Walk-Off Slam Sinks Iowa

ST. PAUL, MN – The Iowa Cubs (44-54) were walked off for the sixth time this season on Sunday at CHS Field, dropping the series finale in extra innings to the St. Paul Saints (47-50) by a final score of 8-4.

Javier Assad started the game for the I-Cubs and got through two innings without much trouble. He allowed just two baserunners before the third, when the Saints jumped out ahead. John Andreoli led off the inning with a walk and scored on an RBI single from Spencer Steer, who then scored on a two-run home run from Jake Cave, giving the Saints a 3-0 lead.

The I-Cubs themselves couldn’t get anything done against St. Paul starter Ariel Jurado through the early innings. The lineup notched just one hit - a Matt Mervis double - while striking out six times through the first three innings. They finally broke through in the fourth, using a pair of singles from Andrelton Simmons and Mervis to score their first run of the game, making it 3-1.

Iowa added on again in the sixth inning, this time against Austin Schulfer. Zach Davis and Nick Madrigal each reached on base hits ahead of Narciso Crook, who launched his fourth home run of the series to give Iowa their first lead of the ballgame, at 4-3.

The score held there until the eighth. Cave and Jermaine Palacios continued their hot hitting against Iowa with a double apiece for St. Paul in that inning, tying the game up at 4-4.

After both bullpens put up a scoreless ninth, the game headed to extras. Iowa moved Jared Young - the gifted runner - to third base, but couldn’t drive him in. In the bottom half of the tenth, the Saints loaded the bases with a single and an intentional walk. Though Blake Whitney managed to get two outs without a run scoring, Palacios ended the game with a walk-off grand slam, giving St. Paul an 8-4 victory in the game and a 4-2 victory in the series.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Narciso Crook extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with his 1-for-4 day.

• Cam Sanders pitched two scoreless innings of relief in his first outing since returning from the developmental list.

• Matt Mervis collected his eighth RBI with Iowa, making him fifth on the team in RBI this month despite playing in just nine of Iowa’s 24 games in July.

• Blake Whitney was credited with the loss for his second straight appearance, giving him three on the season at Triple-A.

Iowa will take tomorrow off before kicking off a two-week homestand with the series opener against Toledo on Tuesday. First pitch between the I-Cubs and the Mud Hens is set for 6:38. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.