I-Cubs hand ‘Cakes fourth straight loss

Ryan Court hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and reliever Craig Brooks provided the winning run with an RBI single in the fourth, carrying the Iowa Cubs to a 4-3 win over the New Orleans Baby Cakes on Monday night.

Court’s sixth home run of the year came in the opening frame after ‘Cakes starter Tyler Cloyd gave up singles to Mark Zagunis and Victor Caratini.

The Baby Cakes used the long ball to draw even, getting solo home runs from Scott Van Slyke in the second inning and Garrett Cooper in the third. One out after Cooper’s home run, Tomas Telis tripled into the right field corner, then scored on Van Slyke’s single past a drawn-in infield to tie the game at 3-3.

That spelled the end of the night for Brad Markey, who was making a spot start in place of Duane Underwood, who had been promoted to the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day. Brooks limited the damage despite issuing three walks in 1 2/3 innings, but made the biggest impact at the plate, where he roped a two-out RBI single in the fourth to put Iowa back in front.

New Orleans threatened against Iowa’s parade or relief arms, but finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 men on base.

Alberto Baldonado (3-1) chipped in a 1 2/3 innings and was credited with the victory. James Norwood retired the side in order in the seventh, and Dakota Mekkes worked the final two innings to pick up his first save.

Cloyd (1-2) was charged with four runs on six hits in five innings to take the loss. He struck out five without a walk and hit a batter. Jose Quijada and Javy Guerra combined for eight strikeouts in four hitless innings of relief.

After returning to the .500 mark last Thursday, the ‘Cakes have lost four in a row, three of which have been decided by one run. New Orleans is 11-19 in one-run games, the worst mark in the Pacific Coast League.

The series resumes on Tuesday at 7 p.m.