Ruoff Mortgage Homestand Preview: May 20-25

For the first time since April 27, the South Bend Cubs will match up against a team with a losing record this week. At 10-29 overall and 14.5 games back of Midwest League West division leader Quad Cities, the Cubs will host the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers beginning on Tuesday. The Timber Rattlers are the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and check in at 16-23, a record that puts them 8.5 games back of the River Bandits in the West.

State of the Cubs: The South Bend Cubs are still looking for their first series win since April 8-13, their first series at home. They also have not split a series during that time, dropping four out of six games against Fort Wayne at home and five of six at Lansing this past week to start May. Overall, the Cubs have been significantly better at Four Winds Field (8-10 record) than away from it (2-19 record).

Last week in Lansing, the Cubs had opportunities to win more than the one game they took against the Lugnuts. In Tuesday’s series opener, they overcame deficits of 1-0 and 4-3 and carried a 6-4 lead into the ninth inning. Reliever Joe Nahas put the Lugnuts down to their final strike three different times, but all three of those batters collected hits to tie the game. In the 10th inning, South Bend went scoreless, allowing the Lugnuts to walk off with a two-out, two-strike single in the bottom half.

Wednesday and Saturday presented additional chances for the Cubs, who in game two of the series led 1-0 through six innings on a quality start by left-hander Evan Aschenbeck. However, Lansing stormed back to steal a 4-1 win with four runs in the seventh inning. In game five, the Cubs battled back from a 4-4 deficit in the top of the sixth, but two critical throwing errors down the stretch led to Lansing runs and, eventually, a 6-4 Lansing win.

The Cubs did make their sole victory in Lansing a memorable one, erasing a 5-0 deficit to win in extras for the first time this year. Outfielders Rafael Morel and Andy Garriola combined for a trio of two-run home runs, while left-handers Chase Watkins and Evan Taylor pitched well in the game’s second half to afford the Cubs offense a window to come back. After failing to move their automatic placement runner from second base in the 10th inning on Tuesday, the Cubs struck for six runs in their half of the 10th on Friday, going on to win 12-8.

Less Bite in the Rattlers: The Timber Rattlers enjoyed their best season within the past decade in 2024, going 77-54 overall and ending the year nine games ahead of second-place Quad Cities in the West. They dominated play in the first half, posting a Midwest League-best record of 42-24 to clinch a playoff berth. In those playoffs, they quickly dispatched Quad Cities to win the division before taking the Lake County Captains to Game 3 and losing it.

This year, Wisconsin’s pitching staff is the only thing keeping it out of a tussle for last place. The Timber Rattlers do little to nothing well offensively, bottoming out the Midwest League in runs per game (3.85). The Cubs aren’t too far ahead of that pace at 4.21 runs per game. Wisconsin’s strength lies on the mound, where it ranks third in the league with a 3.88 earned run average. The Cubs, for reference, have the league’s worst ERA at 5.56. Timber Rattler starting pitchers in particular, have been elite, ranking second only to division leader Quad Cities in ERA.

First baseman and No. 16 Brewers prospect Blake Burke leads the Timber Rattler offense, hitting .302 with 10 doubles, 17 RBI, and a team-best .846 OPS. Shortstops Jadher Arenaimo and Eduardo Garcia, who each have four home runs, have been nice pieces as well, wth Garcia totaling 10 stolen bases and 17 RBI. Thursday starting pitcher Tyson Hardin headlines the Wisconsin pitching staff, holding a remarkable 1.16 ERA through seven starts with four walks and 40 strikeouts.

Even though the Cubs finished 23.5 games behind the Timber Rattlers last year, they matched up with Wisconsin well. South Bend won 11 of the 24 matchups with Wisconsin, going 6-6 at Four Winds Field. Later this year, the Cubs will visit the Timber Rattlers from July 8-13 before ending the regular season against Wisconsin at home from September 2-7.

South Bend’s players to watch…

Andy Garriola, OF: The longest hit streak on the team now belongs to the Cubs’ home run leader. Garriola has hit safely in nine consecutive games after going 5-for-21 with five runs batted in in five starts at Lansing. He also became Soth Bend’s RBI leader this past week and contributed to the Cubs’ Friday comeback by launching a two-run long ball, his sixth of the season. On the other side of the ball, Garriola’s defensive role has increased in center field with Carter Trice hitting the injured list, and he answered the bell by making a couple of sliding grabs in Lansing.

Rafael Morel, OF: After opening the season with only three hits in 53 at-bats, Morel has turned a corner over the past two weeks. In his eight games played since May 8, he has a slugging percentage of .692 and an OPS north of 1.000 to go with seven RBI. He delivered the first multi-home run game of his career on Friday during the Cubs’ 10-inning win in Lansing. The first two-run blast he hit broke a shutout and set South Bend’s rally in motion, and the second gave the Cubs an 8-6 lead in the 10th inning. He enters the Wisconsin series on a season-long on-base streak of nine games.

Luis Rujano, RHP: Though he saw some action in the rotation in April, Rujano has hit his stride as a reliever in his first Midwest League season. The 22-year-old right-hander from Venezuela has posted 8.2 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts out of the bullpen and has a 6.2-inning shutout streak to start the month of May. Rujano appeared twice in Lansing, spinning two scoreless frames on Thursday before wiggling out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in a run-free eighth inning on Sunday.

Top prospects in the series…

South Bend: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 6, MLB No. 78), INF Cristian Hernandez (Cubs No. 11)

Lansing: RHP Bishop Letson (Brewers No. 14), INF Blake Burke (Brewers No. 16), INF Jadher Arenaimo (Brewers No. 23), INF Juan Baez (Brewers No. 26), Manuel Rodriguez (Brewers No. 29)

Schedule and probables…

Tuesday, May 20 - 6:05 PM ET: RHP Tyler Schlaffer vs. RHP Patricio Aquino

Wednesday, May 21 - 11:05 AM ET: LHP Evan Aschenbeck vs. LHP Anthony Flores

Thursday, May 22 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Erian Rodriguez vs. RHP Tyson Hardin

Friday, May 23 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Nick Dean vs. RHP Ryan Birchard

Saturday, May 24 - 4:05 PM ET: RHP Ryan Gallagher vs. RHP Tanner Gillis

Sunday, May 25 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Kenten Egbert vs. RHP Jaron DeBerry