Dodgers Cruise Past Cubs

The Oklahoma City Dodgers scored twice in the first inning, then added two runs in the ninth for a 4-1 win Saturday against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park.

The Pacific Coast League-leading Dodgers won a fourth straight game to improve to 18-5 on the season in front of a crowd of 5,411.

The Dodgers also took a 3-0 lead in their series against Iowa, which wraps up Sunday afternoon in Des Moines. Oklahoma City has now won nine of its first 11 road games for the first time since the team joined the PCL in 1998.

The Dodgers quickly built a 2-0 advantage in the first inning Saturday.

Darnell Sweeney reached on an error by Iowa second baseman Arismendy Alcantara to lead off the game and later scored on a RBI single by Kyle Jensen. Corey Seager followed with a RBI groundout to give the Dodgers a 2-0 edge in the first inning.

In the fourth inning, Iowa's Christian Villanueva hit a ball out of the park down the left field line that was at first ruled to be a game-tying two-run homer. But after the umpires gathered, it was deemed a foul ball and Oklahoma City hung on to its 2-0 lead.

Iowa's lone run of the night came in the seventh inning when Alcantara hit a RBI single to cut the Dodgers' lead to 2-1.

Oklahoma City then added two more runs in the ninth.

With the bases loaded, Matt Carson's broken bat RBI single, followed by a bases loaded walk drawn by Scott Schebler, gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

Oklahoma City pitcher Steve Smith (2-0) earned the win and David Aardsma collected his league-leading eighth save of the season.

Iowa starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada (0-3) was charged with the loss, allowing two runs and two hits over 7.0 innings.

The Dodgers conclude their four-game road series against the Iowa Cubs at 1:08 p.m. Sunday at Principal Park.