IOWA COMEBACK FALLS SHORT, SWEPT BY INDIANAPOLIS

DES MOINES, IA – Trailing, 9-3, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Iowa Cubs (43-59) scored five runs to cut the lead to 9-8 but fell to the Indianapolis Indians (46-52).

The home team loaded the bases with nobody out, as Fabian Pertuz walked, Cole Roederer singled to right, and Darius Hill hit into what initially looked like a 4-6-3 double play, but Indy shortstop Liover Peguero dropped the ball as he was covering second and everybody was safe.

Then, pinch-hitting for Caleb Knight, on the third pitch he saw, Moises Ballesteros crushed a 426-foot grand slam to dead center to make it 9-7. It was his fifth Triple-A big fly and his first at Principal Park.

Two batters later, Trayce Thompson hit a solo shot for the I-Cubs’ second homer of the inning to draw them within one. Eventually, Iowa put the game-tying run on second and winning run on first with two outs, but the I-Cubs came up just short.

Owen Caissie gave Iowa a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with a run-scoring single. Indianapolis responded with a nine-run sixth inning, highlighted by solo homers by Malcom Nunez and Henry Davis to give Indy a 9-1 advantage.

Pertuz cut the Indianapolis lead to 9-3 with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

Caleb Kilian pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief on Major League rehab assignment.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• The I-Cubs suffered a six-game sweep for the first time since May 25-30, 2021 vs. St. Paul.
• Fabian Pertuz has homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
• Moises Ballesteros hit the first grand slam for Iowa since June 4 vs. Toledo (Owen Caissie).
• Iowa’s pitching staff has surrendered at least 10 straight hits in six straight games for the first time since June 29-July 4, 2022.

Iowa will play vs. St. Paul on Tuesday for the first of a six-game series with first pitch from Principal Park slated for 6:38 p.m. You can listen to all Iowa Cubs games on Hope AM940 and stream every home game for free on the Bally Live App. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.