So Taguchi singled and John-Ford Griffin walked to begin the frame and Matt Craig followed with a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 4-3. Craig’s blast into the right field seats was his fourth of the season, but his first since joining the Cubs on July 1.

Two errors by Nashville third baseman Adam Heether sandwiched around a walk to Matt Camp loaded the bases with one out. Nate Spears worked the count to 3-1 before delivering a two-run single to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead. Taguchi’s sacrifice fly two batters later plated Darwin Barney with the Cubs’ sixth run of the frame.

The Cubs opened the game up with five more runs in the eighth inning off Sounds reliever John Axford. Camp delivered an RBI triple, Spears connected on a two-run double and Jason Dubois and Taguchi knocked in runs to put the game out of reach.

Justin Berg (4-1) tossed a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win. Greg Reinhard and Jason Waddell each threw a hitless frame to finish off the victory. The I-Cubs bullpen has posted a 1.37 ERA (11ER, 72.1IP) in its last 16 games.

The Cubs and Sounds will meet in the second game of their four-game set at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow at Principal Park. Right-hander Jose Ascanio (2-1, 1.63) is scheduled to pitch for Iowa. Ascanio will oppose Nashville lefty Chris Cody (3-4, 3.24).

Tennessee 9, Jacksonville 2

Jacksonville, FL –The Smokies came storming from behind a second straight night to beat the Suns on a gloomy night at the Baseball Ground of Jacksonville. Tennessee (11-11) plated nine unanswered in route to a 9-2 win over Jacksonville (13-9) in front of 6,473 on Thursday night.

Alex Maestri (2-1) got the win in relief for the Smokies. The Italian right-hander pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out one. Aaron Thompson (4-9) took the loss for Jacksonville by allowing four runs on six hits in his 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning, Jacksonville maintained the edge through five innings thanks to a great start by Thompson. The left-hander held Tennessee hitless through 4 2/3 innings before Welington Castillo chopped a hit into center.

The Smokies finally got to the Suns’ starter in the seventh inning. After a strikeout of Russ Canzler, Castillo doubled on a drive to left. Tony Thomas reached after being hit on the foot by a Thompson hit. Doug Deeds then gave the Smokies their first lead with a double to right field.

Kasey Olenberger entered the game to try and get the Suns out of the jam, but the Smokies had none of it. Jonathan Mota hit into a sacrifice fly, but the ball was dropped by Andy Jenkins. Thomas scored on the error, giving the Smokies a 3-1 advantage. Jim Adduci earned an intentional walk to load the bases. The setup was perfect for Marquez Smith who hammered a two-run single to left.

Nate Samson recorded his first Southern League RBI with a pinch-hit single in the ninth. Castillo brought home three more thanks to a two-out double as part of a 3-5 night.

The Smokies got another great start from Papelbon, who held Jacksonville scoreless after allowing the second inning run. He scattered three hits in five strong innings. He struck out five Suns without allowing a walk in front of his hometown fans.

Tennessee returns to Smokies Park on July 21 for five games against the Mississippi Braves. The series will span July 21-25, highlighted by Dale Murphy Night on July 23. Tennessee is the AA-affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Mississippi is that of the Atlanta Braves. Tickets can be purchased by calling 286-2300 or by visiting www.smokiesbaseball.com.

Daytona 3, Tampa Bay 5

DAYTONA BEACH – The Daytona Cubs (9-10, 43-43) could not find an answer to the starting pitching of the Tampa Yankees (10-7, 40-44) and fell 5-3 to even up the three-game series at “The Jack”.

Tampa took the early lead when they plated a run in the second inning. Second baseman David Adams stroked a double to left with one away. A throwing error by Cubs starter Dan McDaniel (5-7) gave Adams third base and left fielder Seth Fortenberry took care of the rest with a sacrifice fly to right.

The Yankees broke the game open in the third inning with three more runs. Another one-out double, this time by catcher Austin Romine. Damon Sublett followed with a walk and two batters later, Kevin Smith drove one in with a single. Another double by Adams plated the second run of the inning. The
final run scored on a Fortenberry single that also saw Adams get thrown out at home by Cubs left fielder Josh Harrison to end the inning.

