SOUTH BEND, IN – The West Michigan Whitecaps didn’t have to wait long to find some rarely achieved franchise history on Tuesday night, as shortstop and Detroit Tigers Top-5 Prospect Bryce Rainer launched a home run in his fourth consecutive game, tying a franchise record as part of a 5-1 loss to the South Bend Cubs at Four Winds Field.
Rainer’s solo blast came in the first inning, also for the fourth straight game the 21-year-old has homered in the opening frame. The homer matched the franchise-best, set previously by Antonio McKinney (2000) and Garth McKinney (2004). Despite the loss, the Great Lakes Loons lost the first game of their doubleheader against the Fort Wayne TinCaps, ensuring that the Whitecaps will remain in first place by at least one-half game with results of their second game pending at the time of publication.
After Rainer’s home run opened the scoring, a pair of longballs helped the Cubs, who boast the best overall record in the Midwest League, flip the script in South Bend. A second-inning shot off the bat of Cubs outfielder Kade Snell knotted the contest at one, and a two-run blast by Chicago Cubs Top Prospect Josiah Hartshorn in the sixth helped spoil an otherwise impressive outing from starting pitcher Rayner Castillo to give South Bend a 3-1 advantage. In the eighth, the Cubs tallied a pair of insurance runs highlighted by Hartshorn’s third RBI of the contest with a run-scoring single to highlight the frame and send the Cubs to a series opening victory.
The Whitecaps fall to 29-20 in the second half and 53-60 overall, while the Cubs jump to 27-22 in the second half and 66-45 overall. Castillo (2-9) set a new career-high with nine strikeouts – the most he’s had in a single-game since he pitched for the Dominican Summer League Tigers back in 2021. Castillo takes a tough-luck loss, his ninth of the season. Cubs reliever Brayden Spears (8-3) tossed two scoreless innings and struck out four batters in collecting his eighth win of the season. Yoendris Gonzalez pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save for South Bend. Both Castillo and reliever Juanmi Vasquez each struck out the side during their appearances in the contest.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps continue this six-game series at Four Winds Field against the South Bend Cubs on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm. Pitchers Ben Jacobs and Braylon Myers are scheduled to get the starts for the ‘Caps and Cubs. Broadcast coverage with Dan Hasty begins on the Whitecaps Baseball Network at 6:50 pm on ‘The Ticket West Michigan’ and 1340 WJRW-AM in Grand Rapids, and online at WhitecapsBaseball.com.