I-Cubs Register 13 Hits in 9-3 Win

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Iowa Cubs (18-28) won the series opener 9-3 over the Indianapolis Indians (25-23), Tuesday at Victory Field.

Iowa took an early two-run lead in the first, with back-to-back solo home runs from Michael Hermosillo and Taylor Gushue. The lead didn’t hold long, as a two-out single from Kevin Kramer led to a two-run blast by Will Craig to tie the game 2-2 in the home first.

With two outs in the third, the I-Cubs offense exploded for six runs, capped off by an RBI single from major league rehabber Nico Hoerner in his second game with the team.

Up 8-2, Adrian Sampson settled in and came just one out short of a quality start, tossing 5.2 innings of two-run ball. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out six, with the only two runs coming from Craig's two-run homer in the first.

Dillon Maples made his second appearance on major league rehab relieving Sampson, who left with two runners on in the sixth inning. Maples got out of the jam, striking out Wilmer Difo to end the inning. He came back out for the seventh, but walked two and gave up a single, allowing a run to score before being taken out of the game.

Iowa got the run back in the ninth, when Vance Vizcaino knocked in Edwin Figuera with an RBI single. Jake Jewell and Ben Leeper combined to throw 2.1 perfect innings, striking out three combined batters to secure a 9-3 win.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• The I-Cubs scored their first eight runs on six hits and a walk all with two outs through the first three frames.

• The six runs Iowa scored in the third inning are the second-most they have scored in one inning all season. They scored eight back on May 16 in the ninth inning against St. Paul.

• After losing 18 out of 20 games from May 22 to June 10, Iowa has now won seven of their last 15, including four against the top two teams in the division.

• Iowa stranded the bases loaded in both the sixth and ninth innings, leaving nine total runners on-base.

Iowa and Indianapolis will play game two of the six-game series at 12:35 pm CT tomorrow at Victory Field. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.