LANSING, Mich. - Austin Upshaw doubled in the game-tying run in the seventh inning and the tie-breaking run in the ninth, giving the South Bend Cubs (28-28, 67-58) an 8-6 win over the Lansing Lugnuts (21-35, 58-64) on Sunday afternoon at Cooley Law School Stadium.The Nuts lost their sixth straight
LANSING, Mich. - Austin Upshaw doubled in the game-tying run in the seventh inning and the tie-breaking run in the ninth, giving the South Bend Cubs (28-28, 67-58) an 8-6 win over the Lansing Lugnuts (21-35, 58-64) on Sunday afternoon at Cooley Law School Stadium.
The Nuts lost their sixth straight game, their longest slide of the season.
In the loss, Lugnuts left fielder Nick Sinay was hit by a pitch for the 36th time, tying the Midwest League single-season record set by Clinton's Jonathan Greene in 2008. It was one of three HBPs for the Nuts, giving them 104 total in 2017 - nine away from tying the Midwest League record for a team in one year.
Lansing 3-4-5 hitters Joshua Palacios , Mitch Nay and J.B. Woodman all reached base and came around to score in the first and third innings against 6-foot-8 South Bend starter Bryan Hudson, helping the Lugnuts build an early 6-1 lead.
But the Cubs came back, narrowing the deficit to three runs on Andruw Monasterio's two-run double in the fifth inning, to one run on Joe Martarano's two-run homer in the sixth, and then leveling the score at 6-6 on Upshaw's RBI double off Yonardo Herdenez in the seventh.
Rodrigo Orozco 's leadoff triple gave the Lugnuts a prime chance to take the lead in the home eighth, only to see South Bend reliever Chad Hockin (Win, 3-3) strike out Palacios, Nay and Woodman to strand Orozco at third.
In the ninth, Aramis Ademan led off with a single off Herdenez (Loss, 0-1) and was sacrificed to second base by D.J. Wilson. Kevonte Mitchell flied out to center field before Upshaw drove the gap in right-center, plating Ademan for the lead. Luis Ayala followed with an RBI single, bringing in pinch-runner Chris Pieters for insurance.
In the bottom of the ninth, Ridge Smith and Sinay drew consecutive two-out walks, but Jhon Romero (Save, 2) struck out Kevin Vicuña to close the Cubs' third straight win in the four-game series.
The series finale is on Solar Eclipse Day - on a Dog Days of Summer! The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive eclipse viewing glasses, plus enjoy $2 beers and $2 sodas, and bring your dog! First pitch is at 12:05 p.m. between Lugnuts prospect right-hander Yennsy Diaz (4-2, 4.48) starts against South Bend prospect Erling Moreno (2-3, 3.38) at 12:05 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the Cooley Law School Stadium box office, by calling (517) 485-4500 or via lansinglugnuts.com.
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