Game recap from the TinCaps:
Fort Wayne Wins Wild One in 12 at South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (July 6, 2015) – The TinCaps — somehow — came from behind to beat the South Bend Cubs, 10-9, in 12 innings at Four Winds Field on Monday night. Fort Wayne won despite trailing by as many as four runs, despite committing five errors, and despite leaving 11 runners on base.
Fort Wayne (8-4, 40-40) is tied with West Michigan for first place in the second half Eastern Division standings.
Monday night marked the largest comeback win of the season for the TinCaps. And that four-run deficit wasn’t the only one the visitors needed to overcome.But with the game tied, 8-8, in the top of the 12th inning, catcher Jose Ruiz successfully laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score second baseman Luis Urias from third base. Shortstop Ruddy Giron then added an insurance run with an RBI single to plate third baseman Luis Tejada that proved to be necessary.
Giron finished with four hits and five RBIs.
Meanwhile, Urias, an 18-year-old from Mexico making his Midwest League debut, went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. With one out in the 12th, he was hit by a Dillon Maples (L, 1-1) pitch. Tejada then doubled to right field, setting the table for manager Francisco Morales to call for the suicide squeeze.
South Bend (6-6, 35-44) scored a run and brought the winning run to the plate in the home 12th, but T.J. Weir (S, 2), with a little help from center fielder Michael Gettys, came in and recorded the final three outs. In the 12th, Gettys recorded his 13th outfield assist of the season and made a running catch on an Andrew Ely fly ball to deep left-center to end the game.
This one had lots of twists and turns. The Cubs jumped out to a 4-0 lead — powered by a three-run Gioskar Amaya first-inning home run — after two. Yet, the TinCaps retaliated with a run in the third and then exploded for a five-run fourth — highlighted by Giron’s team-best eighth homer this year, which was a three-run shot.
Fort Wayne’s lead didn’t last long, though, as South Bend scored twice in the ensuing half-inning to tie the game, 6-6. It was then a case of back-and-forth scoring, as well as squandering scoring chances.
The Cubs took a 7-6 lead in the fifth only for the TinCaps to even things up in the sixth. Then South Bend went up 8-7 in the seventh before Fort Wayne brought it level in the eighth.
Although the TinCaps were 8-for-19 with runners in scoring position, they left a runner at third in the eighth, 10th, and 11th innings. The Cubs were just 3-for-16 in those situations as they left eight on base, including a runner at third in the eighth and a runner at second in the ninth.
Three of the runs South Bend scored were unearned, while one of Fort Wayne’s was unearned.
Colby Blueberg (W, 1-1) deservedly earned the win out of the bullpen after pitching a scoreless ninth, 10th, and 11th. He allowed neither a hit nor a walk and struck out three.
The TinCaps are now 6-2 in extra-inning games. The Cubs are 1-7 in such contests. Two of Fort Wayne’s extra-inning wins are over South Bend.
The TinCaps return to Four Winds Field on Tuesday night for a 7:05 contest. Fort Wayne right-hander Chris Huffman (3-3, 3.05) is set to start against Zach Hedges (3-5, 4.14). The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1380, Box Score, and the TuneIn Radio app.
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