Alcántara's Career Night Paces Cubs 10-2 Thrashing of Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - Kevin Alcántara picked up five base hits for the first time in his career and homered twice in a game for the first time since June 12, 2022, as the Cubs dominated the Kernels to the tune of a 10-2 victory.

The 20-year-old put the Cubs ahead in the first inning with a two-out, two-run blast to left that cleared the ballpark for his fifth home run of the season.

South Bend scored first for the fourth time in a row in this series, and for the fourth time in a row the Kernels responded nearly immediately and tied it. In the second inning Jefferson Morales brought the home team within a run with a solo-shot to left off of Cubs starter Richard Gallardo. Two pitches later Willie Joe Garry Jr. blasted an opposite field homer to the short porch in left.

It was simply domination after that for the Cubs.

In the next half-inning South Bend began with four-straight hits. Ed Howard doubled, Ezequiel Pagan singled, then Alcántara singled in a run, and Luis Verdugo doubled in another with a line shot out to right-center. With no outs and two men in scoring position they failed to add to the lead but they did chase Kernels starter Jaylen Nowlin in the second inning.

During this skid the Cubs have virtually been in every game and often led early but failed to add on. That wasn't the case Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. In the fourth inning the heart of the order struck with authority, again. Howard launched a home run to left with one out, his first since April of 2022, marking a special moment in his return after missing over a year with a hip injury. The home run meant Howard was just a triple shy of the cycle with one out in the fourth, and the Cubs last cycle came nearly 4 years ago to the day when Cole Roederer pulled off the achievement in Fort Wayne on a night in which he and Delvin Zinn both had five hits, Christopher had four, and the Cubs put up 10 runs in a road blowout. After Pagan singled again, Alcántara hammered a no-doubter over the wall in left to make it 7-2.

Richard Gallardo was stellar tonight outside of the two homers, working five innings allowing just two runs. The Cubs farm system workhorse has tossed at least five innings in six-straight starts and 11 of his 13 starts on the season.

After Gallardo the bullpen took over and smothered Cedar Rapids. Adam Laskey worked two perfect innings and struck out four batters, finishing his effort this series with three innings pitched, all nine batters retired, and seven of them going down on strikes. Joe Nahas got the final six outs the night before he celebrates his first Father's Day as a proud dad, he faced just one over the minimum and also recorded four strikeouts.

Alcántara added an RBI single in the sixth innings and picked up his final hit with a single in the eighth. The 6-foot-6 centerfielder amassed five hits that pieced together were simply sensational: a towering home run to left, a laser beam over the wall to his pull side, a liner the other way to right, a grounder that beat the shift to the opposite field, and a liner through the left side of the infield. What a night for the Cubs No. three prospect.

South Bend added two more runs in the ninth without needing a hit. Malik Barrington walked Kevin Made, hit David Avitia, and then Casey Opitz reached on a throwing error from Keoni Cavaco that scored another run. Christian Franklin walked to load the bases once again and Fabian Pertuz brought in Avitia with a sac-fly.

Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd the Cubs homered twice in an inning for the first time this year, and they homered three times in a game for the first time as well. Howard, Pagan, and Alcántara (the 2-3-4 hitters) combined for 10 base hits, eight runs scored, and seven runs batted in.