Missed Chances Sink Cubs in 6-2 Loss to Fort Wayne
The South Bend Cubs (12-10) dropped their third straight game to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (10-15) on Friday night at Four Winds Field, losing by a 6-2 score. The Cubs had all kinds of opportunities to build on an early lead and rally from a small deficit down the stretch,
The South Bend Cubs (12-10) dropped their third straight game to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (10-15) on Friday night at Four Winds Field, losing by a 6-2 score. The Cubs had all kinds of opportunities to build on an early lead and rally from a small deficit down the stretch, but they couldn’t produce beyond their two-run second inning.
Click here to view Friday’s box score.
Friday’s game featured an elite pitching matchup between South Bend’s Brooks Caple and Fort Wayne’s Kash Mayfield, the No. 4 Padres prospect, but neither starter looked all that comfortable. Caple loaded the bases in a 28-pitch first inning and ended up only completing three scoreless frames with a season-high three walks. Meanwhile, Mayfield fought his command all night, walking five in his 3.2 innings of two-run work.
The Cubs got their two runs against Mayfield in the bottom of the second inning, loading the bags with nobody out before simplifying their approach. Catcher Justin Stransky and center fielder Kane Kepley each lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, settling South Bend into an early lead. Fort Wayne answered with a run against righty reliever Alfredo Romero in the top of the fourth, scoring on a double play.
Both teams left plenty of opportunities on the table throughout the remainder of the middle innings, Fort Wayne first leaving the tying run at third in the top of the fourth. In the bottom half, the Cubs loaded the bases with two outs on three consecutive walks, but a flyout wrapped up the threat. Each offense had a runner at third in the sixth inning, Fort Wayne getting the tying run there with nobody out, but the timely hit again did not appear.
The TinCaps finally broke through in the seventh, snatching three runs and the lead against Romero and right-hander Jackson Kirkpatrick. After retiring the first two in the inning, Romero issued two walks, forcing Kirkpatrick to come in and try to play fireman. He did not succeed, granting the tying run on a wild pitch before conceding a two-run single to first baseman Jack Costello. At the stretch, Fort Wayne led by a 4-2 score.
Badly needing a response in the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs again couldn’t pull through after loading the bases with one out. Right-hander Tucker Musgrove came on for Fort Wayne midway through the inning, stranding the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run also on base. He got designated hitter Cameron Sisneros to strike out before inducing an inning-ending groundout from third baseman Matt Halbach.
The Cubs had yet another chance to rally in the eighth, putting two runners aboard with nobody out. However, Musgrove retired the next two he faced, and sidearm closer Clay Edmondson finished the job with a strikeout of left fielder Leonel Espinoza. Fort Wayne made the Cubs pay for their missed opportunity in the top of the ninth, earning two more runs on Costello’s third home run of the season.
With the TinCaps leading the series 3-1, the Cubs will try to snap their three-game skid against Fort Wayne at 4:05 PM on Saturday. Right-hander Kevin Valdez is scheduled to start against southpaw Jamie Hitt, the reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.