Improbable 9th Inning Comeback Lifts Cubs Over ‘Rattlers 10-7

Appleton, WI - In one of the most thrilling, chaotic, and unusual 9th inning comebacks that can ever be drawn up, the South Bend Cubs came back to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Fox Cities Stadium on Friday night by a final score of 10-7. South Bend trailed the game 7-0 after three innings of play, and wound up scoring 10 unanswered runs down the stretch to win the game. In the 9th, the Cubs were down to their final out of the game, with zero men on base, and went on to score six runs in the inning to take the lead, and then shut down the ‘Rattlers for the victory.

For the third time this series, Wisconsin scored the game’s first run with a set of three tallies in the bottom of the 1st inning. The Timber Rattlers used an opener on the mound to begin the game, with lefty Jose Meneses working a scoreless top of the 1st inning. Wisconsin had the advantage with the 3-0 lead heading to the 2nd, as well as utilizing a pair of Milwaukee Brewers rehabbing pitchers on the mound in the 2nd and 3rd.

Lefty JoJo Romero struck out the side in the top of the 2nd, as the southpaw that was acquired at the trade deadline by the Brewers from the St. Louis Cardinals has pitched a pair of shutout innings this series. Romero started Tuesday’s game and went a shutout inning to begin the game that night. In the 3rd, Brewers closer Abner Uribe fired a quick-paced scoreless frame. He has also pitched two shutout innings on the week.

In the 4th, South Bend saw the fourth different pitcher in as many innings from the Timber Rattlers in right-hander Jayden Dubanewicz. South Bend picked up its first run in the 4th after Kade Snell walked with two outs, and Logan Poteet drove him in with a bloop single.

South Bend cut it back to just a three-run deficit thanks to a rally sparked from Brennan Hudson and Geuri Lubo at the bottom of the order. The next batter was Chicago Cubs top prospect Josiah Hartshorn, who crushed an opposite home run, his 17th with the South Bend Cubs and 21st of the season, to make it 7-4.

From there, Dubanewicz settled in, and worked scoreless frames in the 6th, 7th, and 8th. The Cubs bullpen matched that though, with Edwardo Melendez firing 2.2 shutout innings to keep the game close. Cole Reynolds hopped on the mound with two outs in the 6th, and recorded the final out of that inning before tossing shutout innings in both the 7th and 8th.

The Cubs remained down three runs going to the bottom of the 9th inning. Right-hander Jose Nova was called from the Wisconsin bullpen looking for the final three outs. After recording two quick outs, it looked like the Timber Rattlers were going to take their third win of the week.

That was until a two-out base hit from Hudson to keep the Cubs alive. The next batter was Lubo, who singled into left field to bring up the top of the lineup. Lubo finished Friday with a three-hit game.

With the first two aboard to begin the two out rally in the 9th, Hartshorn walked to load the bases. With the bags juiced, Jose Escobar took a four-pitch walk from Nova. Then, Angel Cepeda took the same. Nova had thrown nine straight balls at one point, as South Bend made it a 7-6 ballgame after back-to-back bases loaded walks. And after that in a one-run game, the bags were still full.

The next batter was Snell, who looped a base-hit to shallow left field to score a pair of runs. South Bend had the lead for the first time Friday night. A batter later, Poteet delivered the same with a two-run base knock. The Cubs led it 10-7, and ultimately sent 11 men to the plate in the 9th inning, nine of them with two outs in the frame.

An implausible comeback, and one of the crazier ones you ever will see. In the bottom of the 9th, Reynolds worked a perfect inning, and struck out a pair of Timber Rattlers to end the game.

South Bend improved its already best record in the Midwest League to 71-49.

The Cubs have evened this week’s series at two wins apiece, and will look for the series lead on Saturday night when the two teams get together again at 7:40 PM EST. Lefty Pierce Coppola is slated to start the game for South Bend.