Franklin Earns First Win as Cubs Crush Chiefs 11-1
July 14, 2022 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release
Peoria, IL - The South Bend Cubs continued their dominant play over the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, the Peoria Chiefs, on Wednesday night by cruising to an 11-1 victory. With the win, South Bend is now 13-1 versus Peoria this season, and now Lance Rymel's team has back-to-back wins over the Chiefs this series to start the week.
It was all Cubs from the start on Wednesday. That's after they beat Peoria 6-0 on Tuesday as well. Facing right-hander Edgar Manzo, South Bend had already seen prior success over the Chiefs hurler this season. Earlier in June, Manzo surrendered six runs in just 0.2 innings at Four Winds Field.
The number six rang true yet again tonight with the Cubs having one of their most successful innings of the season from the start. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the game with a double that barreled off the right field wall for the game's first knock. It's the third straight game that PCA has gotten a lead-off hit to get a game started for South Bend. On Sunday and Tuesday, he smashed a solo home run in each game.
Crow-Armstrong quickly raced to third base on a wild pitch, then was brought home courtesy of an RBI single from Fabian Pertuz. Yohendrick Pinango then singled, as did Owen Caissie. The train kept rolling with singles by Luis Verdugo and Pablo Aliendo, a Jonathan Sierra double, then a Yeison Santana RBI groundout. By the end of half an inning it was 6-0 Cubs.
That's when Kohl Franklin took the stage. Over his last two starts, Franklin had tossed a season high four innings in each. He had not tossed four innings in a game before two weeks ago since July of 2019. Before today, he had also not won a game since that point. That all changed on Wednesday.
Franklin brought his best stuff to the table and worked a full five innings of scoreless baseball. He did not pick up his first strikeout until the bottom of the 3rd, but after that point, they started piling up. Franklin struck out the side in the bottom of the 4th, and picked up two more punch outs to close out his start in the 5th.
While earning the victory, Franklin's month of July has featured a minuscule ERA of 1.00. He got plenty of run support beyond the first inning as well. Santana smashed an RBI single in the 3rd to cap off all South Bend Cubs starters in the lineup picking up at least one hit. Aliendo rifled a single into left field in the top of the 4th, scoring another run. For Aliendo, he finished his night at 3/5 with two runs driven-in.
After Franklin departed, left-hander Adam Laskey entered the game on eight days rest. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th, Laskey walked in Peoria's only run of the day as Tyler Reichenborn scored with a base on balls to Francisco Hernandez. After that point, Laskey settled in to toss two scoreless frames.
Sheldon Reed took care of the 8th with a shutout inning, and Zac Leigh got the final three outs in the 9th. With back-to-back wins over the Chiefs this week, South Bend has the opportunity to take a commanding lead in the series on Thursday as lefty DJ Herz is set to take the mound.
Tonight's victory over Peoria also kept South Bend in sole possession of first place in the West Division. With the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeating West Michigan earlier in the day, the Cubs lead stands at one game over the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate. First pitch from Dozer Park on Thursday is set for 7:35 PM EST.
Midwest League Stories from July 14, 2022
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- TinCaps Game Information: July 14 vs. Lansing - Fort Wayne TinCaps
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- Christian Encarnacion-Strand Promoted to Wichita - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Thursday - Dayton Dragons
- Franklin Earns First Win as Cubs Crush Chiefs 11-1 - South Bend Cubs
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