DES MOINES, IA (July 29, 2026) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Iowa Cubs 4-3 at Principal Park on Wednesday afternoon. The RailRiders built an early lead and held off a late Cubs comeback effort to win their second straight in the series and third straight overall.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took a 2-0 lead in the first. George Lombard Jr. walked, and J.C. Escarra was hit by a Jaxon Wiggins pitch. With two down and both runners in scoring position, a Yanquiel Fernández single gave the RailRiders the early edge.
Marco Luciano singled in Lombard Jr. in the third to extend the lead to 3-0.
Brendan Beck held the Cubs in check over the first four innings, striking out six. Iowa tallied its first run on a balk in the fifth to break up the shutout bid. Brad Hanner closed the door on the I-Cubs threat in the fifth and followed with a scoreless sixth.
Luciano’s solo home run in the seventh extended the lead. It was Luciano’s eighth with the RailRiders since joining the roster in May.
After Eric Reyzelman went three-up, three-down in the seventh and eighth, the Cubs plated two runs on three straight doubles off Yovanny Cruz to cut the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lead to one at 4-3. With the tying run at second, Cruz struck out pinch hitter Owen Ayers and Brett Bateman to seal the win.
Hanner (5-2) earned the win in relief of Beck, Reyzelman notched his first hold, and Cruz garnered his fourth save of the season. Wiggins (0-2) allowed the first three runs on five hits over 3.2 innings.
Alexander Cornielle and Jordan Wicks are slated to start game three of the set on Thursday night at Principal Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:38 P.M. Central Time.