Wahoos Lose 12-1 To Tennessee In Rain Shortened Game

June 28, 2016

The Chicago Cubs still appear to have plenty of top prospects to look forward to playing for them one day, including Double-A affiliate Tennessee Smokies second baseman Ian Happ and starting pitcher Brad Markey.

Happ went 3-3, including a two-run homer and Markey threw four perfect innings as the Smokies rolled to a 12-1 victory Monday over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos at Smokies Park. The game was shortened to six innings because of rain.

The victory clinched the opening series, 3-2, of the second half of the season for Tennessee and dropped Pensacola’s overall record to 18-21 on the road. At Blue Wahoos Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate won all seven series going 24-11.

Happ, the Cubs No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com, went 11-15, or .733 with four multi-hit games in his first five games at the Double-A level with the Smokies. The 21-year-old hit two home runs, drove in six runs and scored six times.

Meanwhile, Tennessee right hander Markey, the No. 29 prospect, threw four perfect innings, striking out two.

But Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde led off the fifth inning with a double to left field. Blue Wahoos center fielder Brandon Dixon followed with another single on a grounder to left that scored Elizalde to pull Pensacola within, 3-1 — the closest it would get to Tennessee.

Markey threw six innings, allowing four hits and one run, while striking out two. He improved to 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA.

Smokies first baseman Victor Caratini singled on a line drive to right fielder that drove in center fielder Jacob Hannemann to put Tennessee ahead, 1-0, in the first inning.

Tennessee went up, 3-0, in the third inning when Happ hit a two-run homer to right field that also scored Smokies third baseman Chesney Young, who had doubled to right field.

Tennessee then broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning sending nine hitters to the plate and scoring four times on four hits and two walks to go ahead, 7-1. The big hit came when Smokies right fielder Billy McKinney, the Cubs No. 6 prospect, drove in three runs when he tripled to right field with the bases loaded on a 1-2 count and two outs. The seventh run of the game came when Tennessee catcher Ben Carhart singled up the middle to score McKinney.

The Smokies sent 10 hitters to the plate in the sixth inning, adding five more runs to go up, 12-1. Tennessee had five singles, a double and a hit batter in the inning.

Elizalde was 5-15 in the series for Pensacola and is hitting .302 on the season. Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino also hit well going 5-19. Blue Wahoos center fielder Phillip Ervin extended his hitting streak to five games Monday, going 5-17 during that span.

Pensacola has the day off Tuesday and then starts a five-game home series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports