Cubs Cage Redbirds

Des Moines, IA - Kyle Hendricks turned in a four-hit gem, Edgar Gonzalez drove in a run in the fourth, and the Iowa Cubs (60-74) shut out the Memphis Redbirds (64-70) 2-0 on Friday night at Principal Park. The Redbirds lead the five-game series 2-1.

Hendricks (2-0) scattered four hits over seven innings, walked one, and struck out three to earn the victory for the Cubs. He has pitched seven innings and notched a quality start in three of his first four starts with Iowa.

The Cubs were held to just four hits on the night, but recorded three of them in their two-run fourth inning. Julio Borbon singled to lead off the inning, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Borbon was thrown out at the plate after Dave Sappelt hit a grounder to third for the first out. Brad Nelson and Gonzalez followed with back-to-back singles to send Sappelt in for the first run of the game. Nelson later dented the plate on another wild pitch to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead after four.

The Cubs were held to just one more hit the rest of the night - a single by Hendricks in the fifth - but the pitching staff needed little run support. Zach Rosscup and Eduardo Sanchez each tossed one perfect inning in relief of Hendricks to preserve the shutout victory.

Memphis starter Eric Fornataro (1-4) allowed both runs on three hits in four innings, and took the loss. Victor Marte and Michael Blazek each threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to finish the game.

The Cubs and Redbirds play game four of the series on Saturday night at 7:05. RH Casey Coleman (4-3, 3.03 ERA) will start for Iowa against LH Nick Greenwood (2-6, 5.96 ERA) for Memphis. The game will be broadcast live on AM 940, and streamed at iowacubs.com, with the pre-game show starting at 6:45.