Fort Wayne TinCaps (34-18, 66-54) @ South Bend Cubs (27-25, 56-63)
RHP Chris Huffman (7-6, 3.18) vs. RHP James Norwood (2-1, 3.71)
Friday, August 21, 2015 — Four Winds Field (South Bend, IN) — First Pitch 7:35 p.m. — Game 121
ABOUT LAST GAME: The TinCaps fell to the Hot Rods, 7-4, at Bowling Green Ballpark, snapping the club’s win streak at 10. Fort Wayne took at 3-2 lead into the 8th inning, but Bowling Green exploded for five runs to pull ahead. Luis Urias was 2-for-4 with a double.
ONE STREAKS ENDS: The TinCaps franchise-tying record 10-game winning streak came to end on Thursday night. On the morning of August 8 when – when the streak started – Fort Wayne was just seven games over .500, but now sits 16 games above .500. That morning, the TinCaps had just a two-game lead for one of the Eastern Division’s two second-half playoff spots, but now have a seven-game advantage. Edwin Moreno (.391, 2 HR, 5 RBIs) and Michael Gettys (.316, 7 RBIs) were the top hitters during the streak. Fort Wayne’s starters were also stout. Ernesto Montas, Chris Huffman, Thomas Dorminy, Pete Kelich and Dinelson Lamet were responsible for six of those wins and posted a 2.29 combined ERA (each made 2 starts).
ANOTHER STREAK CONTINUES: Even despite the loss, the TinCaps have still won seven series in a row dating back to July 28.
PLAYOFF RACE HEATS UP: This is the final series of the season with South Bend. The Cubs are on the outside looking in, sitting at third place in the East Division, seven games behind Fort Wayne, and 4.5 games behind West Michigan for the second-half wild card.
ON THIS DATE IN TINCAPS HISTORY: On August 21, 2013, the TinCaps battled South Bend into extra innings. With the bases loaded and the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 16th, current TinCap Rey Bruguera singled to centerfield to plate Tyler Stubblefield and clinch a 7-6 walk off victory. Ironically, three players that came to bat in that 16th frame – Bruguera, Luis Tejada and Miguel Del Castillo – are, or at one point were, with Fort Wayne in 2015.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: Fort Wayne tries for its first three-game win streak vs. South Bend in 2015, and its first since August of 2013.
MWL EASTERN DIVISION SECOND HALF PLAYOFF PICTURE
Place Team W-L GB GB WC Streak
1. FORT WAYNE 34-18 — — L1
2. West Michigan 31-20 2.5 — W3
3. South Bend 27-25 7.0 4.5 L1
4. Lake County 26-25 7.5 5.0 W3
5. Bowling Green 26-26 8.0 5.5 W1
6. Lansing* 24-28 10.0 7.5 L8
7. Dayton 23-29 11.0 8.5 W1
8. Great Lakes** 22-30 12.0 9.5 L3
* First Half Division Winner ** First Half Wild Card Winner
