Lugs come up short at South Bend, 5-3
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - J.D. Davis and Rowdy Tellez each drilled RBI doubles, but the Lansing Lugnuts (17-15) dropped their fourth consecutive game, falling 5-3 to the South Bend Cubs (17-15) on Tuesday afternoon at Four Winds Field.
The losing streak is a season high for the Lugs, who fell to 1-4 on their 10-game, 11-day road trip.
Lansing continually created scoring opportunities against South Bend starter Jeremy Null (W, 4-0), but the Midwest League's ERA leader scattered nine hits while holding the Lugs to solely two runs, provided by Davis's and Tellez's doubles, in six innings.
20-year-old Lugnuts starter Jesus Tinoco (L, 0-1) was reached for seven hits and two walks in his 3 2/3 innings, though he struck out four and did well to limit the Cubs to three runs.
Reliever Colton Turner rescued Lansing from a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, allowing one run in 2 1/3 innings. Mark Biggs pitched a scoreless seventh, facing the minimum, before Jose Fernandez gave up an insurance run in the eighth.
The Lugs made the game interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs against Jordan Minch. Minch (Sv, 2) gave up a run on a J.D. Davis double play grounder before coaxing a groundout from Rowdy Tellez to close the door.
In the losing cause, Anthony Alford, Danny Jansen, Boomer Collins and Justin Atkinson each went 2-for-4, with Alford and Tim Locastro extending on-base streaks to 18 and 14 games respectively.
In the ninth, Locastro (1-for-4) was hit by a pitch for the 11th time, increasing his Minor League-leading total.
The Lugnuts and Cubs play the third game of their four-game series at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, with Lansing southpaw Shane Dawson (3-2, 2.89) taking on South Bend right-hander Erick Leal (3-0, 2.45).
The next Lugs home game at Cooley Law School Stadium is at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, May 18th, starting an eight-game homestand that stretches through May 25th.. For more information, call (517) 485-4500 or visit lansinglugnuts.com.
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