August 18, 2022 – International League (IL) – Iowa Cubs News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Iowa Cubs (52-62) shut out the Indianapolis Indians (55-57) to reclaim the series lead on Thursday night at Victory Field, taking home the win by a final score of 3-0.
The dominant pitching performance began with Javier Assad, who started the game for Iowa. In his third appearance against the Indians this year, Assad spun six solid innings. He limited his opponents to one walk and four hits, all of which were singles. The righty also racked up six strikeouts, including three straight in a one-two-three fourth.
While Indianapolis was stifled on offense, Iowa took advantage of some early opportunities. With two outs in the third inning, Darius Hill doubled and then came around to score on a single from David Bote, putting the I-Cubs up 1-0. They added on again in the next inning on a single from Alfonso Rivas and a two-out, two-run home run from John Hicks to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
After Assad completed his outing, Jonathan Holder and Cam Sanders preserved the shutout through the late innings. Though Holder allowed a runner as far as third base in the seventh, Sanders wrapped up that frame with a groundout, then pitched a one-two-three eighth.
For Indianapolis, their bullpen was also locked in. Three relievers combined to complete the final four innings of the game while allowing just two singles and striking out six Iowa batters. The bats couldn’t back them up, however. After allowing a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth, Jeremiah Estrada sent the next three men down in order to secure the save and the 3-0 victory for Iowa.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Iowa has now claimed six shutout victories this season.
Javier Assad pitched a quality start for his second consecutive outing, making him the first Iowa starter to toss more than one quality start this season.
Jeremiah Estrada earned his first Triple-A save after pitching a one-hit ninth.
John Hicks was the only I-Cub to have a multi-hit game tonight, going 2-for-4 with a home run.
Iowa will play the fourth game of their six-game series in Indianapolis tomorrow. First pitch between the I-Cubs and the Indians is set for 6:05 CT. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.
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