Christopher Van Tuyl

Memphis Commercial Appeal

It started out pretty innocent for Memphis Redbirds' third baseman Patrick Wisdom.

His eighth-inning solo home run helped his club close Monday night's deficit - which once was six at Iowa - to just two runs.

But, upon returning to the batter's box in the ninth inning, Wisdom was aiming for bigger and better. A grand slam was the end result, and Memphis wound up scoring eight runs to win a 15-9 contest over the Cubs and extending its franchise-best winning streak to 11 games.

In improving to 21-11, the Redbirds sent 12 batters to the plate in the ninth. Todd Cunningham and Nick Martini reached base after getting hit by pitches. Luke Voit walked, before Wisdom provided his heroics. Harrison Bader and Paul DeJong followed with singles, and they both came home on Carson Kelly's double. Finally, with two outs, Cunningham hit his club's fourth home run of the night.

Memphis's night of offense actually began in the second inning on DeJong's two-run homer. He, Voit and Wisdom now lead the team with seven each.

The Redbirds will go for victory No. 12 in a row on Tuesday. The first pitch at Principal Park is scheduled for 12:08 p.m.