Toyota Road Report: July 1-3

July has arrived, and so has another full month of South Bend Cubs baseball. A unique stretch of games stands before the Cubs this week, as they will play six games against the Peoria Chiefs, the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, three on the road and three at Four Winds Field. South Bend enters the home-and-home series at 28-47 overall and 5-4 in the second half, while Peoria checks in at 30-44 overall and 4-5 in the second half.

It’s Warmer Now: When the Cubs and Chiefs played their most recent series against one another in April, the first game’s first pitch temperature was 38 degrees. That was South Bend’s home opener on April 8. The Cubs went on to win the series 4-2, capturing each of the week’s first four games on the way there. In their victories, the Cubs used a simple formula applicable with the frigid temperatures: pitch well and win close. No. 9 Cubs prospect Cristian Hernandez helped them do that with the highlight swing of the series, a go-ahead home run of the no-doubt variety in the eighth inning of Thursday’s game.

Racking Up Road Wins: After starting the season 4-23 away from Four Winds Field, the Cubs have suddenly won nine of their last 12 road games. That includes a 5-1 series win at Fort Wayne in mid-June and a 4-2 series victory this past week against the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

South Bend’s offense set the tone for the week on Tuesday, breaking into double digits for the third time in the last four Tuesdays to lead a 10-6 win. The same occurred on Friday night, as the Cubs pounded three long home runs on the way to a 12-4 blowout. In between those games, Tyler Schlaffer delivered one of the best starting pitching performances anywhere in the Cubs organization on Wednesday. The right-hander spun seven scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 10 to set up a 4-1 win.

The Cubs sealed their series victory on Saturday, overcoming a 4-3 deficit down the stretch and hanging on for a 5-4 win. Although they lost the finale by a 6-1 score on Sunday, the Cubs still walked away with a second consecutive road series win and a 14-11 final record for the month of June.

Chief Concerns: Whereas South Bend has won three series this season, Peoria has won only two despite its better overall record. The Chiefs have had an especially rough time since going 5-1 against the Quad Cities River Bandits to start June, going 6-12 across their last 18 games. This past week, they split a home series against the Beloit Sky Carp, wrapping up the series with a 10-0 loss on Sunday. They also have a grueling July schedule after the South Bend series, hosting six-game sets against postseason-bound Cedar Rapids and West Michigan with a three-game trip to Quad Cities in between.

Though they hit for minimal power, the Chiefs are respectable offensively, ranking fifth in the Midwest League with a .246 batting average and fourth with 361 total runs scored. They’ve endured major struggles on the mound, though, bottoming out the league with a 5.23 team ERA while totaling the second-most walks and third-fewest strikeouts in the MWL. Peoria will need plenty more from its pitching staff down the stretch as they seek their first second-half title since 2009.

Shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar leads the Chiefs offensively, ranking fifth in the Midwest League with a .299 average. He doesn’t have a long ball this season, though, as Peoria home run leaders Brayden Jobert and Zach Levenson each only have five. The Chiefs had a legitimate power threat in right fielder Joshua Baez (.483 slugging percentage in 38 games) earlier this year, but he was promoted to Double-A Springfield in late May.

South Bend’s players to watch…

Kenten Egbert, RHP: South Bend’s Sunday starting pitcher through the first 12 weeks of the season, Egbert made the move to the bullpen for a high-leverage appearance during the Cedar Rapids series. In his first relief outing since June 30, 2024, Egbert was tasked with protecting a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning on Saturday night. The right-hander walked the tightrope in the seventh, leaving the bases loaded before spinning a clean eighth inning to earn his first hold of the season. Including his last five starts, Egbert has a commendable 3.29 ERA since May 25.

Brian Kalmer, 1B: Last season was Brian Kalmer’s first year as a South Bend Cub, and he didn’t hit his first home run of the campaign until May 31. He’d go on to post 11 long balls, showcasing his ability to turn his power game on in a hurry. Kalmer might just be doing the same thing in 2025, as he crushed his first two home runs of the season during the past week in Cedar Rapids. Now a .302 hitter over his last 12 games, Kalmer finished the week with seven RBI across four games. He also registered three multi-hit games in Cedar Rapids after entering the series with only three multi-hit efforts to his name for the entire season.

Cameron Sisneros, 1B: South Bend’s newest position player hasn’t at all been fazed since climbing a level from Myrtle Beach to the Midwest League. In nine games since his arrival in High-A, Sisneros is hitting .281 with five extra-base hits, six RBI, and an .868 OPS. Perhaps most impressively, he has struck out only twice in 38 at bats. Sisneros hit the Cubs’ most meaningful home run of the season on Saturday, a two-run shot in the seventh inning that ultimately won South Bend the game and doubled as the first baseman’s first High-A homer. He still ranks second to 34-year-old Iowa Cubs catcher Carlos Pérez for the highest OPS among Chicago Cubs MiLB affiliates.

Top prospects in the series…

South Bend: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 4, MLB No. 71), INF Cristian Hernandez (Cubs No. 9), RHP Ryan Gallagher (Cubs No. 17)

Peoria: RHP Chen-Wei Lin (Cardinals No. 13), Darlin Saladin (Cardinals No. 17), C Ryan Campos (Cardinals No. 18), RHP Zack Showalter (Cardinals No. 19), OF Travis Honeyman (Cardinals No. 24), OF Zach Levenson (Cardinals No. 29)

Schedule and probables…

Tuesday, July 1 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Brooks Caple vs. RHP Cade Winquest

Wednesday, July 2 - 7:35 PM ET: LHP Drew Gray vs. RHP Jason Savacool

Thursday, July 3 - 6:45 PM ET: TBA vs. RHP Chen-Wei Lin