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MWL South Bend Cubs

South Bend Limits Lansing to 4 Hits, Again, in 3-1 Win

June 8, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


SOUTH BEND, IN - The first two games in this series couldn't have been more contrasting in their scripts, with Lansing taking game one 13-9 and South Bend taking game two in shutout fashion 1-0. Well tonight the Cubs won again, 4-1, and it was a game that again featured stellar pitching at times but featured five total errors.

Brandon Birdsell got the start for the home team and really responded admirably after a couple of outlying performances his last two starts. He gave up a single to Max Muncy to start the game and few batters later Muncy came home on a double steal that saw Ethan Hearn's throw to third trickle into right field. That's all that Birdsell would allow in 4.2 innings, one unearned run. He had a chance to finish in line for the win but walked Jack Winkler with two outs in the fifth and was pulled before he could complete the fifth inning.

Lansing's offense produced a single in the first, a double in the third, another single in the fifth, and an infield single in the eighth; four hits scattered across the game.

Meanwhile South Bend tied the game right back in the first inning with a run of their own. With Ezequiel Pagan at second and James Triantos at first, Bryce Ball hit a hard ground ball to first that took a hop right by the glove of Danny Bautista Jr., scoring Pagan to tie the game.

But Jake Garland also responded rather nicely after a couple of sub-par outings. The former Hurricane was facing South Bend for the first time and went 5.2 innings allowing just three runs, and only two were earned.

The Cubs took the lead for good in the third inning. Triantos reached on a two-out single to left and Ball smacked a missile of a line drive into the alley in right-center to score the 20-year-old Triantos from first base. The next inning Ethan Hearn led things off with a single and then swiped his sixth stolen base of the year. That put him in scoring position for a Kevin Alcántara single that made it a 3-1 lead.

Last night all the credit and all the headlines went to Cade Horton, but the bullpen combined for four innings of shutout, one-hit baseball in Wednesday's win. Well, on Thursday they were at it again. Didier Vargas came in with the Cubs up 3-1 in the fifth but with two runners on and two outs. He had to face 2022 first round pick Daniel Susac but got a ground out to short to end the frame.

Vargas would toss a perfect sixth inning and give the ball to Tyler Santana. Santana can do just about anything that's asked of him, make a start, come in for long relief, or toss high leverage innings late. Tonight he came out for the seventh and eighth and allowed just one baserunner, while striking out three. With Muncy at third base and two outs in the eighth, he struck out Junior Pérez to squash Lansing's only real threat late.

Kevin Alcántara finished the night 3-for-5 to extend his on-base streak to 10 games, while Triantos picked up a pair of hits, two walks and scored a run.

South Bend could've busted this one open a couple of times. The home team loaded the baes in the third with two outs but Ed Howard struck out to end the inning. Then in the sixth in the same situation with the bags juiced it was Ball that got K'd to end the innings. In the eighth the Cubs actually loaded the bases for a third time in six innings but Ball lined out to left to end the chance.

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