Cubs playoff hopes take hit

The Iowa Cubs playoff hopes slipped a little bit further away with a crushing 1-0 loss at the hands of the Oklahoma RedHawks in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Cubs fell three games behind division leader Nashville, as the Sounds defeated Albuquerque, 12-4.

The Cubs tied their lowest hit output of the season, managing just two safeties off Oklahoma starter Derek Lee. Lee went the distance for his first complete game and first complete game shutout of the season. Jae-Kuk Ryu nearly matched Lee pitch for pitch by going the distance himself, but his only blemish came in the seventh inning when he surrendered a solo homer to Randall Simon. The lone Iowa hits came from Luis Montanez, a double in the second, and Augie Ojeda cracked a single in the third. After the single, however, Lee went on to retire 10 Cubs in a row before walking Geovany Soto, and then retire the final eight in a row.

Iowa and Oklahoma meet for game two of the four game series Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m.