Ruoff Mortgage Homestand Preview: July 18-20
MWL South Bend Cubs

Ruoff Mortgage Homestand Preview: July 18-20

July 18, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


After an 11-day stretch without Midwest League baseball at Four Winds Field, the South Bend Cubs return for another weekend series. They've got another three-game set on tap, this time against the Beloit Sky Carp, the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Cubs and Sky Carp have already played nine games against one another this season.

Cubs in Contention: After starting July slowly with five straight losses against Peoria, the Cubs have flipped the script and won six of their last seven games. Last week, they hit the road and went 5-1 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, winning their third consecutive six-game road series. That result put South Bend back above .500 in second-half play at 11-10 entering the All-Star break.

While in Appleton, the Cubs found their power game, totaling 10 home runs in the first four games of the series. They crushed four of those during a 13-4 win in the series opener, burying the Timber Rattlers with seven runs in the first three innings. Three home runs exited the ballpark on Thursday, as the Cubs scored in each of the game's final five innings and won 12-3. No. 3 Cubs prospect Jefferson Rojas led the charge in another three-homer game on Friday, going deep twice in a 6-2 victory.

South Bend pitching took center stage as well, allowing no more than four runs in any game of the series. Left-hander Evan Aschenbeck excelled as Wednesday's starting pitcher, conceding only one run with no walks in seven innings. No. 17 Cubs prospect Ryan Gallagher matched him with seven innings on Saturday but took the loss in a 3-2 game. South Bend's bullpen may have been even better than its starters, covering 17 innings with just two runs allowed.

Beloit Back in Town: Beloit is the only team the Cubs will oppose during four different weeks this season. The Sky Carp hosted and swept the Cubs on the season's opening weekend before visiting South Bend and taking four out of six games in late April. The Cubs will go back to southern Wisconsin in the middle of August.

The Cubs are looking to chase down Beloit, among other teams, in the Midwest League West division's second-half standings. Though they have a losing overall record at 42-44, the Sky Carp have gone 12-8 since the season's midway point, tying them for first place in the division with the Quad Cities River Bandits. Like South Bend, Beloit entered the All-Star break with a series win, claiming four of five home games against Dayton.

Beloit doesn't pose a huge threat offensively but has found success on the mound, ranking third in the Midwest League for both earned run average and strikeouts. The Sky Carp lost No. 1 Marlins prospect Thomas White, a staple of their rotation, earlier this year but still have quality starting options in Jake Brooks (4.13 ERA) and Karson Milbrandt (3.42 ERA). Milbrandt comes off a start last Saturday in which he struck out 11 Dayton Dragons in 5.2 innings.

South Bend's players to watch...

Cristian Hernandez, SS/2B: The beat goes on for the No. 9 Chicago Cubs prospect, who just put together another monster series at Wisconsin. Starting all six games in Appleton, Hernandez racked up 10 hits, hitting safely in all six contests, and stole five bases. He's now been on base safely in 23 of his last 24 games, hitting .341 since the start of July. The 21-year-old's name remains sprinkled all over the Midwest League rankings, as Hernandez occupies eighth place for hits, fourth for doubles and steals, 22nd for RBI, and 18th for batting average. He is the only player in all of Minor League Baseball with at least 20 doubles, 35 stolen bases, and a batting average of .250.

Jackson Kirkpatrick, RHP: The big man in the bullpen hasn't disappointed since joining South Bend on a promotion from Single-A Myrtle Beach during the final week of June. In six Midwest League innings, Kirkpatrick has still allowed only one run. He recorded his first High-A save last Wednesday at Wisconsin, bringing his season-long save total to eight, a number that ranks second among all Cubs' MiLB arms. Though Kirkpatrick did snap his two-month streak without an earned run allowed on Sunday, he still carries a marvelous ERA of 0.99 for the full year.

Cameron Sisneros, 1B: If you need any more reason to be impressed with the Cubs' 14th-round pick of last year's draft, check out the two home runs Sisneros hit last week at Wisconsin. His first, which capped off a 13-4 blowout win on Tuesday, sailed out to dead center field. The second, which flew on Thursday as an opposite-field shot, left the yard in the deepest part of the left-center field gap. Mind you, in addition to showcasing that kind of big man power, Sisneros is still hitting .327 with a .926 OPS for the full season between Myrtle Beach and South Bend. Among all Minor League Cubs, Sisneros ranks second in batting average and third in OPS, trailing only top organizational prospects like Moises Ballesteros and Owen Caissie.

Top prospects in the series...

South Bend: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 3, MLB No. 62), INF Cristian Hernandez (Cubs No. 9), RHP Ryan Gallagher (Cubs No. 17), LHP Drew Gray (Cubs No. 27)

Beloit: RHP Noble Meyer (Marlins No. 5), SS/2B Echedry Vargas (Marlins No. 16), 2B/3B Gage Miller (Marlins No. 21), RHP Karson Milbrandt (Marlins No. 24), LHP Brayan Mendoza (Marlins No. 30)

Schedule and probables...

Friday, July 18 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Brooks Caple vs. RHP Nick Brink

Saturday, July 19 - 7:05 PM ET: LHP Evan Aschenbeck vs. RHP Will Schomberg

Sunday, July 20 - 2:05 PM ET: RHP Yenrri Rojas vs. RHP Brandon White

Check out the South Bend Cubs Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 18, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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