Missions Slug Their Way to Series-Evening Victory

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Missions unleashed their power potential by swatting four home runs en route to a 10-2 victory over the Iowa Cubs Sunday night at Wolff Stadium. The win evened up the five-game series at one game apiece.
Lucas Erceg, Mauricio Dubón, Cory Spangenberg, and Blake Allemand all flexed their muscles with home runs on the night while Thomas Jankins turned in another solid performance on the mound. The right-hander became the second Missions pitcher since 2005 to collect five wins in a single month, joining Mike Ekstrom, who did so in August 2008. The I-Cubs scattered six singles and one triple against the Missions starter in six innings. It was the seventh quality start of the season and his sixth straight victory.
For the third straight game, the Missions yielded a run in the first inning as the Iowa Cubs as Phillip Evans tapped a dribbler through the middle of the infield to score Trent Giambrone from third base.
San Antonio responded in the bottom of the third inning by posting a trio of runs. Missions starting pitcher Thomas Jankins pushed a base hit to right field to score Troy Stokes Jr. from second base. Three batters later Cory Spangenberg doubled off the left field fence to drive in a pair of runs to give the Missions a 3-1 advantage.
After the I-Cubs got a run back in the top of the fourth, the Missions extended their lead in the home half of the frame when Erceg turned on a Matt Swarmer pitch and yanked a two-run bomb over the right field fence. The Missions kept the power surge going in the fifth inning as Dubon and Spangenberg belted back-to-back solo bombs and in the seventh when Allemand launched a solo shot.
The Missions continued to pile on in the eighth inning when Erceg yanked a run-scoring double down the right field line, which was followed up by an RBI single from Stokes Jr.
Jon Olczak and Donnie Hart came out of the bullpen to toss three scoreless innings.
The Missions continue their five-game series with the Iowa Cubs Monday night at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Right-hander Bubba Derby (3-4, 4.04) will start for the Missions against Alec Mills (4-2, 5.18). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
-With the win, San Antonio improved to 51-32 on the season.
-San Antonio extended its home-run streak to a season-long 14 games.
-With his second-inning single, David Freitas moved his on-base streak to 22 games.
-Mauricio Dubon and Cory Spangenberg belted back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. It was the first time the Missions hit back-to-back home runs since May 31, 2018 when Michael Gettys and Taylor Kohlwey achieved the feat at Tulsa.
-Erceg's two-run home run in the fourth inning was his fourth home run in his last seven games.
-Sunday's four-homer outburst was the third time this season the Missions have hit at least four home runs in a game. They hit a season-high five on June 13 against Tacoma and four on June 23 at Omaha.
-Thomas Jankins extended his winning to six games to set a new team-high.
-Sunday night's 10-run game for the Missions was their seventh 10+ run game of the season and fifth in June.