Daytona finally found home plate in the fourth inning. Jonathan Wyatt reached on a fielder’s choice and Josh Vitters recorded a single through the left side. Second baseman Marwin Gonzalez took care of the rest with a two-RBI double to deep center, and the Yankees advantage was cut in half.

The fifth inning provided some early exits and another Cubs run. With Tony Campana at second and no outs, Starlin Castro grounded back to the pitcher, who got Campana caught in a run down and tagged him out. Campana argued the call and was ejected. Castro then stole second and was awarded
third on a balk, which was argued by Yankees pitching coach Greg Pavlick, and he was sent packing. Daytona did take advantage, as Castro scored on a fielding error by Adams at second base.

Tampa gained an insurance run in the ninth. Fortenberry drove a ball to left center to score Adams and gave the left fielder three RBI for the game.

The Cubs and Yankees will wrap up the series and homestand Friday night with a 7:05 p.m. start time. The pitching matchup will feature Rafael Dolis against Lance Pendleton. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a Jackie Robinson Ballpark replica courtesy of Coca-Cola. There will also be a sports memorabilia auction throughout the evening, with proceeds to benefit Vince Carter’s Embassy of Hope Foundation. Friday night Ladies Night will feature $2 Woodchucks.

Peoria 7, West Michigan 11

Comstock Park, MI –The Peoria Chiefs lost a wild contest 11-7 against the West Michigan Whitecaps on Thursday night to snap a three-game road winning streak. The Chiefs are now 9-11 in the second half and 47-42 overall.

West Michigan came out swinging against Marcus Hatley in the bottom of the first. With one down Ben Guez crushed a solo homer to left-center for a 1-0 Whitecaps lead. It was Guez’s sixth homer of the season and the first for either team in the series. Two batters later Billy Nowlin hit a line-drive solo homer just inside the left field foul pole for a 2-0 West Michigan lead. Three of Nowlin’s seven homers this season have come in five games against the Chiefs.

The Chiefs responded immediately against Brandon Hamilton. Kyler Burke started the inning with a single and moved to second on a one-out hit by Michael Brenly. Junior Lake reached on an infield single to load the bases and Burke scored on a single by Fitzgerald. Nelson Perez tied the game 2-2 with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field. Hamilton committed a balk allowing Lake to score for a 3-2 Chiefs lead.

West Michigan wasted no time in regaining the lead against Hatley. Alden Carrithers worked a full-count leadoff walk and Joe Bowen singled to center to put runners on the corners. Luis Salas tripled off the centerfield wall two score both runners for a 4-3 Whitecaps lead. Hernan Perez drove Salas home with a single before he was thrown out trying to steal second by Michael Brenly.

Trailing again by two, the Chiefs struck back in the top of the third. Rebel Ridling hit his first homer since June 10 with one out to cut the lead to 5-4. Burke followed with a shot off a glass window of the Stadium Club in right-center to tie the game. The homer was Ridling’s ninth of the season and Burke’s seventh. After a groundout Brenly singled and moved to third when Perez lost a pop-up off the bat of Lake to put runners on the corners. Lake took off for second and as soon as Bowen threw, Brenly stole home to put the Chiefs up 6-5.

The Whitecaps again responded immediately, this time against reliever Kevin Kreier. Nowlin and Jordan Lennerton led off with consecutive singles and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Bowen then tied the game with a groundout to second.
Nick Cassavechia relieved Hamilton in the fourth and the Chiefs immediately loaded the bases as Perez singled, David Macias walked and Ryan Flaherty reached on a bunt single. Cassavechia walked Ridling to force in Perez for a 7-6 Chiefs lead but Burke hit into a double play and Jovan Rosa grounded out to end the inning.

West Michigan again tied the Chiefs with a two-out run against Kreier. Guez started the rally with a single to left and he stole second to get into scoring position for Bryan Pounds. Pounds tied the game with a single to right-center to make the score 7-7.

The Whitecaps broke the tie in the seventh against left Chris Siegfried. Nowlin led off with a double and moved to third on a groundout. With two down, Bowen hit a comebacker that Siegfried deflected but couldn’t handle. The ball fell behind the mound for a single as Nowlin scored for an 8-7 West Michigan lead. Salas followed with a single and Perez drove home two for a 10-7 ballgame.

