Cubs come up just short in 8-5 loss to Kane County

Geneva, IL: The South Bend Cubs gave the Kane County Cougars a scare in the top of the 9th inning of the rubber match at Northwestern Medicine Field on Monday night. Looking like garbage time as the game went to the 9th and down 8-2, the Cubs made it interesting by bringing the tying run to the plate.

With the bases loaded and two runs already in thanks to back-to-back singles by Zach Davis and Clayton Daniel, 2018 Chicago Cubs third round pick Jimmy Herron stepped up to the plate.
Herron, who had not reached base yet in his South Bend debut, looked to get the Cubs closer to the current 8-4 lead possessed by Kane County. On a deep drive hit near the left field warning track, the ball kept on carrying. All the way back to the wall, left fielder Luis Silverio leaped up and robbed Herron of a game tying grand slam.
Instead, Silverio made the catch and the play ended up being a RBI sac fly. Herron picked up his first RBI in the Midwest League. The next batter was Miguel Amaya, who struck out to end the game. Cougars reliever Breckin Williams escaped with limited damage.
The rally was too little, too late for South Bend. The Cubs dug themselves a hole in the middle innings as they allowed seven unanswered runs from innings four through six. South Bend opened the scoring in the 2nd inning as Amaya scored when Rafael Narea hit a ground ball to the third baseman Ryan Grotjohn.
They could not hold onto the 1-0 lead. Starter Brendan King could not make it out of the 4th inning, as he had to be relieved by right hander Manuel Rodriguez. Rodriguez pitched 1.1 innings but walked three batters and gave up three runs. King takes the loss and drops his record to 3-5.
Overall, the Cubs are back at .500 with their record at 50-50. They still find themselves at the top of the Eastern Division in the first playoff spot. With an off day tomorrow, and a big three game series upcoming at home against Lansing, they will hope to regroup and come out strong on Wednesday.
First pitch from Four Winds Field on Wednesday against the Lugnuts is set for 7:05 p.m. Right hander Erling Moreno is expected to start for the Cubs.