Down on the Farm: Iowa, Kane County winners once again

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Similar to the big league club, Iowa played a very different two halves of baseball, if you will. For the majority of the contest, the club trailed Nashville until top prospect Javier Baez launched his second home run of the year, a two-run shot to right-center, to put Iowa on top, 2-1, in the bottom of the sixth.

Chris Valaika then hit an RBI double, plating Josh Vitters, and expanding the Cubs’ lead to 3-1. Valaika added an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth and a Christian Villanueva sac fly in the frame accounted for the final Cubs’ tally of the evening as the club coasted to a 5-1 win.

Valaika joined the likes of Arismendy Alcantara and Matt Szczur with a pair of base hits on the evening, while Vitters added a lone hit, two runs and a pair of walks – raising his batting average to a team-high .364 on the young season.

Iowa starter Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 5.40 ERA) tossed seven superb innings, allowing just one run on five hits, while striking out five and walking just one. This follows his first start of the year in which he allowed six earned runs in four-plus innings of work.

The lone Sounds run came in the top of the fourth against Hendricks when Hunter Morris lined a single to left, scoring Eugenio Velez.

Iowa moves to 4-4 on the year, while Nashville falls to 3-5. The Cubs open a series against the St. Louis Triple-A affiliate, Memphis, on Friday at AutoZone Park.

FINAL: Cubs 5 Sounds 1