Memphis beats Iowa 6-3 with small-ball, strong pitching on road trip opener
Jimmy Crooks opened the scoring, and Memphis cashed in walks, wild pitches and sacrifice flies for a 6-3 road win at Iowa. Brycen Mautz and Max Rajcic protected the lead all night.
Memphis did not need a home run to control the opener at Iowa. Jimmy Crooks put the Redbirds on the board with an RBI single that scored Bryan Torres in the first inning, and Memphis kept building from there in a 6-3 win Tuesday night at Principal Park.
What made the victory stand out was the way the runs came. After Crooks’ first-inning hit, Memphis scored its next six runs without leaving the yard, turning walks, wild pitches and sacrifice flies into steady pressure on an Iowa staff that never found a clean inning. It was the kind of manufactured offense that plays on the road, especially at the start of a six-game series and a 12-game trip, because it forces the other club to make every throw and every pitch under stress.
The result pushed Memphis to 27-18 and left the Redbirds with a one-game lead over the Nashville Sounds. It also kept alive a remarkable run through the first two months of the season: Memphis has spent every day of 2026 at least tied for first place in the International League.
Brycen Mautz gave the Redbirds exactly the kind of start that lets that style work. The left-hander allowed one run on four hits in four innings, walked two and struck out five, lowering his season ERA to 2.90 after entering the night at 2.97. Connor Noland drew the assignment for Iowa, which came in at 18-26, but Memphis kept turning over traffic and never let the Cubs settle into the game.
Max Rajcic finished the job with a scoreless ninth for his fourth save, striking out one and reinforcing a bullpen that has been one of the club’s real separators. After Rajcic’s outing, Memphis’ bullpen ERA sat at 1.88, a number that helps explain how the Redbirds have stayed in command even when the offense has to win without a big swing.
The game lasted 3 hours, 22 minutes in front of 4,024 fans at Principal Park, with first pitch coming at 6:40 p.m. under 54-degree overcast skies and a 12 mph wind moving left to right. Lars Nootbaar made his first appearance with Memphis and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, but the night belonged to a team that kept manufacturing runs and then closed the door with pitching and control. Memphis was set to return to AutoZone Park on June 2 to open a six-game home series against Jacksonville.
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