Massive Sixth Inning Propels Indians to Series Sweep in Iowa, 9-8

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Indianapolis Indians scored all nine of their runs in the sixth inning in a 9-8 win over the Iowa Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Principal Park, completing their first six-game series sweep since Minor League Baseball transitioned to its weekly schedule in 2021.

Trailing 1-0 after five innings because of top Cubs prospect Owen Caissie’s RBI double in the fourth, the Indians (13-12, 46-52) jumped ahead of the I-Cubs (10-17, 43-59) with a nine-run top of the sixth. The inning started with a solo home run from Malcom Nuñez against Iowa starter Kyle McGowin, but the majority of the damage came against reliever Riley Martin (L, 1-3). Martin allowed a solo homer to pinch hitter Henry Davis to open his day, and Indianapolis poured on for five more runs charged to Martin before he left the game, highlighted by a three-run double to straight-away center from Andrés Alvarez. Zac Leigh came on in replacement of Martin as the second pitching change of the inning and allowed back-to-back RBI hits to Liover Peguero and Davis.

Iowa made things incredibly interesting against the Indians bullpen, with Fabián Pertuz clubbing a two-run home run in the seventh inning before things got a bit too close for comfort in the ninth. Iowa pinch hitter Moisés Ballesteros smacked a grand slam against Indy reliever Ryder Ryan, with Trayce Thompson taking him deep two hitters later. However, Brady Feigl (S, 1) came on in replacement of Ryan and recorded the final two outs of the game, locking up his first professional save since he was a Texas Rangers farmhand in 2018.

Indians starter Domingo Germán (W, 6-4) put together arguably his strongest start with Indianapolis this year, firing 5.2 innings of three-hit, one-run ball with five strikeouts and no walks. Of the 72 pitches that the former Yankee threw, 49 were for strikes.

Indianapolis’ sixth win in a row extends their season-best winning streak. It surpassed their previous high of four wins in a row, which the Indians accomplished on three separate occasions before the All-Star break. On the week, the Indians hit .335 as a team with a .412 on-base percentage and 58 runs scored, all three the best marks in Triple-A baseball over that stretch.

The Indians travel home postgame ahead of an off day in the schedule on Monday before hosting the Tigers-affiliated Toledo Mud Hens for a six-game series at Victory Field beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 PM ET. Tickets are still available for all six games on the homestand at indyindians.com/tickets.