The South Bend Cubs (36-19) won their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night at Four Winds Field, defeating the Peoria Chiefs (30-29) by a 5-3 score. The game began in a 2-hour, 24-minute rain delay, which shortened it to seven innings.
Click here to view Wednesday’s box score.
Working against South Bend right-hander Eli Jerzembeck, Peoria started fast with a pair of runs in the first inning. Shortstop Jesús Baez led off with his 12th home run of the season, hooking a ball over the wall in left field. Each of the next two Chiefs reached as well, allowing first baseman Josh Kross to double Peoria’s lead with an RBI single to left. Jerzembeck would go on to strike out three in the inning, stranding the bases loaded.
Down 2-0 early, the Cubs took a few innings to get going against Peoria right-hander Nate Dohm, eventually tying the game with a pair of runs in the third. Center fielder Josiah Hartshorn provided them both, launching a two-run home run to right field. Now the owner of 10 long balls for the full season, Hartshorn has hit 5 home runs and totaled 20 RBI in 14 games since becoming a South Bend Cub on May 26.
With Jerzembeck only able to complete 2.0 innings as the South Bend starter, righty reliever Kevin Valdez helped the Cubs swing momentum with his excellent pitching in the middle frames. Valdez would finish the game, scattering a single run across 5.0 innings while striking out nine. He struck out the side in the top of the fifth, setting the tone for an inning that ultimately decided the game.
In the bottom of that fifth frame, South Bend tallied three runs to take the lead for good. Designated hitter Kane Kepley led off with a triple to right-center field, and Hartshorn brought him home with a sacrifice fly to center. Left fielder Jose Escobar later hustled out a two-run double to shallow center, pushing South Bend’s lead to 5-2. Peoria pulled a run back on a Baez single in the top of the sixth, but the Cubs still held on for the 5-3 victory, as Valdez punched out the side in the top of the seventh.
With their magic number down to three, the Cubs could clinch the first-half West Division title and a postseason berth on Thursday night at home. In addition to a Great Lakes doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin, the Cubs would need to defeat Peoria, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM at Four Winds Field. Lefty Cole Reynolds is scheduled to pitch for South Bend against Peoria right-hander Tanner Franklin.