Cubs Pitcher Adbert Alzolay Sharp in First Outing With Iowa

The Chicago Cubs got a very welcome sight on Saturday when Adbert Alzolay made his second rehab appearance of the season and first with Triple-A Iowa. After a shaky start, Alzolay locked in for a dominant outing. 

Alzolay allowed a hit, a walk, and another walk and balked in a run all before getting an out, but the righty struck out the next three batters to escape the jam. The 27-year-old would get one more inning of work, striking out the side in the second to end his day at two innings pitches, recording all of his outs via punchout.

The former top prospect is likely to make it back to the majors assuming the rest of his rehab goes well, and whether or not it's as a starter or a reliever, it'll be nice to have him back in the fold. 

Elsewhere on the farm:

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (56-66) vs St. Paul Saints (58-62): L 6-3

• John Hicks hit a home run for the second day in a row, bringing his total to 16 on the season.
• Matt Mervis went 1-for-4 with a double. The first baseman has a Triple-A OPS of .901.
• Cayne Ueckert made his first appearance since Aug. 12. The reliever pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout.

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (63-56) vs Rocket City Trash Pandas (69-50): W 6-0

• Ben Brown did a good job of working with traffic. The starter, acquired in the David Robertson trade at the deadline, allowed seven baserunners over four innings, but struck out four and did not allow a run.
• Cole Roederer went 2-for-4. The outfielder is batting .254 after a slow starter in Tennessee. 
• Bryce Ball went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. The 24-year-old leads the Smokies in RBI with 68 on the season.

High-A: South Bend Cubs (66-53) at West Michigan Whitecaps (63-56): L 3-1

• Owen Caissie went 2-for4 with a double and a home run. In his last two games, the 20-year-old is 4-for-7 with a walk and three extra bases.
• Riley Martin allowed one run over three innings in relief, striking out three batters in the outing. 
• Jake Reindl made his first appearance since May 19, pitching a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. The reliever had been on the injured list since May 25. 

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (71-48) vs Augusta GreenJackets (62-56): L 10-2

• Cubs 2022 15th-round pick Haydn McGeary went 3-for-4 with a 101 MPH double. 
• Top prospect Kevin Alcantara went 2-for-4 with a double. The outfielder has an OPS of .793.
• Cubs 2022 seventh-round pick Nick Hull made his Myrtle Beach debut. The Grand Canyon University product pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
• The Cubs also saw the debut of their 10th-round pick Brody McCullough also made his Pelican debut in relief of Hull. The righty struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning. 

Transactions:

• Triple-A first baseman Alfonso Rivas was recalled after Patrick Wisdom was placed on the 10-day injured list. 
• Iowa reliever Cayne Ueckert was offically activated from the development list.
• High-A reliever Jake Reindl was activated off the injued list.