I-CUBS START SLOW, FALL TO CLIPPERS

COLUMBUS, OH – The Iowa Cubs (29-38) fell to the Columbus Clippers (29-37), 6-3, on Friday at Huntington Park.

Columbus leadoff man Jose Tena took I-Cubs’ starter Sam McWilliams's second pitch of the game deep over the center field wall to give the Clippers an early 1-0 lead.

The home team added two more in the third when Jhonkensy Noel singled up the middle to bring in Clippers from second and third.

Columbus extended its lead to 4-0 in the fourth with an RBI single from Angel Martinez, which drove in Tena from second.

Iowa got on the board in the fifth behind an RBI double from Luis Vazquez that flew over the center fielder’s head, driving in Miles Mastrobuoni after he too doubled.

The Clippers regained a four-run advantage in the seventh after Jose Cuas fired a bases-loaded wild pitch to score Estevan Florial.

The I-Cubs closed the gap to 5-3 in the eighth, as Vazquez drove in his second and third runs of the night with a two-run bomb that cleared the left field bleachers and traveled 423 feet. It marked his first round-tripper since April 12 in St. Paul.

Columbus made it 6-3 in the bottom of the eighth when Florial drew a bases loaded walk from Porter Hodge, and Johnathan Rodriguez scored.

Darius Hillsingled to lead off Iowa’s ninth, but the I-Cubs couldn’t put any runs on the board over the last half inning.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Luis Vazquez has five RBI, two doubles, and a home run over the last two games
• Miles Mastrobuoni has five runs, four hits, two doubles, and a home run in his last two games
• With another scoreless inning Friday, reliever Ethan Roberts still has not allowed an earned run in 10 appearances (9.2 innings) as an I-Cub this season

Iowa will play against Columbus on Saturday for the fiurth of a six-game series with first pitch from Huntington Park slated for 6:05 pm CT. 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