By Mike Monaco

SOUTH BEND – Fort Wayne limited South Bend to just four hits and powered past the Cubs, 6-2, in Friday’s series opener at Four Winds Field in front of 6,101 fans.

The TinCaps (35-18 second half, 67-54 overall), who had a 10-game winning streak snapped Thursday against Bowling Green, climbed back on track with an all-around effort against South Bend (27-26 second half, 56-64 overall). The Cubs began the night 4.5 games back of West Michigan for second place in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division.

South Bend starter James Norwood gave up four runs on eight hits and one walk in five innings. Meanwhile, TinCaps starter Chris Huffman stifled South Bend with seven innings of one-run ball.

Cubs reliever Dillon Maples allowed two runs in two innings, and fellow righty Daniel Lewis followed with two scoreless stanzas.

Cubs shortstop Gleyber Torres (1-for-3, one walk), second baseman David Bote (1-for-4), designated hitter Charcer Burks (1-for-4, one RBI, one stolen base) and first baseman Matt Rose (1-for-4) collected South Bend’s only hits.

In the top of the second, TinCaps first baseman Trae Santos slipped a two-out RBI single into center field to score third baseman Luis Tejada from first and hand Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead.

TinCaps second baseman Luis Urias drove a two-out, two-strike pitch to right field in the third to score center fielder Michael Gettys and stretch the lead to 2-0.

Tejada and Santos cracked back-to-back doubles in the fourth, with Tejada scoring to make it 3-0. Santos later scored from third when catcher Michael Miller attempted, unsuccessfully, to steal second.

Fort Wayne padded the lead to 5-0 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to left field by Santos. Miller then clobbered a two-out solo home run to left to make it 6-0.

Burks tugged an RBI infield single to the left side to score left fielder Ian Happ and get the Cubs on the board, 6-1, in the home seventh.
In the bottom of the ninth, Rose reached on an error and scored Torres from second.

South Bend continued its record-setting season with another crowd of 6,000-plus, pushing the season total to 300,709.

South Bend and Fort Wayne tussle in game two Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Four Winds Field. Cubs right-hander Jake Stinnett (4.61 ERA) is scheduled to oppose TinCaps lefty Thomas Dorminy (3.26 ERA).