Cubs swat Lugnuts out of first place, 3-1

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Eddy Martinez slugged a two-run homer, Bryant Flete belted a solo home run, and the South Bend Cubs (8-2, 49-30) powered their way to a 3-1 victory over the Lansing Lugnuts (7-3, 43-37) on Saturday night at Four Winds Field.

The two ballclubs, the top teams in the Eastern Division, have split the first two games of their series.

A pitchers' duel between South Bend's Kyle Miller and Lansing's Angel Perdomo was broken in the top of the sixth by a double steal. With Juan Kelly batting, Max Pentecost stole second base, drawing a throw that allowed Ryan Metzler to swipe home plate.

The 1-0 lead did not last long. In the home half of the sixth, Tyler Alamo delivered a one-out single. Martinez followed with his seventh home run of the year, cranked out to deep left. The homer ended a stretch of 16 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings for Perdomo against South Bend.

Perdomo (Loss, 2-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings in total, allowing seven hits, two runs, two walks and six strikeouts.

Miller (Win, 4-1) countered with six innings of two-hit ball, giving up just the one unearned run, and recording seven strikeouts without issuing a walk.

He was followed to the mound by Tyler Peitzmeier (Save, 1), who blanked the Lugnuts on two hits in the final three frames, striking out four.

The scoring was closed out by Flete's first home run since July 21, 2015, victimizing Tom Robson in the seventh inning and putting icing on the cake in front of a crowd of 7,669.

Lansing's only hits in the game were singles notched by Metzler, Pentecost, Jake Thomas and Carl Wise. Left fielder Connor Panas went 0-for-4, ending his on-base streak at 19 games.

Reliever Dan Lietz made his return to the mound in the 6th inning, retiring the only batter he faced.

Lugnuts southpaw Ryan Borucki (5-3, 2.85) starts the series finale against Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay (5-4, 4.39), set for 7:35 p.m. Sunday night.

The Lugnuts return to Cooley Law School Stadium in time for Independence Day! Go Nuts for special 4th of July LAFCU Fireworks with gates opening at 5 p.m., 50% off all drinks from 5-6 p.m., and a 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Dayton Dragons. To purchase tickets or for more information, stop by the Cooley Law School Stadium box office, call (517-485-4500) or visit LansingLugnuts.com.

 

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