Hatley lasted just two innings and allowed five runs on seven hits while walking one. Kreier allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over three innings while also striking out three. Siegfried (0-2) allowed four runs on five hits over two innings while walking three, striking out two and hitting one. Ryan Buchter struck out the only batter he faced to end the eight with the bases loaded.

Casey’s General Store Player of the Game – Rebel Ridling (1B) – Ridling hit a solo homer in the third, walked with the bases loaded in the fourth and singled in the seventh. His homer cut the Chiefs deficit to one and Peoria tied it minutes later with a solo shot of his own. Ridling put the Chiefs up 7-6 when he walked with on bases full in the fourth and finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.

Notes…Junior Lake extended his hit streak to six games with a second inning single…Ridling and Burke are the third Chiefs combo to go back-to-back this season, the last was May 22 also off of Hamilton when Burke went back-to-back with Josh Vitters…Brenly is the first Chiefs player to steal home since Elvis Lara did so last August 22 at Cedar Rapids…Hatley allowed two homers for the second straight start and is tied with Aaron Shafer for the team lead with 10 allowed…Not counting rehabs and rain delays, Hatley’s start was the shortest for a Chiefs pitcher since Chris Archer also went two innings at Beloit on May 16…After not allowing a run in five straight outings, Siegfried has given up eight runs in seven innings over his last three outings…The Chiefs are now 20-4 on the season when scoring seven or more runs and they had not lost since May 29 at Great Lakes…Burke recorded an outfield assist for the second straight night and leads the Chiefs with nine…Ridling was the first Chiefs player other than Burke to draw a bases loaded walk this season…While the offense has drawn a total of three to force in runs, Chiefs pitchers have walked 15 with the bases loaded this year and hit one…Peoria has hit 14 homers on Thursday, more than on any other day of the week this season…The Chiefs have not been at the .500 mark in the second half of the season after starting with three straight losses at Wisconsin…Whitecaps starter Brandon Hamilton was a supplemental first round pick in the 2007 draft (60th overall) and ranked as the Tigers 26th best prospect…The Chiefs matched a season-high three game road winning streak also accomplished May 4-6 and May 9-16…The season series is now led by West Michigan 3-2 with two games left… The three-game series concludes on Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST when the Chiefs send RH Justin Bristow (3-4, 4.47) to the hill against RH Brayan Villarreal (2-0, 1.16)

Boise 14, Yakima 5

BOISE, Idaho – Hak-Ju Lee and Richard Jones each had two-run doubles as part of a six-run second inning, as the Boise Hawks recorded their most prolific offensive outburst of the season, knocking off the Yakima Bears, 14-5, before 2,077 fans at Memorial Stadium.

The Hawks, who have won four of their last five, recorded 20 hits in the game – the second-straight year that Boise has tallied 20-or-more hits on this date (the Hawks had 22 hits last year in a 10-4 win over Tri-City).

Justin Bour added a long solo home run leading off the third, the first home run by the Hawks at Memorial Stadium since Aug. 28, 2008.

Logan Watkins continued his hot-hitting, going 5-for-6 with three runs scored – extending his hitting streak to eight games. Lee went 3-for-5 with a double, triple, and four RBI, while Jones went 2-for-6 with four RBI in his Boise debut.

Hawks starter Josh Whitlock was outstanding, allowing just one hit in four innings of shutout ball, retiring the final ten men in a row.

Dan Kaczrowski went 3-for-5 in the loss for the Bears, who have lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Boise goes for the series sweep tomorrow night, as Robert Hernandez meets Ricardo Tavares at 7:15 p.m.

NOTES – Watkins has recorded five consecutive multi-hit games and has 16 hits in his last 23 at bats…the 14 runs were the most by the Hawks since last August in Vancouver, when they tallied 16…all nine Boise batters recorded at least one hit in the game and had at least one hit in every inning…Brett Jackson tied a Northwest League season high with four walks in the game.

Shameless Plugs

  • The guys over at Bleacher Report sent me word that they put together a top 20 Cubs transactions since 1990 list.
  • Paul & Amy Klehr have setup a website to promote a new slogan and shirt for this year.
  • Andy Buchanan sent me word of a new iPhone app for Wrigley Field. I don’t have an iPhone, so no idea what this is all about.