DES MOINES, IA (July 31, 2026) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Iowa Cubs 9-5 at Principal Park on Friday night. All nine batters had at least one hit as the RailRiders collected 16 hits en route to their fifth straight win.
Box Score
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took a 4-0 lead in the second. Facing MLB rehabber Edward Cabrera, Duke Ellis opened the scoring with an RBI single. Cabrera was lifted after one time through the order, but the RailRiders offense continued to roll against reliever Ty Blach. Four straight hitters reached, with a bases loaded, two-run single by J.C. Escarra breaking the inning open. Marco Luciano singled in George Lombard Jr. to extend the lead.
Elmer Rodríguez blanked the I-Cubs over the first 4.2 innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out four. Iowa loaded the bases in the fifth, and Zach Messinger replaced Rodríguez, inducing a groundout to end the threat.
The RailRiders added a pair in the sixth on three hits. Luciano doubled in Escarra and a Yanquiel Fernández single brought Luciano home for a 6-0 advantage. The Cubs plated a run on an Owen Ayers single in the bottom of the inning to narrow the SWB lead to five.
Escarra was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh for a 7-1 lead, and Cole Gabrielson singled in Oswaldo Cabrera in the eighth to tack on another. Iowa rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth, and both teams scored in the ninth to close the account.
Messinger (7-1) earned the win, and Edward Cabrera (0-1) took the loss.
Luciano went 4-for-6 with a double, a triple and two runs batted in. Escarra drove in three and five players had multi-hit efforts as the RailRiders maintained their share of first place with the victory.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Iowa meet for game five of the set Saturday at 6:08 P.M. Central Time. The RailRiders return to PNC Field on Tuesday, August 4, for a series against the Rochester Red Wings. Tickets and promotional details are available at www.swbrailriders.com.