Cubs Reward Fans With Quick Game After 19-inning Marathon

SOUTH BEND, IN - After a 19-inning game that took two days for the South Bend Cubs to win, the Cubs wasted no time in getting through the nine necessary innings it took to hold off the Clinton LumberKings 3-2 for their second win in as many days.

Saturday night's game was completed in only two hours and thirty-six minutes, a drastic difference from the night before.
Though Clinton scored in the first inning for the second game in a row, South Bend's offense put together a pair of back-to-back bunt singles in the third inning to set up Brandon Cummins' two-RBI double. Vimael Machin, who was named Player of the Game, then singled to score Cummins and give the Cubs a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the fourth inning.
The LumberKings pulled within one run of tying the game, simultaneously making everyone in the park nervous of a repeat from the night before, when Rayder Ascanio hit seventh inning RBI-double to make it a 3-2 ballgame. But Matt Swarmer slammed the door, shutting out the Clinton offense over four innings to earn his first save of the season.
Swarmer now holds a 2.60 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched this season.
The Chicago Cubs' top pitching prospect and Minor League Pitcher of the Month, Dylan Cease, threw five innings and only allowed one run on three hits. The fireball-throwing right-hander is now 1-1 on the season in six games started for South Bend.
The South Bend starting lineup included six players who played the entire 19-inning game prior to Saturday night's contest. The Cubs have now played 28 innings in the last 27 hours. With so many innings in the books, players are most certainly feeling the exhaustion of so much play; however, their next off day will not come until one week from tomorrow and they will finish the month of May with 21 straight games that will take them into the first week of June.
In the 19-inning, 5+ hour ballgame, 37 different players entered the game over the course of two days. All in all, both teams combined for 135 at-bats, 39 strikeouts, 15 walks, 55 players left on base, on 527 total pitches thrown.
South Bend had the bases loaded twice from the ninth inning on, but could not string together enough hits to finish the game before the Midwest League's official game curfew. The game was then suspended around 1:00 a.m. ET and later resumed at 5:30 p.m. later than evening.
Though neither team scored in the first of nine consecutive extra innings, the Cubs needed only one inning to score the winning run. Yeiler Peguero led off the 19^th inning with a single and then stole second base to move into scoring position. From there he advanced to third with one out on Tyler Payne's sacrifice bunt. Jhonny Pereda then ended the prolonged extra inning battle with an RBI-single that the Clinton pitcher could not field in time to throw out Peguero who sped home to secure the victory for South Bend.
Manuel Rondon picked up the victory by pitching a scoreless 19th inning.
Tomorrow will be the final game of the home stand for the South Bend Cubs as Jose Paulino is scheduled to take the mound for the Cubs. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET.
Photo credit: Emma Reese