ROUND ROCK, Texas - Round Rock Express (36-38)CF Jared Hoying broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a booming three-run homer, giving the E-Train a thrilling 8-6 win over the Iowa Cubs (31-43) on Friday night at Dell Diamond.Express reliever LHP Joely Rodríguez (1-0, 6.75)
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Round Rock Express (36-38)CF Jared Hoying broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a booming three-run homer, giving the E-Train a thrilling 8-6 win over the Iowa Cubs (31-43) on Friday night at Dell Diamond.
Express reliever LHP Joely Rodríguez (1-0, 6.75) earned the win after giving up an unearned run on no hits and two walks while striking out five in two innings. I-Cubs LHP Ross Detwiler (0-2, 8.22) suffered the loss following a performance in which he surrendered four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Neither starting pitcher figured into the decision. Round Rock RHP James Dykstra gave up three runs, only one of which was earned, on a total of six hits in five innings of work. Iowa RHP Aaron Brooks surrendered three runs on eight hits in five innings. He recorded six punchouts in the no-decision.
For the fifth time in the last 17 games, E-Train 2B Drew Robinson led off with a home run, giving Round Rock an immediate 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Iowa then scored three unanswered runs to grab a 3-1 advantage. In the second inning, DH Bijan Rademacher singled before a fielding error by SS Jurickson Profar resulted in 1B Victor Caratini taking first base while Rademacher advanced to third. An ensuing sacrifice fly courtesy of 2B Chesny Young knotted the game at one run apiece. Following a Taylor Davis single, SS Elliot Soto poked a sacrifice fly into center field to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.
An inning later, CF Jacob Hennemann led off with a single then swiped second base on a Jemile Weeks groundout. Rademacher singled two hitters later to send Hennemann flying to the plate. Round Rock 1B Ronald Guzmán picked the run right back up with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, his second homer run in the last four games.
In the sixth, DH Ryan Rua collected a leadoff single before a wild pitch allowed the speedy center fielder to advance to second base. Guzman then drove in his second run of the night with a single, leveling the contest once again at 3-3.
The Cubs wasted no time regaining the lead in the very next inning. Rademacher notched his third hit of the night before Caratini stepped to the plate and demolished a 1-2 offering, sending the helpless baseball crashing into the seating area in the left field Home Run Porch.
The resilient Express pounced for two runs in the bottom of the frame. Profar opened the inning with a single before being erased at second base on a Rua fielder's choice. Red-hot E-Train 3B Will Middlebrooks then blasted a game-tying two-run homer to the berm in left-center field.
In the eighth, Hoying took matters into his own hands, blasting a three-run homer to deep right field. The longball scored C A.J. Jimenez and Rua, who has singled and doubled, respectively, in the two previous at-bats.
Iowa added one final run in the ninth inning as Weeks and 3B Jeimer Candelario worked back-to-back one-out walks before a passed ball and wild pitch in the next plate appearance allowed Weeks to travel around the bases. Rodrigues recovered to strikeout the final two batters to complete the 8-6 win.
Round Rock and Iowa face off in game three on Saturday night. Cubs RHP Casey Kelly (4-1, 4.50) is scheduled to start against an Express pitcher who has yet to be announced. First pitch at Dell Diamond is set for 7:05 p.m.
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