Canario’s Three-Run Blast Secures Cubs Victory

• Box Score

WP: Max Bain (3-6, 5.82 ERA)

LP: Noel Vela (0-2, 4.00 ERA)

SV: Eduarniel Nunez (1)

A pitcher’s duel and a late surge from South Bend showcased some of the up-and-coming talent in the Cubs’ farm system, with masterful pitching from starter Max Bain and another monster shot from Alexander Canario.

Both teams started off quietly, combining for four hits total in the first four innings. The Cubs were buoyed by a perfect 2.2 innings from starter Max Bain before they struck first in the top of the fifth. Yonathan Perlaza reached on an errant throw that sailed over the head of TinCap first baseman Chris Givin, allowing Perlaza to advance to second.

Two batters later, one of the Cubs’ 2021 draft picks delivered. South Bend’s shortstop and fifth-round pick Liam Spence drove Perlaza in on an RBI single for his first RBI and his first hit in his South Bend Cub debut.

Spence struck again in his next at-bat, stroking a line drive single into right to plate Perlaza for a second time and double the Cubs lead. The score would remain 2-0 until the eighth inning, when a slow-rolling pinch-hit single from Luis Almanzar plated the TinCaps first run.

But the comeback attempt proved to be short-lived, as Alexander Canario stepped up the very next inning and delivered once again. The Cubs’ number seven prospect had a hit in every game as a South Bend Cub, but he was hitless when he came to the plate with two outs of the ninth. He got ahead of TinCaps hurler Ramon Perez 3-1.

The next pitch he saw did not come back.

Canario sent his fourth homer as a South Bend Cub 376 feet out to left field for a three-run blast. The Canario rocket increased the Cubs’ lead to 5-1, which proved insurmountable for the TinCaps. Eduarniel Nunez finished off the six-out save, his first, in the Cubs fifth-straight victory.

Alexander Canario (1-5, HR, 3 RBI, R) extended his hit streak to nine games, one in every contest as a South Bend Cub. He has also gone deep in each of the last four games. Liam Spence (2-4, 2 RBI) shined as the first 2021 draft pick to play in South Bend, driving in two runs in his debut. Max Bain was dominant on the hill as well, tossing six scoreless frames and striking out five while allowing just three hits.

Next Up: Alexander Vizcaíno (0-0, 10.80 ERA) vs Carlos Guarate (0-3, 7.090 ERA). South Bend looks to extend their win streak to six games for the first time this season in a battle of two top prospects on the hill. Coverage starts at 6:45 with a 7:05 first pitch on WSBT 960 AM.