Chicago Cubs Ben Leeper Saves the Day at Triple-A as Darius Hill Dazzles

Iowa Cubs reliever Ben Leeper escaped a bases-loaded jam en route to a five-out save while outfielder Darius Hill carried the load offensively.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

When Ben Leeper entered the game looking for his sixth save of the season, it was far from a typical closing situation. Leeper inherited a bases-loaded mess with one out in the top of the eighth and would need to come up in a big way to secure the Iowa Cubs' 50th win of the season.

The righty managed to escape the jam unscathed, striking out Louisville Bats' designated hitter Isiah Gilliam looking before getting lead-off hitter Lorenzo Cedrola to go down swinging, preserving Iowa's 5-4 lead.

The Oklahoma State product then worked a drama-free ninth against the Bats' two, three and four hitters, fanning the first two and ending the game with a harmless groundout. Leeper finished the day with four strikeouts, no walks, no hits, and no runs allowed, continuing his dominant stretch as of late.

Over his last full month of work, Leeper has an ERA of just 1.59 over 11.1 innings pitched and a 15.4 K/9 as well. This stretch has been important for the MLB Pipeline 27th-ranked Cubs prospect as he continues to work his way closer and closer to the majors. 

Also in Iowa, Darius Hill did the heavy lifting offensively, tallying three of the Cubs' six hits, knocking in two runs from the leadoff spot. The left-handed hitter also tripled.

The former 20th-round pick is now batting .340 with an OPS of .841, posting the highest line drive percentage of his career. With Hill eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, it's likely he ends up on the 40-man roster at some point this winter.

Elsewhere on the farm:

Double-A: Tennesse Smokies (59-49) vs. Mississippi Braves (49-59): W 8-7

• Yonathan Perlaza went 3-5 with two RBI in the leadoff spot, just a single short of the cycle. The switch-hitter now has an OPS of .876 on the season. 
• Alex Canario went 2-4 and hit his 28th home run of the season between High-A and Double-A. The 22-year-old is batting .315 with 11 home runs and 22 walks to 25 strikeouts since July 1.
• Bryce Ball finished the day 3-4 with an RBI. The first baseman acquired in the Joc Pederson trade in 2021 has a career-low strikeout rate this season.  
• Jordan Wicks struck out four and gave out one run over four innings. The 2021 first-round pick has a 0.69 ERA in August.
• Ryan Jensen was named Double-A Southern League Pitcher of the Week. The righty struck out seven over five shutout frames in his lone start. 

High-A: South Bend Cubs (59-49) @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (58-49): L 5-3

• Jordan Nwogu went 1-4 with a home run and a walk, knocking in all three Cub runs. He became the 11th player in the Cubs system this season to have 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases. 
• Luis Verdugo went 2-5 and was the only Cub with multiple hits. He has reached base in 21 straight games and has been red-hot as of late. 
• Pete Crow-Armstrong went 0-3 but did walk twice and steal two bases. 
• Michael McAvene pitched a scoreless frame with two strikeouts. The former Louisville Cardinal has an ERA of just 2.14 in his previous 21 innings and has struck out 29 batters.  

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (68-40) 4, Columbia Fireflies (40-67) 5

• Pelicans starter Grant Kipp went 2.2 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks while striking out one. The right-hander was a 2022 undrafted free agent and is the first of any of the Cubs' draft-week pickups to play above rookie ball. 
• Jacob Wetzel hit his tenth home run of the year and became the 12th player in the Cubs system to post a 10-10 season in 2022. 
• Liam Spence went 1-3 and drove in the other three Pelicans runs on his second home run of the season. 

Transactions:

• Three players were transferred to the development list on Saturday. Smokies second baseman Christian Donahue and reliever Max Bain were each added to the list while Iowa Cubs reliever Cayne Ueckert was also moved to the list. 
• Right-handed pitcher Raynel Espinal, acquired in the Dixon Machado trade, was released on Saturday. The 30-year-old made two relief appearances in Iowa and surrendered three runs in each outing. 

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