Cubs beaten by Loons in series opener 10-1

Midland, MI: The Great Lakes Loons scored a combined nine runs in the first two innings against the South Bend Cubs on Friday night from Dow Diamond. In a 10-1 final, the Cubs broke a three game winning streak after sweeping Bowling Green in three games this week.

Cubs starter Brailyn Marquez got the first out of the first inning one batter in on a groundout. Then after singles by Jair Camargo and Jacob Amaya, an error was made by the South Bend infield to load the bases.
After that point, the dangerous Great Lakes lineup cashed in with a four run first inning and five runs in the second inning. Marquez made it through 1.1 innings with five earned runs allowed. Midwest League All-Star Jeff Passantino then took over for the next 3.1 innings and allowed just one earned run.
Elsewhere out of the bullpen, returning South Bend Cub Brendan King made his 2019 Midwest League debut in 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. King, who was named a Midwest League All-Star last season, was added to the roster shortly before tonight's game.
Finally, Ethan Roberts and Gustavo Polanco finished things off for the Cubs and tossed the final two frames.
At the plate, South Bend had five hits and five walks. First baseman Tyler Durna earned three of those free passes. The only run to score came off of Christopher Morel's second home run in as many days. Morel crushed a ball off of Nathan Witt over the right field wall to end the shutout bid.
With the loss, the Cubs see their record fall to 33-26 on the season and will try it again tomorrow night at 7:05 PM. This is one of the most important series of the season for South Bend, as the club is now 4.5 games back of the division lead held by Great Lakes.