Cubs Shut Out TinCaps 5-0 on Gallagher’s Gem

Ryan Gallagher sure did make his first win in professional baseball a memorable one. In Saturday’s 5-0 South Bend Cubs defeat of the Fort Wayne TinCaps, the 22-year-old starting pitcher struck out eight in six hitless innings. Picking up their first shutout of the season, the Cubs improved to 9-23 on the year, dropping Fort Wayne to 18-14 for the campaign.

Click here to view Saturday afternoon’s box score.

After conceding the day’s first run in each of the first four games of the series, the Cubs put the hammer down early in game five. They applied pressure on Fort Wayne starter and No. 10 Padres prospect Isaiah Lowe right away, loading the bases with nobody out in the first inning. Designated hitter Edgar Alvarez opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center, bringing home right fielder Ivan Brethowr. Catcher Miguel Pabon then struck a two-run single, and left fielder Reginald Preciado yanked an RBI double to the left-field corner. Preciado’s two-bagger pushed his on-base streak to 14 games and gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead after one inning.

In the second, South Bend would grab another run against Lowe, who remained on the mound after a 32-pitch first inning. Shortstop Cristian Hernandez doubled off the wall in right-center with two outs, stretching his on-base streak to nine games and his hit streak to seven. The extra-base hit sent Brethowr to third, and he came in to score when second baseman Jefferson Rojas ripped an RBI single on the infield. Rojas, the No. 7 Cubs prospect, enjoyed an active start to the game. He singled, stole two bases, scored a run, and drove in a run before the second inning wrapped up.

Gallagher made the absolute most of his immediate run support, shutting down the TinCaps across six innings to earn his first professional win. Working in his sixth professional start, the right-hander struck out the side in the first inning and went on to face the minimum through five frames. He ran into trouble after recording two quick outs in the sixth, as an error and a walk put two TinCaps aboard for top San Diego Padres prospect Leo De Vries. Gallagher had already struck out the Fort Wayne shortstop twice, and he had one more ace up his sleeve to finish his outing. Spinning a slider over the inner half of the plate, Gallagher fanned De Vries for a third time, recording an eighth overall strikeout in six scoreless and hitless innings.

With Gallagher’s gem and No. 10 Cubs prospect Jaxon Wiggins’ seven-inning spectacle on Thursday night, South Bend pitchers have turned in two quality starts on the homestand.

Right-handers Luis Rujano and Sam Thoresen closed the door for the Cubs, combining for three scoreless relief innings. Rujano punched out three TinCaps in his two innings, while Thoresen dealt a shutout ninth. Overall, the Cubs limited the TinCaps to three hits and cut off the 14-game on-base streak and eight-game hit streak of De Vries.

The Cubs will go for the split on Mother’s Day at 2:05 PM on Sunday. They’ll throw right-hander Kenten Egbert against Fort Wayne right-hander Eric Yost.