By Mike Monaco

LANSING, Mich. – South Bend built on Thursday’s offensive outburst and ran past Lansing, 10-3, on Friday at Cooley Law School Stadium to claim the three-game series.

The Cubs (12-10 second half, 41-48 overall) tallied 10 runs on 18 hits in Thursday’s middle game and hardly slowed down in Friday’s finale against the Lugnuts (10-12 second half, 52-40 overall). South Bend scored a pair of runs in the first and reeled in four more in the sixth.

Cubs starter Michael Wagner spun six innings and allowed the lone run in his final frame. The righty gave up four hits, walked three and fanned four.

South Bend entered the night 2.5 games behind West Michigan in the Eastern Division’s second-half standings.

Right fielder Jeffrey Baez (3-for-5, two runs, one double, one home run, three RBI) powered the offense from the leadoff spot and collected his fourth consecutive multi-hit outing. Shortstop Gleyber Torres (3-for-5, two doubles), second baseman David Bote (2-for-4, two runs) and center fielder Rashad Crawford (3-for-4, three RBI) rounded out the well-balanced attack.

Baez clocked a double to right-center field to begin the ballgame, and he scored from third on Torres’ wall-ball double to left. Torres was then caught moving to third, but Lansing starter Starlyn Suriel misfired on his pickoff attempt to third, and Torres raced home to make it 2-0.
Baez clubbed a solo home run in the third, notching his fourth consecutive multi-hit outing, and pushing the lead to 3-0.

In the fourth, Crawford knocked in Bote with a two-out RBI single.

Crawford added another timely two-out hit with a two-run single in the sixth to widen the gap to 6-0. Baez then slapped a single to right to score catcher Erick Castillo, and, as Baez was caught in a rundown, Crawford sprinted home to make it 8-0.

The Lugnuts loaded the bases in the last of the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Dawel Lugo.

Lugo added an RBI single off of Cubs reliever Dillon Maples in the eighth to pull the Lugnuts within six, 8-2. Right fielder Boomer Collins then plated center fielder D.J. Davis on an RBI fielder’s choice.

Torres grabbed a run back for South Bend with a run-scoring single in the ninth. The Cubs stretched it to a 10-3 lead after Baez scored on Lansing’s third error of the game and second in the frame.

South Bend right-hander Ryan McNeil closed out the victory in the ninth.

South Bend returns home Saturday to open a three-game series with West Michigan at 7:05 p.m. ET at Four Winds Field in South Bend, Indiana. Cubs left-hander Tommy Thorpe (4.47 ERA) will get the ball opposite Whitecaps righty A.J. Ladwig (3.68 ERA).