Dragons Rally and Comeback to Walk-Off Cubs 5-4
July 8, 2019 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Cubs News Release
Dayton, OH: As the series finale between the South Bend Cubs and Dayton Dragons turned for the bottom of the 9th inning, all signs pointed to the Cubs finishing off the series sweep after shutout performances the previous two days. With a 4-1 Cubs lead and Dayton down to their final three outs, the Dragons bats woke up and rallied to walk-off South Bend 5-4.
In the final game of the road trip, the Cubs used the long ball to their advantage after falling behind early 1-0. With Dayton's first inning run, South Bend's consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 25 straight.
The Dragons lead was short-lived, as Marcus Mastrobuoni smashed his first Midwest League home run on a line drive dart over the left field wall to plate two runs. The Cubs lead was 2-1 heading to the 4th inning.
To lead off the top of the 4th, Fidel Mejia crushed his first homer of the year to extend the lead to 3-1. Mejia, who did not have a RBI coming into the road trip, now has four total.
The offense backed up the pitching staff as the Cubs were forced to go to their bullpen early. Starter Brendon Little departed the game with no outs in the top of the 4th inning due to an issue with his hand. After being checked out by Athletic Trainer James Edwards and Pitching Coach Jamie Vermilyea, Little was pulled in favor of the returning Brian Glowicki.
Glowicki, who finished second in the Midwest League last season in saves with 18, came on and picked up right where he left off with three scoreless innings to keep the Cubs in the lead.
The birthday boy Brendan King continued the strong night for the bullpen with two shutout innings of his own. King turned 25-years-old on Monday.
With a 4-1 lead, the game went to the bottom of the 9th. It was the job of trusty right-hander Sean Barry to get the Cubs out of Dayton with a sweep. Barry, whose ERA was sitting at just over 0.80 coming into the game, surrendered four runs as the Dragons finished the finale with a walk-off.
With the loss, the Cubs fall to 47-39 on the season and 10-8 in the second half. The club is off tomorrow night and then will begin a six game homestand at Four Winds Field on Wednesday at 7:05 PM. Wednesday's matchup is slated against the Kane County Cougars.
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