Chiefs Win in Dramatic Fashion Behind Linarez Slam, Rodriguez Escape
SOUTH BEND, IN – Carlos Linarez launched a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the 10th inning Sunday and Dionys Rodriguez shut the door in the bottom of the inning to deliver Peoria to a tense 6-5 win over the South Bend Cubs. With the game tied 2-2 after
SOUTH BEND, IN – Carlos Linarez launched a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the 10th inning Sunday and Dionys Rodriguez shut the door in the bottom of the inning to deliver Peoria to a tense 6-5 win over the South Bend Cubs.
With the game tied 2-2 after nine innings, the Chiefs loaded the bases in the 10th with no one out. With two strikes, Linarez clocked a grand slam to left to clear the bases and push the Chiefs to a 6-2 lead. For Peoria, it was the first grand slam of a season. For Linarez, it was his first long ball since May of 2023.
Osvaldo Berrios, who has been lights out against the Cubs in 2024, took the mound in the bottom of the 10th to secure the win. With runners at first and second and one out, Rafael Morel cut the Peoria lead to one with a three-run homer. The three-run shot came on the same day that the Cubs dealt Morel’s older brother, Christopher, to the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade. The next batter, Pedro Ramirez, tripled off the wall in right center to place himself 90 feet away as the game’s tying run.
Peoria skipper Patrick Anderson opted to take the baseball from Berrios and turned it over to fellow Chiefs reliever Dionys Rodriguez. Rodriguez forced Jefferson Rojas to fly out to right field for the inning’s second out. Then, Rodriguez whiffed Brian Kalmer with a fastball to end the game. It marked the second save of the year for the Peoria right-hander. Rodriguez dipped his ERA to 1.69 on the year.
On his 24th birthday, Chiefs starter Pete Hansen was dominant again with just one blemish. With a runner aboard in the fourth, Rojas put the Cubs on the board with a two-run homer to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Hansen did not surrender a run the rest of the day. He punched out nine batters over six innings on Sunday, one shy of a career high. It was his seventh quality start of the year.
The Chiefs offense struggled against Cubs starter Erian Rodriguez on Sunday, but broke through to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Alex Iadisernia delivered a two-run triple to score Leonardo Bernal and Won-Bin Cho to even the game at 2-2.
With the win, Peoria forced a split of the six-game series. They finished the season series posting a 13-5 record against the rival Cubs.
Following a day off on Monday, the Chiefs start a 12-game homestand on Tuesday against the Quad Cities River Bandits. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.