By Mike Monaco

SOUTH BEND — In his third attempt at his first professional start, South Bend lefty Tommy Thorpe spun five shutout innings as South Bend defeated West Michigan, 5-1, to claim the series Sunday afternoon in front of 6,858 fans at Four Winds Field.

The Cubs (29-38) won their first series since taking two of three from Cedar Rapids on June 3-5 at home. South Bend finishes the first-half of the Midwest League slate nine games below .500.

Thorpe allowed four hits, didn’t issue a free pass and fanned five, including three in his final frame.

“It was good. I started getting a feel for my curveball at the end of the game,” Thorpe said. “Earlier in the game, I couldn’t throw a curveball over the plate. Towards the end of the game I found it and threw it for strikes.”

The southpaw had been scheduled to make his first pro start June 9 at Four Winds Field, but the matchup with Quad Cities was rained out. Thorpe took the mound Monday against Peoria and worked two perfect innings before the game was washed out heading to the bottom of the third.

“After looking at the weather today, I saw that it was gonna happen,” Thorpe said. “I was excited, just went out and did my thing.”

The Cubs selected Thorpe in the eighth round in the 2014 draft after the lefty’s junior season at Oregon, where he tallied a 2.14 ERA as the Ducks’ Friday-night starter. As a sophomore, Thorpe posted a 2.16 ERA and pitched for the USA Collegiate National Team the following summer.

“The routine is a little different [between starting and relieving],” Thorpe said. “You don’t go out as long and as far in your throwing program when you’re a reliever. But as a starter you can. I feel like that’s just better for me because I can get a little feel for the ball.”

South Bend relievers Daniel Lewis (two innings, one run) and Michael Wagner (two innings, no runs) cleaned up the victory.

Cubs first baseman Jesse Hodges and center fielder Rashad Crawford both posted two-hit days. Crawford has at least one hit in 14 of his last 17 games.

Hodges got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning when he scorched a line-drive, two-run home run — his fourth long ball. The Cubs then loaded the bases, and third baseman Jason Vosler rapped a first-pitch RBI single to right field to stretch the lead to 3-0.

South Bend stacked the bases again in the fourth, and Cubs shortstop Gleyber Torres propped a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Hodges and make it 4-0.

The Cubs turned to right-handed reliever Daniel Lewis in the sixth, and Whitecaps left fielder Rashad Brown greeted him with a triple. Two batters later, West Michigan No. 3 hitter Ross Kivett hauled in Brown with an RBI groundout.

South Bend added the tally right back in the sixth when Torres again floated a sacrifice fly to right field — this time to score Bote and nudge the lead to 5-1.

Five South Bend players — Cael Brockmeyer, Charcer Burks, Gleyber Torres, Jeremy Null and James Farris — will represent the Eastern Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game on Tuesday at Dozer Park in Peoria, Illinois. The Cubs return to action Thursday when they visit Lake County at 7:00 p.m. ET in Eastlake, Ohio.