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August 19 Game Notes: Iowa at St. Paul

August 19, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (40-51) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (50-42)

Thursday - 7:05 PM - CHS Field - St. Paul, MN

RHP Matt Swarmer (2-5, 6.29) vs. RHP Beau Burrows (1-0, 1.54)

TONIGHT'S GAME: After sending both of the first two games of the series to extras, the I-Cubs and the Saints will play game three of the six-game set tonight at CHS Field. With the series tied at one win apiece, the I-Cubs will send Matt Swarmer to the mound for his first start since July 27. After spending the entire first half of the season starting for Iowa and Tennessee, Swarmer was shifted into a relief role for the beginning of August. The righty has made three consecutive appearances out of the bullpen since his last start, but he'll return to the rotation tonight to face off with Beau Burrows, who will be making his third start in his sixth outing for St. Paul. Burrows will face the I-Cubs for the second time this season after shutting them out for 2.2 innings in the first half of July 11th's doubleheader. He is 1-0 with an ERA of just 1.54 (2ER/11.2IP) for the Saints this season and has not allowed a run in either of his previous starts for St. Paul.

IT AIN'T OVER 'TIL IT'S OVER: Following the trend of their previous matchups, last night's game between the Saints and the I-Cubs came down to its final inning. Not only was it the third consecutive game in this series that entered its last inning in a tie, it was also the ninth game this season between Iowa and St. Paul that was determined in the final frame. The late-game antics started during the teams' first series of the season on May 15 at CHS Field, when Ryan Jeffers went deep in the bottom of the ninth to secure a Saints victory. St. Paul tacked on their second and third walk-off wins against the I-Cubs on Tuesday with a pair of RBI singles - the first in the bottom of the ninth of the suspended game, and the second in the bottom of the eighth of the second game, which was originally a seven-inning contest. For their part, the I-Cubs have walked off the Saints twice as well, with both victories coming in the two halves of the July 11 doubleheader at Principal Park. On top of the five combined walk-offs, the teams have also had late-game success away from home. On May 16, the day after the Saints' first walk-off against them, the I-Cubs were trailing 3-0 heading into their final frame, but scored eight runs in the top of the ninth and ended with the victory. Similarly, the I-Cubs were leading 2-1 heading into the ninth at Principal Park on May 27 before the Saints put up a three-spot to clinch another last-second win. Last night's game joined June 18 as the second extra-innings win for Iowa at CHS Field. On June 18, Iowa put up a run in the tenth and blanked the Saints in the bottom half of the inning, boosting them to a 6-5 victory. Last night, the Saints tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and sent the game to extras, where the I-Cubs plated four to gain the final advantage. The teams have faced one another 26 times to date, meaning that all together, over a third of their games have been decided in the final inning.

CLOSE THE DOOR: Although he didn't get the save because the I-Cubs were up by four runs, Ethan Roberts pitched a perfect tenth-inning last night to secure Iowa's first win of the series. With a runner starting on second base for extra-innings, Roberts went to work. The righty struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the third and final batter on a ground out to first base. Despite being up four runs, Roberts still came in and did his job, not letting St. Paul build any momentum for a comeback attempt.

THE SWARM: Iowa's starting pitcher tonight, Matt Swarmer, will make his first start since throwing four innings on July 27, against Louisville. His last three outings have come out of the bullpen, where he has seen his numbers get better. In those three outings, Swarmer threw 10.2 innings allowing four earned runs on eight hits including two home runs. He walked three and struck out eight, lowering his ERA on the year to 6.29.

BIG TIME AT-BATS: Greg Deichmann made two huge at-bats last night, first coming in as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. With the I-Cubs trailing by a run and two outs left in the game, Deichmann stepped to the plate. He hit his first home run of the season with Iowa to tie the game, allowing it to go to extras. In extra-innings, the outfielder came back to the plate in another big spot, and delivered again. He hit an RBI single to give the I-Cubs an 8-7 lead, which would eventually be the game-winning hit. After going 2-for-2 last night, he is now hitting .273 in his limited time with Iowa.

THE WINNING WAY: In his fourth major league rehab appearance last night, Dillon Maples threw two innings of relief for the I-Cubs. He threw two innings, allowing one earned run on one hit and two walks, while striking out two batters. With the win, Maples moved to 3-0 in his two rehab stints with Iowa this year. Despite earning the win, it still wasn't the best performance from the righty, as he blew the save in the ninth inning. With two outs and a one-run lead, Maples threw a wild pitch allowing the runner from third to score, tying the game. He did record a strikeout to send it to extras, and got the win because Iowa scored four runs in the top of the tenth inning. For Maples, he has now recorded wins in back-to-back outings, with his last win coming on Sunday, August 15, against Omaha.

KEEP IT ROLLING: For the third consecutive game, Jared Young gave Iowa's offense a boost, providing multiple hits. Young went 2-for-3 with a run scored, a double, two runs batted in and a walk last night to help Iowa get the win against the Saints. In his last three games with the I-Cubs, the utility-man is 7-for-11 with two runs scored, a double and six runs batted in. On Sunday against Omaha, Young had his first three-hit game as a member of the I-Cubs, going 3-for-5 while also driving in three runs. He is no stranger to multi-hit games as 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 has now recorded two or more hits in three of his seven games with Iowa, bumping his average in Triple-A to .360.

NOT THE USUAL SUSPECTS: Trent Giambrone, Edwin Figuera, Greg Deichmann and Ian Miller all hit home runs in Iowa's 11-7 win last night. For three of the four batters, it was either their first or second home run of the season, and for Deichmann, it was his first of the year with Iowa. Giambrone started it off with a two-run homer in the third inning, his second of the year and first since June 24. Figuera followed his act with a solo shot in the fourth, his first home run since April 20, 2018. It also broke a streak of five games without a hit for the infielder. Deichmann tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth inning, making it his first as a member of the I-Cubs and fifth overall this year. Last, but not least, was Miller's bomb to right field. Known for his speed, Miller crushed a three-run shot to give Iowa a 4-run lead in the tenth inning, his second of the year and first since July 17.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: The I-Cubs are 10-16 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 an even .500 record against the Saints at CHS Field, at 7-7. The Saints have outscored the I-Cubs by nine runs this season, 125 runs to 116 runs, but Iowa leads the scoring by 18, 72-54, when the two teams play at CHS Field.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa tallied their sixth win when trailing after seven innings (6-39) and just their third win when trailing after eight innings, moving to 3-42...after taking the game last night, Iowa moved to an even .500 (7-7) when they play St. Paul here at CHS Field, while they are just 3-9 against the Saints at Principal Park.

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