IL Iowa Cubs

August 17 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at St. Paul Saints

Published on August 17, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (39-49) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (48-41)

Tuesday - 5:30 PM - CHS Field - St. Paul, MN

LHP Ryan Kellogg (1-2, 3.72) vs. LHP Jovani Moran (1-0, 2.33) (Game One)

RHP Cory Abbott (1-5, 7.34) vs. RHP Drew Strotman (0-1, 6.28) (Game Two)

TONIGHT'S GAMES: Iowa and St. Paul are set to play the final five innings of their suspended game from June 20, and follow that with game one of their current six-game set. For the suspended game, the I-Cubs are leading that series three games to two, and with a win will take their third road series win of the year. Getting the start in the fifth inning of a 3-3 tie in game one will be Ryan Kellogg for Iowa against Jovani Moran for St. Paul. Kellogg is 0-1 allowing three earned runs in four innings pitched against St. Paul, and was in the suspended game for the final two innings. Moran is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in nine games with the Saints, making his first appearance of the season against Iowa. Game two will see Cory Abbott take the ball for Iowa, looking for his second win at CHS Field and of the season. Abbott has lost four games since earning his only win of the season here back on May 13. He will face off against Drew Strotman, who is 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA in three starts. He will also face the I-Cubs for the first time this season.

PERFECTION: Keegan Thompson made his fourth start with Iowa on Sunday since being optioned on June 27 to get stretched out. In that start against Omaha, Thompson threw 4.1 perfect innings, retiring all 13 batters he faced. He sat down seven of them via the strikeout, throwing 41 of his 61 pitches for strikes. He had thrown 61 pitches once this year with Chicago, back on May 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but is his highest pitch count of the season with Iowa. Although Thompson hasn't gone deep enough into a game yet to receive a decision, the I-Cubs are now 3-1 in the four games he has started. The righty has given up just five total hits, walking five batters and striking out 16. With 8.1 scoreless innings in two starts against Omaha, Thompson was named Triple-A East Pitcher of the Week by Minor League Baseball on Monday.

TWO IN TWO DAYS?: Coming into their most recent series against Omaha, Iowa had won just one road series this season, despite having a better winning percentage on the road than they do at home. Their one series win came against the Indianapolis Indians back on June 29-July 4, when the I-Cubs took four out of six games. On Sunday, in a dominant 10-0 win over the Storm Chasers, Iowa completed their second series victory away from Principal Park, moving to 2-2-2 in series on the road this season. The I-Cubs have a chance to take two road series in two days if they win the first game of tonight's doubleheader. Back on June 15-20, Iowa was leading the series three games to two over St. Paul, when the series finale got suspended due to inclement weather. Tonight's completion of the game, if Iowa wins it, could be their third series win of the season on the road.

HAVE A DAY: Taylor Gushue and Jared Young each had big games on Sunday, with Gushue delivering two doubles, driving in three runs. The catcher is tied for fourth on the team with 14 multi-hit games this season and with eight multi-RBI games. Young had his first three-hit game as a member of the I-Cubs, going 3-for-5 while also driving in three runs. Before getting the promotion to Iowa on August 10, Young had four games this year with three or more hits with Double-A Tennessee, including two four-hit performances.

HE'S A MACHINE: When the I-Cubs need a clutch hit, they can usually turn to one player that will consistently come through for them. That player is Alfonso Rivas, who, after two more hits and a walk on Sunday is now hitting .280 (44-for-157) with an on-base percentage of .411 in 47 games with Iowa this season. In the month of August alone, Rivas is hitting .319 (15-for-47) with two doubles and 11 RBI. He has also walked 10 times compared to nine strikeouts. In Sunday's game against Omaha, Rivas came to the plate with the bases loaded twice, and came through with RBI singles both times. The lefty is now batting .727 (8-for-11) with the bases loaded this season. He has hit two doubles and one grand slam, knocking in a total of 17 runs when the sacks are full. He has also walked once and struck out just once, good for an OBP of .750 and an OPS of 1.932.

THEY CAME SO CLOSE: Iowa's pitching staff made a bid for their third no-hitter of the season on Sunday, with four pitchers combining to throw eight no-hit frames. Their first came back on May 9, when four pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against Indianapolis. It was the first no-hitter in minor league baseball in 621 days, and Iowa's first since May 7, 2014. Just over two months later, three pitchers combined to throw a seven-inning no-no. That came on July 11, in game one of a double header against St. Paul. In Sunday's game against Omaha, Keegan Thompson started the game with 4.1 perfect innings, striking out seven batters along the way. He was relieved by Dakota Mekkes, who walked a batter, but kept the no-hitter going through the fifth. Dillon Maples added a no-hit inning, and Matt Swarmer threw two before the ninth. Angelo Castellano delivered a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth inning, recording the only hit all game for the Storm Chasers. The four pitchers combined to strikeout 15 batters, throwing Iowa's first nine inning one-hitter since August 24, 2015, against Fresno.

DON'T FORGET IT: While the focus in the later innings turned towards Iowa's pitching staff throwing their third no-hitter of the year, the offense still had a huge game. For the fourth time in their six-game set against Omaha, Iowa recorded double-digit hits, while scoring in double figures for the third time. Four players had multi-hit games and three players drove in multiple runs in the 10-0 route of Omaha. Iowa went 4-0 in the series when their offense recorded 10 or more hits and 0-2 when they did not. In their four wins, the I-Cubs offense totaled 37 runs on 45 hits, while tallying just three runs on 12 hits in their two losses.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: The I-Cubs are 9-14 overall this season against St. Paul, but have played the Saints much better on the road than they have at home. Iowa is 3-9 at Principal Park, while holding a 6-5 record against St. Paul here at CHS Field. The Saints have outscored the I-Cubs by 11 this season, 108 runs to 97 runs, but Iowa leads the scoring by 16, 53-37, when the two teams play at CHS Field.

GOING THE RIGHT DIRECTION: After falling in four straight games at home, Iowa went on the road and took four-of-six from the first-place Omaha Storm Chasers last series. With the four wins, they are now 20-21 on the road, while holding a 19-28 record at home. If Iowa can win both games tonight, they would go over the .500 mark with their road winning percentage for the first time this season since May 13, when they were 2-1 in road games.

SHORT HOPS: After scoring double-digit runs in four of their six games in Omaha including 10 on Sunday, Iowa is now over the 400-run threshold this season, with 409 total runs scored as a team...with their shutout of the Storm Chasers in Sunday's game, Iowa's pitching staff has thrown 11.0 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Saturday...Iowa did not hit a home run Sunday in the midst of scoring 10 runs; they had three doubles, seven singles and drew eight walks.

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