DJ Herz by Stephanie Lynn

AAA

Louisville 2, Iowa 1

Game Recap

Iowa got great work from their pitching staff on what was essentially a bullpen day. Luke Farrell has been in and out of the rotation since joining the club last month, and he got the start. He’d pitch pretty well, and that would be the theme: not overwhelming, but good enough to keep the I-Cubs in the game. Anueris Rosario and Blake Whitney followed. I actually though Whitney threw the ball a little better, but he would get tagged with the loss. Michael Rucker threw the final two innings and was definitely the best of the bunch. He has not surrendered a run since being sent to Iowa a couple of weeks ago.

There just wasn’t much in the way of offense from the lineup yesterday. Nobody had more than one hit. The one run they scored came off a throwing error. Narciso Crook stole second base after a walk, then while stealing third the throw went into LF, allowing him to head home.

Top Performers

Luke Farrell: 2.1 IP, H, R, 2 BB, 3 K (4.39)Anueris Rosario: 1.2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, K (6.31)Michael Rucker: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (0.00)Narciso Crook: 0-2, 2 BB, 2 SB (9, 10)Dixon Machado: 1-3, BB (.288)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Years after the Cubs moved him off the position, Jared Young made a start at 2B. It was the 5th (plus DH) different position he has started at this season (1B, RF, LF, 3B, 2B). Originally drafted as a middle infielder in 2017, Young played only two games at 2B (in 2018) since his draft year. I always thought it was a bit strange they limited his defensive profile so early in his career. He wasn’t amazing at 2B, but moving him to 1B really put a lot of pressure on his bat. I don’t think it is a coincidence the Cubs have recently expanded his defensive role. The bat hasn’t blossomed enough (.250/.328/.456) for him to be a full-time corner guy, but as a versatile lefty bat off the bench, Young has a shot at a big league future.

AA

Chattanooga 8, Tennessee 6

Game Recap

The Ryan Jensen rebound continues at pace. This time out he tossed another three scoreless. His command and consistency have been much improved since returning from the developmental list with a new shortened arm path. In three games he has now accumulated eight scoreless innings (5 H, 0 R, BB, HBP, 6 K).

Tennessee didn’t get great work from the pen after he left though. Eight runs over the final six innings off three different relievers tarnished a great start, and good offensive performance. Cole Roederer, Jake Slaughter, and Andy Weber stayed hot at the plate, and then Matt Mervis and Chase Strumpf hit back-to-back homers in the 7th to keep the Smokies in it before the comeback fell short.

And now Mervis hits his 11th AA HR in 34 games. pic.twitter.com/PV378O8fwG

June 26, 2022

Here’s Chase Strumpf going back to back with Mervis for HR number 13. pic.twitter.com/41GH0OK7GZ

June 26, 2022

Top Performers

Ryan Jensen: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K (3.70)Matt Mervis: 2-5, 2B, HR (11), R, 3 RBI (.306)Chase Strumpf: 1-3, HR (13), R, RBI, BB (.238)Cole Roederer: 2-3, RBI, BB, CS (2) (.294)Andy Weber: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI (.316)Bryce Windham: 1-3, 2B, R, BB (.194)Jake Slaughter: 1-4, 2 R, SB (9) (.368)

High-A

South Bend 1, Peoria 0

Game Recap

It hasn’t always been easy for D.J. Herz over the last couple of weeks. He remained tough to hit, but he was missing the zone a bit more, and wasn’t missing as many bats. The old D.J. Herz resurfaced yesterday. He did little but miss bats in this one, recording 10 of his 14 outs via strikeout.

Adam Laskey followed with 1.1 scoreless in his first High-A appearance, picking up right where he left off in Myrtle Beach. He’s now extended his scoreless streak to open the season to 27.1 innings. Laskey has generated a ton of ground balls while issuing few free passes. He suffered through a bunch of injuries in college and his early pro career which kept him from fulfilling his promise as a starter. Now healthy, and in a late inning relief role, Laskey has gotten on a quite a roll to begin the season. At 24, South Bend is a more appropriate level for someone of his experience and so we should get a better idea of his upside now that he’s facing hitters his own age.

Yeison Santana up the middle has been money!

He earned the @LavenInsurance Defensive Play of the Game last night with this dynamite play. pic.twitter.com/RPtKX23dmz

June 26, 2022

The recently activated Michael McAvene fired two scoreless, and the recently struggling Hunter Bigge bounced back with a scoreless 9th to complete the shutout.

