Fabulous Franklin Leads Cubs to 9th Straight Home Victory

SOUTH BEND, IN – On Friday night the Cubs cut their magic number to one behind another stellar start at home from Kohl Franklin. The right-hander went a career-best 5.2 innings and allowed just one run on three hits, didn't walk a batter, and punched out seven.

Franklin's last start at home he cruised through five scoreless innings and tallied a career-high nine strikeouts. Friday night looked like another huge step in the right direction as Kohl attempts to end his first season back from injury on a high note and use this final stretch as a springboard toward next season. Entering this year the 6-foot-4 product of Broken Arrow, Okla. hadn't pitched on a mount in a minor league game in over 950 days, now he's getting a taste of the sixth inning, what a turnaround.

South Bend entered tonight with their second eight-game winning streak of the year at home, and surpassed that early May stretch with tonight's 2-1 win over Lansing.

On the mound it looked like a heavyweight bout as Kyle Virbitsky matched Kohl Franklin shutout inning for shutout inning early. Halfway through the game it was 0-0 in less than an hour.

All the offense for South Bend came in the fifth, and the way their staff continues to just mow down the opposition, it was once again all that was necessary. Casey Opitz singled on a grounder through the right side of the infield and on the very next pitch Kevin Made, the Cubs lone remaining teenager, crushed a ball to left that catapulted off his bat at 105 MPH and cleared the wall. Made's 10th homer of the season, his first with South Bend, gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Franklin came out for the sixth inning and quickly erased Denzel Clarke with a strikeout. After the punch out Brayan Buelvas singled to left and Shane McGuire hit a bouncing ball up the middle that Yeison Santana lunged for but couldn't quite corral off the end of his mitt. Franklin came back following a mound visit from Tony Cougoule and struck out Joshwan Wright on a big breaking ball – the last batter he would face. Adam Laskey came on for the first time in the series and walked two batters in a row, giving Franklin his lone run allowed and tightening the score to 2-1. But the lefty from Duke came right back and struck out Jared McDonald on three straight breaking balls.

The bullpen once again shined, even with Laskey's two walks the likes of him Joe Nahas, and Sheldon Reed combined went 3.1 scoreless innings allowing just two hits. The Cubs are 33-0 when leading after eight innings at home this year.

What comes next?

Well, Saturday night the Cubs need no help, a win and they clinch a spot in the 2022 Midwest League playoffs.