Cubs Ride First Inning, Pitching to 4-3 Win at Quad Cities
The South Bend Cubs (32-17) won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night at Modern Woodmen Park, defeating the Quad Cities River Bandits (22-28) by a 4-3 count. The Cubs have won 12 of their last 13 games and maintain a 4.5-game lead in the Midwest League’s West Division with
The South Bend Cubs (32-17) won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night at Modern Woodmen Park, defeating the Quad Cities River Bandits (22-28) by a 4-3 count. The Cubs have won 12 of their last 13 games and maintain a 4.5-game lead in the Midwest League’s West Division with two weeks to play in the first half.
Click here to view Wednesday’s box score.
The Cubs dealt Quad Cities starter Aiden Jimenez a challenging first inning, scoring four runs and forcing the right-hander to throw 30 pitches. Each of the first four South Bend hitters reached and came around the score, as designated hitter Kane Kepley led off with a walk and steal of second. Second baseman Alex Madera followed with an RBI single to left that scored his former North Carolina teammate. Left fielder Jose Escobar later knocked a two-run single up the middle, and first baseman Drew Bowser drove in one more run with a fielder’s choice.
South Bend would muster only two additional baserunners after the first inning, sitting on four runs for the remainder of the game. Jimenez ended up completing 5.0 innings relievers Mason Miller, Nick Conte, and Yimi Presinal combined for 4.0 shutout frames. Quad Cities pitching thrived on forcing ground balls, as the Cubs made 17 of their 27 outs on the ground.
Right-hander Kevin Valdez made the start and earned the win for the Cubs, delivering 5.0 innings of 1-run work with five strikeouts. Quad Cities didn’t lack opportunities against him, totaling six hits against Valdez but struggling to string hits together. The River Bandits nearly answered the Cubs with a run in the bottom of the first, but Escobar threw out right fielder Nolan Sailors as he tried to score from second on a single. In the fourth, designated hitter Blake Mitchell tagged Valdez with his only earned run, mashing his 10th home run of the season to straightaway center field. The long ball unfolded controversially, as the umpires ruled that the ball cleared the yellow line on the fence and struck the batter’s eye despite arguments from the Cubs.
Quad Cities would miss critical chances across the next three innings. In the fifth, the River Bandits placed runners on the corners with one out before bouncing into a double play, as third baseman Matt Halbach jumped to snag the chopper before going around the horn for two. Right-hander JP Wheat pitched the sixth and walked his first two batters but set down the heart of Quad Cities’ order to hang a zero.
The River Bandits scratched two runs across in the seventh, as Wheat walked two more with two outs, forcing South Bend to call on righty Eli Jerzembeck. Right fielder Nolan Sailors and center fielder Asbel Gonzalez each knocked an RBI single, tightening the Bandits’ deficit to 4-3. However, Quad Cities left both of those runners in scoring position, as Mitchell failed to come through for the second time in as many innings.
After Jerzembeck induced a double play to end the eighth, right-hander Grayson Moore came on to notch his first save of the season in the ninth, ending the game with a strikeout after issuing a one-out walk.
With South Bend leading the series 2-0, the Cubs and River Bandits will square off next at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, June 4. Left-hander Cole Reynolds is scheduled to pitch for the Cubs against Quad Cities righty Emmanuel Reyes.