Chiefs Score Shutout Win at South Bend Tuesday

SOUTH BEND, IN – The outcome was never in doubt Tuesday for the Peoria Chiefs. The offense plated a first-inning run and Darlin Saladin twirled 6 ⅔ scoreless innings in a wire-to-wire 7-0 win at Four Winds Field.

Five batters into the game, the Chiefs were on the board. With the bases loaded and one out, Won-Bin Cho drove in a run via a sac fly to give Saladin an early 1-0 lead.

Turns out, one run of support was all that Saladin would need. The right-hander was dominant again in just his second High-A start. For the second consecutive outing, he whiffed eight batters. He did not walk a batter. All seven South Bend hits were singles on Tuesday. The Cubs did not get a runner past second base.

A fellow newcomer chipped in a timely knock in the top of the third inning. After back-to-back two-out hits, Miguel Villarroel doubled into the left corner to push the lead to 3-0.

With the lead 4-0 after fourth-inning Leonardo Bernal sac fly, the Chiefs did the rest of their damage against a big leaguer.

Rehabbing Cubs right-hander Caleb Killian took the ball in the seventh. After an Alex Iadisernia walk and a Brody Moore single, Bernal laced a single through the middle to plate Iadisernia and boost the lead, 5-0. Later in the inning, a Villarroel RBI fielder’s choice extended the Peoria advantage to 6-0. With two outs in the frame, Killian was lifted in favor of Yovanny Cabrera. He promptly plunked William Sullivan with the bases loaded to bring in the game’s final run,

The Chiefs improved to 7-1 against the South Bend Cubs this season. Peoria has outscored South Bend 50-23 over eight games this season.

Wednesday’s game is set for 5:45 p.m. EDT/4:45 p.m. CDT. The clubs will return the series to Peoria on Thursday.