Cubs Punish Fort Wayne Bullpen, Win Fourth Straight Game 8-2
MWL South Bend Cubs

Cubs Punish Fort Wayne Bullpen, Win Fourth Straight Game 8-2

August 6, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


South Bend, IN - The South Bend Cubs (42-61) won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday at Four Winds Field, toppling the Fort Wayne TinCaps (49-54) by an 8-2 score. The Cubs took 10 walks in the game and received another three-hit, four-RBI performance from catcher Ariel Armas. They are now 19-18 in the second half and two games back of the West division lead in second-half play.

Right-hander Erian Rodriguez took the ball for the Cubs and produced his third quality start of the season, number two against Fort Wayne. The second-year Midwest Leaguer struck out five in six innings of two-run work, capturing his fifth winning decision of the season. The only runs against him scored in the first via a sacrifice fly and in the fourth on a single from catcher Victor Duarte. In between those two scoring plays, Rodriguez retired eight consecutive TinCaps.

Operating on a pitch count, righty Clark Candiotti made the start for Fort Wayne. He completed three innings, allowing the run that tied the game at one in the second inning. Second baseman Drew Bowser drove it in, dropping an RBI single into the shallow outfield grass.

With Fort Wayne going to the bullpen early on, the Cubs gave TinCap relievers a long night. In the fourth inning, left-hander Fernando Sanchez hung a zero, but he threw 24 pitches and walked a pair. He couldn't make it through the fifth, walking three to force in a run and tie the game. The tying run scored in the person of center fielder Leonel Espinoza, who sparked the Cubs with his first High-A hit. Catcher Ariel Armas would put South Bend in front, breaking his bat on a two-run double down the left-field line.

Protecting a 4-2 lead after five innings, Rodriguez returned to the mound in the sixth, looking to wrap up his quality start. It took some fortitude for him to get there, as the TinCaps put two runners aboard, including the tying run, with one out. However, right fielder Rafael Morel made a massive defensive play, throwing out a runner at home on a single to preserve the two-run lead. Rodriguez would retire the next batter for the third out, keeping momentum squarely with the Cubs.

South Bend put the game to bed in the seventh inning, plating four runs to bring the game to its 8-2 final score. Left fielder Kade Snell led off with his first professional triple, setting up Armas to eventually come up again with the bases loaded. The catcher repeated his fifth-inning result, launching another two-run double to the wall in left-center. He is now 6-for-6 with 8 RBI in the series and is the first player in South Bend Cubs history to post a trio of three-hit, four-RBI games in the same season.

The Cubs' bullpen also remained elite to close the game out, beginning with a shutout seventh inning from rehabbing right-hander Yency Almonte. Righty Grayson Moore was perfect in the eighth, and right-handed Kenyi Perez turned the lights out with a scoreless ninth.

South Bend will go for a fifth consecutive win and the season series victory against Fort Wayne on Thursday at 7:05 PM. Right-handers Kevin Valdez and Sam Whiting are scheduled to pitch for the Cubs and TinCaps, respectively.

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Midwest League Stories from August 6, 2025


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