South Bend, IN: Sunday afternoon for Cubs starter Jose Albertos was an up and down roller coaster ride.
Albertos, looking for his first Midwest League win, was tasked with giving the Cubs a good starter in order to win the weekend series against the Great Lakes Loons. Having dropped the previous night’s game 7-4, the Cubs were in search of a better overall effort to prevent them from losing their third straight series.
The first inning for Albertos got serious in a hurry. Loons leadoff man Brayan Morales doubled into the left center gap on the second pitch of the game. Then, back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Great Lakes. He was in a jam early on at Four Winds Field. After rolling with the punches, Albertos managed to get out of the inning with only one run of damage despite the bases being loaded on two different occasions.
The Cubs provided early run support as they got the run back in the bottom of the 1st. Brandon Hughes brought Roberto Caro home on an RBI sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1-1.
The second inning came along for the Cubs right hander. After striking out Garrett Hope and getting Brandon Montgomery to fly out, Albertos had two quick outs to start the inning. But back at the top of the order, Morales came to the plate. Morales started an immediate two out rally for the Loons as five batters reached base in a row.
It was a four run top of the 2nd for the Loons. Despite the early two outs, Albertos could not finish the inning. Right hander Jesus Camargo got the final out of the frame with a strikeout of Jared Walker.
South Bend continued to rally with runs in both the 3rd and 4th innings. They were never able to produce an inning with multiple scores, however. The Cubs had their opportunities. With the bases loaded in the 6th inning, Great Lakes lefty Logan Salow got out of the jam by striking out both Yeiler Peguero and Zach Davis.
In the 6th inning, the Cubs left two more runners on base. The shutdown pitching of the Loons did not allow the Cubs to start a major rally. With a 9-3 lead heading to the 9th, the Loons were three outs away from their series win.
South Bend added one more run in the 9th after Davis scored on an RBI single by Hughes. Rafael Narea struck out looking to end the game and it finished with a 9-4 final. With the loss, South Bend has lost their third series in a row dating back to their three game set versus the Lansing Lugnuts.
With an off day tomorrow, the Cubs will regroup and then head on the road for six games on Tuesday. They will face the Cedar Rapids Kernels on the first leg of the trip. First pitch from Cedar Rapids on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET.
