TinCaps Mount Another Comeback, Defeat Cubs 6-2

Fort Wayne, IN - The rehab starts keep coming for the South Bend Cubs. After Chicago Cubs lefty and 2025 National League All-Star Matthew Boyd pitched for South Bend last night, top Cubs pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins was on the mound on Sunday. Wiggins, who pitched parts of both the 2024 and 2025 season with the South Bend Cubs, pitched in his second rehab start with the organization since going down with an injury in April with the Iowa Cubs. Wiggins fired 2.2 innings and struck out three batters, as the TinCaps topped the Cubs to wrap up this week’s series 6-2.

Wiggins took the ball against Fort Wayne lefty Jamie Hitt. Like Saturday, the Cubs were on the board first. South Bend and Fort Wayne each exchanged a single tally in the 2nd inning, with Miguel Useche scoring on a double-play turned by Fort Wayne. Alex McCoy picked up the only TinCaps hit off Wiggins, taking him deep over the center field wall on a solo homer. It was 1-1 heading to the 3rd.

The last act by Wiggins was helping turn part of a strike out, throw out double play where he punched out Kasen Wells, and Useche caught Wyatt Hoffman stealing. Wiggins finished with 49 pitches, and 27 strikes.

After Wiggins departed, Kenten Egbert got the final out of the bottom of the 3rd, and tossed 1.1 total shutout frames.

In the 5th, after a Drew Bowser lead-off walk, Kane Kepley smashed a double the opposite way off the left-center field wall to give the Cubs the lead again at 2-1.

Like Saturday, the TinCaps utilized solid late inning pitching, along with big rallies in the final innings to swipe away the lead and the win. South Bend did not pick up another base hit in the game after Kepley’s double.

Making his return off the Development List, lefty Ethan Flanagan fired shutout innings in the bottom of the 5th and 6th, but in the 7th, Fort Wayne had their big inning with three runs scored on four hits. Taking a 4-2 lead, the TinCaps added two more on Jack Costello’s two-run homer in the bottom of the 8th, making it 6-2.

Sunday was the 18th and final regular season game played between the Cubs and TinCaps this regular season. The only other time the hoosier state rivals can get together this season would be the Midwest League Championship Series in September. The Cubs are already playoff bound winning the first-half, and the TinCaps are off to a 2-1 second-half start looking to clinch a late-season playoff spot.

Fort Wayne is the only Midwest League team to own a series win against South Bend this season. They now have two after taking five of six games at Four Winds Field in late April and early May. The Cubs returned the favor by taking five of six of their own in mid-May at Four Winds Field in the second series played between the two.

South Bend will return home on Tuesday night to take on the Quad Cities River Bandits at 7:05 PM.