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August 2 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

August 2, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (44-54) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (49-48)

Tuesday - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Luke Farrell (2-2, 4.56) vs. LHP Daniel Norris (0-0, 0.00)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Toledo will meet for the first of a seven-game series tonight, with Luke Farrell set to take the ball for the I-Cubs. Farrell is 2-2 with a 4.56 ERA through 10 starts and 13 games overall with Iowa, allowing 24 earned runs on 43 hits in 47.1 innings. Over that span, the righty has walked 25 while striking out 39 and allowing opponents to hit just .243. Tonight will mark his first game of the year against the Mud Hens. Opposite of Farrell will be Daniel Norris taking the ball for Toledo. Norris began the year with Chicago and pitched in 27 games with the Cubs before getting designated for assignment on July 17 and released on July 22. He was signed by Detroit on July 26 and optioned to the Mud Hens on the 27, where he has made one start, going two scoreless innings. The southpaw struck out one in his two perfect innings against Indianapolis on Thursday.

A NEW ROLE: Fresh off the developmental list, Cam Sanders made just his second relief appearance in the last three years on Sunday. The outing was much more successful than his previous relief appearance for Iowa, which came on June 26 and saw him surrender three runs in 2.2 innings. This time around, Sanders pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out two. It was the righty's second outing this season without a walk and his first since April 21, when he started for Double-A Tennessee. In three relief appearances since 2018, he has now gone 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA (3ER/9.2IP).

STAY HOT: Narciso Crook entered the All-Star break with a .252 (52-for-206) average with Iowa, while also making his Major League debut with Chicago in the first half of the season. As good as his first half was, the outfielder has had an extremely impressive start to the second half of his season, collecting at least one hit in all nine games he has played. He has also clubbed a home run in five of the nine games, including two long balls on July 23 against Omaha. His season-long, career-long 11-game hitting streak that he is riding includes six home runs, a triple and four doubles. In his last game on Sunday against the Saints, he went 1-for-4 with a two-run blast, good for his team-leading 17th of the year. The long ball also brought in his 48 and 49 RBI of the season, also good for the team-lead. Crook's recent hot streak moved him onto the leaderboards in the International League, placing him second in slugging percentage (.558) and sixth in OPS (.916).

A BIG PIECE MISSING: Prior to Sunday's finale against the St. Paul Saints, Iowa lost their leader among many different categories. Dixon Machado was traded to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, taking away the I-Cubs' shortstop and leadoff hitter. The 30-year-old led off in 81% (79-of-98) of Iowa's games while playing 70% (69-of-98) of them at shortstop. He led the team in games played (86), hits (106), doubles (20), walks (46) and on-base percentage (.402). His batting average of .312 was good for third in the International League, while his .402 on-base percentage and his 106 hits were both third in the IL. The infielder was one of six players in the IL to have 100 or more hits.

HOT START: After joining the I-Cubs from Double-A Tennessee on July 22, Matt Mervis has not missed a beat. He has been a productive force in the Iowa lineup, collecting a hit in seven of nine games he's appeared in and driving in a run in six of those nine. Mervis has already collected three multi-hit games, two home runs and a five-game hitting streak, which began on July 27 and is active coming into tonight's game.

AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa and Toledo will play game one of their seven game series tonight, with Iowa currently trailing the season series by one game, at 5-6. Each team has done well at home this year, with the I-Cubs going 4-1 in the five games at Principal Park and 1-5 on the road against the Mud Hens. Toledo is coming to Principal Park for the first time since the first homestand of the year for Iowa, back on April 12-17. The I-Cubs went 4-1 in that series, with the series finale being postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will make up that postponed game with a double-header tomorrow afternoon. Despite trailing the season series by one game, Iowa leads the season scoring by one run, at 53-52. Three of their six losses have been by just one run, while they have won two games by one run.

SHORT HOPS: Toledo is one of just two teams Iowa has won a series against, taking four-of-five from the Mud Hens in their first homestand of the year back on April 12-17...Iowa had the worst winning percentage of any month this year in July, finishing the month with a .417 (10-14) winning percentage...tonight will mark the first of 19 home games for Iowa in the month of August, a month in which they will play just eight games away from Principal Park.

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