River Bandits Sneak Past Cubs in Comeback Fashion 10-4
May 28, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release
Davenport, IA - Hitting the road after back-to-back wins to close out the last home series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the South Bend Cubs packed the bus to Davenport to take on the Quad Cities River Bandits for first time in 2025. A promising start for the Cubs on Tuesday night eventually led to a Quad Cities middle-innings comeback, and a 10-4 final going the River Bandits way.
Right-hander Brooks Caple got the start for the Cubs, after being promoted from the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Tuesday, where he posted a 1.80 ERA in seven starts after being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the ninth-round of the 2024 Draft. Caple dominated the Carolina League, and worked a shutout 1st inning in his first High-A action.
The Cubs also gave Caple the lead by scoring first in the top of the 2nd, when Miguel Pabon singled in Drew Bowser for a 1-0 lead. Quad Cities, who leads the Midwest League West Division by 3.5 games over the Cedar Rapids Kernels, was quick to answer, evening things at 1-1 in their half of the second.
South Bend snagged their second lead in as many innings in the top of the 3rd, as Jefferson Rojas smacked a triple up the left field line. Cristian Hernandez drove him in via a RBI-sacrifice fly for a 2-1 advantage.
But again, the River Bandits had a response. The big blows came in consecutive innings, when QC scored three runs in the 3rd, and then four in the 4th, taking a big 8-2 lead.
Give a lot of credit to Chase Watkins out of the Cubs bullpen. He kept South Bend in it, with 2.1 innings of shutout baseball with zero walks and five strikeouts. This allowed South Bend to slowly grind back into the game. The top of the 6th featured a solo home run from Reggie Preciado, his second round-tripper of the year.
In the 7th, Hernandez wrapped his 50th hit of the season up the middle to plate Reivaj Garcia. Garcia singled twice in the game, and stole two bases in that 7th inning.
Also out of the South Bend bullpen, Vince Reilly tossed another shutout performance, working a 1-2-3 8th inning.
Of note, multiple hitting and on-base streaks continued in the Cubs lineup on Tuesday. Rafael Morel has been on base in 13 consecutive games. All of Preciado, Rojas, and Hernandez have three game hit streaks, and Drew Bowser is on a nine-game hitting streak.
With the loss, the Cubs fall to 12-34 on the season. They will have the chance to even the series on Wednesday night, when the two clubs get together at Modern Woodmen Park again at 7:30 PM EST. RHP Tyler Schlaffer is the expected starter for South Bend.
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- River Bandits Sneak Past Cubs in Comeback Fashion 10-4 - South Bend Cubs
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