Bryant, Valaika with three hits in Cubs win
For the second time in as many days, Iowa Cubs’ third baseman Kris Bryant launched a home run as the club picked up a split of a four-game series against the rival Memphis Redbirds on the road Sunday afternoon by a 7-3 final.
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After Adron Chambers clubbed an RBI double in the top of the second, the Chicago Cubs’ top prospect Addison Russell launched a two-run blast to extend the lead to 3-0. A Jonathan Mota solo shot in the fourth pushed it to 4-0 Iowa.
Memphis (2-2) began to battle back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a pair of runs to cut the lead to 4-2. However, Bryant’s two-run blast that brought Russell along for the ride turned the tide back in favor of Iowa. If you missed it, his homer was pretty outstanding yet again – it can be seen here.
The slugging infielder added a sac fly in the top of the ninth, accounting for his third and final RBI of the contest.
Left-hander Dallas Britton (1-0, 4.91 ERA) accounted for the win, tossing 2 1/3 innings of work in relief of Barret Loux – who allowed just two runs in 4 2/3 frames. Zac Rosscup, Armando Rivera and Blake Parker added a trio of scoreless innings to close things out for Iowa.
What Stood Out:
Addison Russell scored two runs, drove in a pair and added three hits out of the two-spot for Iowa, raising his average to .389 on the young season. While most of the attention is focused on Bryant – the young middle infielder has been outstanding so far at the Triple-A level, and could find himself in Chicago before 2015 draws to a close.
What’s Next:
Iowa (2-2) heads to New Orleans to take on the Zephyrs (1-3) on Monday night. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CT at Zephyr Field.