Cubs & Pelicans Pitchers Give Bees & 66ers That Sinking Feeling

Chesny Young belted a two-run triple, singled, and walked, Jason Vosler doubled twice, singled, and scored a run, Jesse Hodges ripped an RBI double and a single, Rashad Crawford roped a line-drive RBI single, drew a walk, stole a base, and scored a run, and Jeremy Null threw five innings of two-run ball with an amazing 12/1 GO/FO, as the South Bend Cubs (Lo-A  affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) rallied from a 3-0 deficit to edge the Burlington Bees (Lo-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels) 4-3 on Field #5, and Daury Torrez threw six shutout innings with four strikeouts and an 11/2 GO/FO, Kevin Brown belted a two-run triple, singled twice, and scored a run, Varonex Cuevas doubled twice, singled, and scored a run, and Danny Lockhart roped a two-run single, walked, and scored a run, as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (the Cubs Hi-A affiliate) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels Hi-A affiliate) on Field #6, in Cactus League Minor League game action this afternoon at Mesa CubTown at Riverview Park.    

The 66ers had just scored four runs in the top of the 9th off Myrtle Beach lefty reliever Gerardo Concepcion to take a 6-2 lead, but the Pelicans came right back with four of their own. 

Both Daury Torrez and Jeremy Null had the sinker working to perfection, combining to produce a 23/3 GO/FO ratio over 11 innings of work, one of the most extraordinary groundball heavy minor league doubleheaders I have seen in some time. Torrez will join Duane Underwood, Tyler Skulina, Paul Blackburn, and Jen-Ho Tseng in the Myrtle Beach starting rotation, and Null will be part of a South Bend rotation that will also feature Jake Stinnett, Erick Leal, Trevor Clifton, James Norwood, and/or Zach Hedges (last slot still TBD)  

The defensive play of the day was turned-in by South Bend CF Trey Martin, who made a spectacular diving catch in right-centerfield after a long run at full speed. Martin is a "long-strider" who can make long distances seem shorter than they really are, but what was especially impressive about Martin's play was that he dived onto his left (non-throwing) shoulder to complete the catch, the same shoulder that was surgically repaired about a year ago.    

With the exception of Travis Wood and Kyle Hendricks, the Chicago Cubs left town after last night's Cactus League game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in anticipation of their MLB Opening Day game tomorrow night at Wrigley Field, leaving minor league players behind to be presented as the "Chicago Cubs" for this afternoon's MLB Cactus League finale. Most of the players assigned to the MLB game at Chase were pulled from the AAA Iowa Cubs roster, but a few came from the Tennessee and Myrtle Beach squads as well. Also, several members of the Myrtle Beach squad were moved up to the Iowa Cubs for this afternoon's Cactus League minor league game in Tempe against the Angels AAA Salt Lake City affiliate, and a number of players from the Cubs Extended Spring Training contingent filled in for the missing Pelicans at Riverview, as well as providing roster depth in the South Bend, Tennessee, and Iowa games.  

Here are the abridged box scores from the two games played today at Riverview Park (Cubs players only): 

FIELD #5 

SOUTH BEND LINEUP: 
1a. Chesny Young, 2B: 2-3 (3-U, BB, 1B, 3B, 2 RBI)
1b. Frandy de la Rosa, 2B: 0-1 (3-1) 
2. Jeffrey Baez, RF: 1-4 (K, 1B, K, 6-3)
3a. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 2-3 (1B, F-9, 2B, RBI)
3b. Adonis Paula, 3B: 0-1 (F-9)
4. Yasiel Balaguert, DH: 0-4 (K, L-9, 5-2 FC, 5-3)
5. Cael Brockmeyer, 1B: 0-4 (L-4, 5-3, K, K)
6. Jason Vosler, SS: 3-4 (1B, 2B, F-8, 2B, R)
7. Trey Martin, CF: 0-4 (F-8, K, F-8, K) 
8. Rashad Crawford, LF: 1-3 (4-3, 4-3, BB, 1B, R, RBI, SB)
9. Gioskar Amaya, C: 0-2 (K, BB, BB, 4-3, 2 R)

SOUTH BEND PITCHERS: 
1. Jeremy Null: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER). 0 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 12/1 GO/FO, 62 pitches (46 strikes) 
2. Jordan Minch: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 3/1 GO/FO, 30 pitches (22 strikes) 
3. Tommy Thorpe: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/FO, 13 pitches (8 strikes) 
4. Yomar Morel: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 0/2 GO/FO, 15 pitches (9 strikes)

SOUTH BEND ERRORS: 1
SS Jason Vosler  - E-6 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely) 

SOUTH BEND CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
Gioskar Amaya: 1-1 CS 

FIELD #6

MYRTLE BEACH LINEUP: 
1a. Ricardo Marcano, LF: 0-3 (5-3, L-6, 6-4-3 DP, BB)
1b. Miguel Rico, PH: 1-1 (2B, R)
2. Carlos Penalver, SS: 1-3 (BB, K, 5-3, F-9 SF, 2B, R, RBI, SB)
3. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 1-4 (BB, F-8, 4-3,  P-6, 1B, R, 2 RBI) 
4. Kevin Brown, CF: 3-5 (F-7, 1B, 1B, F-9, 3B, 2 RBI, CS) 
5. Ben Carhart, 1B: 1-4 (6-3, 1B, F-8, L-8, F-8 SF, RBI)
6. Eloy Jimenez, RF: 0-5 (F-9, F-8, 1-3, K, 3-1)
7. Varonex Cuevas, 3B: 3-4: (2B, K, 2B, 1B, R) 
8. Alberto Mineo, C: 0-3 (BB, 3-1, K, K) 
9. Roberto Vahlis, DH: 1-2 (1B, BB, HBP, 6-3, R) 

MYRTLE BEACH PITCHERS: 
1. Daury Torrez: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 GIDP, 11/2 GO/FO, 75 pitches (58 strikes)
2. Tayler Scott: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 6/0 GO/FO, 35 pitches (24 strikes) 
3. Gerardo Concepcion: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 PO, 28 pitches (17 strikes) 

MYRTLE BEACH ERRORS: NONE 

ATTENDANCE: 26 

WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures in the 80's