Fifth frame lifts TinCaps

SOUTH BEND — A two-run fifth inning gave the TinCaps the lead.

Solid pitching throughout prevented the Cubs from reaching home.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps scored the final three runs and got a solid start from a first-timer Monday in a 3-1 win over the South Bend Cubs in the series finale at Four Winds Field.

Juan Fernandez homered to start the fifth inning, and Ethan Skender followed with a double to left field. Lee Solomon bunted to put runners at the corners, and Skender scored on a Kelvin Alarcon double play ground ball to put the TinCaps on top, 2-1.

Fort Wayne (21-29 second half, 54-64 overall) added another run in the eighth when designated hitter Michael Curry hit an RBI single to left to score Tyler Benson.

It was Curry’s 30th RBI since May 26, which ranks fourth in the Midwest League during that span.

Edwuin Bencomo made his first start as a TinCap and dazzled on the bump. He gave up one earned run — it came on an RBI single in the fourth inning — on five hits while striking out three and walking one.

In his previous seven appearances, all out of the bullpen, the 20-year-old from Rio Chico, Venezuela, had a 2.03 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. 

He needed just 58 pitches, 43 of which were strikes, to get through five frames against the Cubs (27-23, 64-54).

Cody Tyler threw three scoreless innings of relief, and Mason Fox notched his first save in the MWL with a perfect ninth.

Skender, who raised his batting average to .307 since joining Fort Wayne on July 14, and Solomon had two hits each.



Fort Wayne is off today as it travels to Lansing, Michigan, for a three-game set against the Lugnuts, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate that is 26-24 this half and 58-61 overall.