Iowa Wraps Road Trip With 5-4 Loss

TACOMA, WA - The Tacoma Rainiers (38-34) snuck a 5-4 win over the Iowa Cubs (25-44) as the I-Cubs suffered a four-game sweep at Cheney Stadium. 

Tacoma snagged an early first inning run, but the pitching took over from there as both teams were held to three hits through 5.0 innings.
Iowa got rolling in the sixth. Singles from Lane Adams and Chesny Young put two on and David Bote made the most of the situation, taking a 3-1 pitch from Matt Tenuta over the right-center wall to put the I-Cubs ahead 3-1. It was Bote's team-leading 12th home run of the season and his third of the road trip.
The lead didn't hold as Tacoma quickly bounced back in the bottom of the inning. One walk and two singles loaded the bases for the Rainiers with one out. Duane Underwood Jr. locked in and struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis on three pitches for the second out of the inning, before Zach Vincej skied a ball to right for the should-be third out. An error by Adams on the play led to a pair of runs and ultimately four unearned runs in the inning.
Iowa pulled within a run in the eighth as Bijan Rademacher walked with the bases loaded to force in a run. With just one out in the inning, the I-Cubs couldn't take full advantage of the full bases and fell short of a comeback.
After posting a 9.45 ERA through his last three starts, Underwood put together a sturdy come-back outing, lasting 5.2 innings and allowing five runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks. He was the unlucky loser, falling to 3-7 on the year. The bullpen did its job as Dakota Mekkes and Dillon Maples combined for a scoreless 2.1 innings.
Iowa takes the day off tomorrow before returning to Principal Park for five games in four days against Colorado Springs beginning Thursday, July 21 at 7:08 p.m. Promotions include a 50th Season Card Set Giveaway, Pregame Music on the Concourse and Mug Club. For more information or tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.