Romero’s Career-Best Effort Leads Cubs in 5-2 Defeat of Fort Wayne

The South Bend Cubs (26-16) moved to 10 games above .500 for the first time this season on Tuesday, beating the Fort Wayne TinCaps (22-24) by a 5-2 score at Four Winds Field. South Bend starting pitcher Alfredo Romero set a career high with 5.2 innings in the Cubs’ sixth consecutive win, striking out four and conceding only a single run.

Click here to view Tuesday’s box score.

Working against right-hander Matthew Watson, the Cub offense started the series opener fast with a pair of runs in the first inning. Designated hitter Kane Kepley led off with a double, earning a 22-game on-base streak. He’d steal third and score on a sacrifice fly from first baseman Josiah Hartshorn, the No. 8 Chicago Cubs prospect who notched an RBI in his first High-A at-bat. Center fielder Kade Snell later ripped a double down the right-field line, bringing home another run with the help of a Fort Wayne error.

The TinCaps answered with their only output against Romero in the top of the second, as left fielder Jake Cunningham cranked his eighth home run of the season on the first pitch of his at-bat. The line drive shot to left narrowed South Bend’s lead to 2-1.

Watson continued to struggle in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with nobody out on two singles and a hit batter. The Cubs didn’t do much with the opportunity, though, scoring only one run by way of a double play. Watson figured himself out after that, retiring 10 consecutive Cubs before giving up a third run in the bottom of the fifth. The RBI came from Hartshorn, who sprayed a double to the wall in left field for his first Midwest League hit.

Meanwhile, Romero cruised while pitching with the lead, picking off a man in the third inning and striking out a trio in the fifth. The TinCaps finally gave him some real trouble in the sixth, putting two runners aboard with two outs and ending his outing. With Romero intensely watching from the dugout, left-hander Jackson Brockett took over and struck out catcher Carlos Rodriguez on three pitches, killing off the threat.

Brockett would go on to pick up the save, the first of his professional career, by completing 3.1 innings with one run allowed. The lefty struck out five, giving up what turned out to be an inconsequential solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to left fielder Jake Cunningham.

The Cubs will bid for a seventh consecutive win in their third and final Education Day game of the season at 11:05 AM on Wednesday, May 27. Right-hander Kevin Valdez is scheduled to start for South Bend against Fort Wayne righty Maikel Miralles.