Despite the great pitching, the Cubs still needed a walkoff hit to win it. Other than Owen Caissie and Fabian Pertuz, who each went 3-for-4, South Bend hitters managed just two hits. But it was that combo who eventually won it. With two outs, Caissie singled, then swiped second base. One batter later, Fabian Pertuz put an end to it.

Since May 1, this guy is on a two month ride hitting .302 at age 19 where he is 4-5 years younger than most pitchers he faces. pic.twitter.com/PiIjqqfPgm

June 26, 2022

WALK-OFF CITY!@FPertuz_8 brought in @owen_caissie for our second walk-off of the series over Peoria and a 1-0 win! #ItsDifferentHere pic.twitter.com/DVss5EDHiM

June 26, 2022

Top Performers

D.J. Herz: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K (1.97)Adam Laskey: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (0.00)Michael McAvene: 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 K (4.91)Hunter Bigge: IP, H, 0 R, BB, 0 K (W, 4-2, 7.23)Fabian Pertuz: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI (.253)Owen Caissie: 3-4, R (.267)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Pete Crow-Armstrong returned to the lineup after missing a couple of weeks with a bruised hand that he suffered on a slide. He went 0-for-3.

Low-A

Kannapolis 6, Myrtle Beach 4

Top Performers

Jacob Wetzel: 1-4, HR (2), R, 3 RBI (.198)Kevin Alcántara: 2-4, R (.270)Malcolm Quintero: 1-3, RBI (.234)

ACL

Cubs 6, Athletics 3

Top Performers

Cristian More: 1-3, HR (1), R, 4 RBI (.342)Miguel Pabon: 1-2, 2 BB (.263)Cristian Olivo: 2-4 (.229)Marino Santy: 3 IP, H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K (3.12)

DSL

Orioles 5, Cubs Blue 3

Pirates 11, Cubs Red 8

When Eric Clapton straps on his guitar, chances are something good will happen. When Eric Clapton plays the blues, the good turns into something special.

In 1994, Clapton was touring in support of his “From the Cradle” album. Filming and recording sessions were done over two November concerts at the Fillmore, in San Francisco. A year later, a documentary of the event was shown one time on PBS. That’s all we’ve heard and seen from these shows…until this weekend.

Twenty-seven years later, you can now hear the music from these legendary two concerts on Clapton’s new album, “Nothing but the Blues.” Backed by his regular band of Andy Fairweather-Low, Chris Stainton, and Andy Newmark, this is a spectacular album of, as the title says, nothing but the blues.

Over eighteen songs, Clapton pays homage to the bluesmen he idolized. Among the legends whose songs are covered include Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Freddie King and Howlin’ Wolf.

There are many highlights on this record, but if I’m picking one standout song, it’s “Smuggler’s Blues.” You can feel the angst in both his voice and his guitar.

Clapton’s guitar stands out throughout the album. His soaring solos remind you of his early days when his playing earned him the nickname, God.

I’ve been a fan of Eric Clapton’s music for more than five decades. After only two listenings, “Nothing but the Blues” ranks near the top of all his albums. If you’re a fan of the blues and guitar, check it out. It’s well worth your time.

Related Post: Eric Clapton turns seventy: Fifty years of great music

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Yet another of the brewers that helped kick off the craft beer revolution has been snapped up by a multinational. This past week, Stone Brewing of San Diego was purchased by the U.S. subsidiary of Sapporo Breweries, Ltd., for $165 million. With the sale, Stone’s “anti-sell-out” founder Greg Koch announced he would soon be retiring from the company. Sapporo, which had previous bought out Anchor Brew, announced it plans to double capacity at Stone’s San Diego and Richmond, VA in order to brew Sapporo in the States, bringing production onshore from Vietnam and Canada. Goodbeerhunting.

While I don’t normally stray far from the Chicago-NW Indiana metropolitan area, I am posting Tuesday’s opening of online ticket sales for Toppling Goliath’s Mornin’ Delight release. Pickup for the imperial stout “whale” will be August 5 & 6 at TG’s Decorah, Iowa brewery.

Apologies for those who might have gotten a security warning trying to access my calendar articles a few days earlier. I found one of my security certificates was expiring and tried to renew it. Ended up making my entire hosted content inaccessible. Finally I banged at my Control Panel settings until everything came back.

Wednesday, June 29

Thursday, June 30