Home Baseball Greg Garcia, Redbirds Slam Past Cubs

Greg Garcia, Redbirds Slam Past Cubs

by Press Release

(Courtesy Memphis Redbirds, Photo Credit: Allison Rhoades)

Greg Garcia went deep twice and the Memphis Redbirds pounded their way to a second straight victory Friday night, defeating the Iowa Cubs 9-0 at Principal Park.

Garcia (2-for-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R, BB) tied a career-high with the two long balls and set a new personal best with six RBIs in the pounding. After launching a total of three home runs on Friday, the Redbirds have already hit five homers through the first two games.

The opening three frames were quiet in Iowa, with both starting pitchers dodging a few scoring opportunities. The next three frames were the exact opposite. Oscar Taveras (1-for-5, HR, RBI, R, 3 K) kicked off the fourth by taking the second pitch of the inning out of the ballpark for his first home run of the season. Ed Easley (1-for-3, 2B, 2 R, BB) then started the fifth with a double and came around to score later in the inning. Garcia capped the three-run frame by nailing his first home run of the night over the right center field wall. The score sat at 4-0 after five.

The patience of the Redbirds hurt the Cubs in the sixth inning as Memphis drew three walks, including one with the bases loaded. The bags remained packed when Garcia, hitting out of the leadoff spot, stepped in and smacked his first career grand slam and second home run of the game. The ‘Birds secured the 9-0 lead at the end of the sixth and never retreated.

The dynamic offense overshadowed yet another solid start from a Redbirds’ pitcher. Angel Castro, who was making his Memphis debut, turned in five scoreless innings to earn the win. The right-hander allowed just two hits and added four strikeouts on the night. The bullpen backed it all up, as Nick Greenwood, Heath Wyatt and Eric Fornataro combined to finish the remaining four innings without surrendering a hit.

Memphis and Iowa will play game three of the four game set tomorrow starting at 7:05 pm (CST). Memphis will send Tim Cooney to the mound to make his Triple-A debut. Iowa is slated to counter with Kyle Hendricks.

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