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August 25 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Omaha

August 25, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (42-55) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (52-44)

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

RHP Adbert Alzolay (0-0, -.--) vs. RHP Jakob Junis (0-2, 7.43)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Omaha are set to face off for game two of their current series, after splitting the doubleheader yesterday. Adbert Alzolay is expected to make the start for Iowa in a major league rehab appearance after being placed on the injured list on August 14 with a left hamstring strain. The righty is 4-13 with a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts this year for Chicago and is set to make his first appearance with Iowa since 2019. Opposite of Alzolay will be Jakob Junis for Omaha, making his second start of the year against Iowa. He is 0-0 with a 7.71 ERA against the I-Cubs, throwing 2.1 innings of three-run ball last time out. He gave up two earned runs on five hits including a home run, while walking one and striking out two. Iowa hit .417 against the righty in that one game as opponents overall this season are hitting .350 against Junis. He is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in five starts this year for the Storm Chasers.

THE SWARM: Matt Swarmer started game two of the doubleheader last night and earned his third win of the season for the I-Cubs. He made his third quality start of the year with Iowa, allowing just one earned run on four hits over his 6.0 innings. He also struck out a Triple-A season-high seven Omaha batters last night, while not walking one for just the fourth time this season. The one run Swarmer allowed was a solo home run from Rudy Martin on the very first pitch of the game. After that long ball, the righty allowed just four baserunners, including three hits and one hit batter. He kept the ball in the stadium by keeping everything on the ground, retiring seven batters via the ground ball, seven batters by way of strikeout and just one batter with a fly out.

BACK IN ACTION: In his first game back since straining his left hamstring on August 13 at Miami, Adbert Alzolay is the probable starter for Iowa today. Alzolay pitched with the I-Cubs in both 2018 and 2019, making 23 total starts at the Triple-A level. The righty has a career 4.54 ERA (53ER/105IP) with Iowa, allowing 96 hits including 14 home runs and 44 walks while striking out 118 batters in his time here. In 2019, opponents hit .215 against him, down from the .281 batting average against him in 2018. With Chicago this year, Alzolay has not earned a win since winning back-to-back games on May 28 and June 2. In those two games he combined to allow just one run over 10.2 innings while striking out 13 against Cincinnati and San Diego. Since those two victories, he is 0-9, and his ERA has jumped from 3.62 to 5.16.

EARNED A SPLIT: With the 8-1 win in game two of the doubleheader last night, Iowa earned a three-game split with Omaha in their series back on June 22-27. They are now 2-1-1 on the year against Omaha, winning the first series of the year at home and their most recent series on the road. The I-Cubs lost five-of-six games to the Storm Chasers in their first trip of the season to Werner Park, but are 11-8 in their other 19 games this year. Omaha also leads their current series 1-0 with their 8-6 extra-inning win in game one yesterday.

KEEP IT UP: Jared Young went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored in the second half of yesterday's doubleheader. The effort marked Young's third two-hit game and fourth multi-hit game since joining the I-Cubs just two weeks ago. The infielder is now hitting .317 (13-for-41) in 12 games with Iowa and has appeared in all but two of the team's contests since being promoted. In his first taste of Triple-A action, Young has collected two doubles, two home runs, and ten RBI, which is second on the team since August 10, when he joined the roster. He trails only Nick Martini, who has 12 RBI in that span. Young has been especially productive as a designated hitter. Including last night, he has hit .385 (5-for-13) as a DH with a double, a home run, three RBI, and four runs scored.

NEW NUMBER ONE: Alfonso Rivas started both halves of yesterday's doubleheader and collected at least one hit in each game, extending his hitting streak to eleven games. Before yesterday's action, Rivas' nine-game streak was tied with Ian Miller for longest by an I-Cub this season, so with his new high, Rivas is in sole possession of first place. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI in the first game and 1-for-4 with a run scored in the second, moving him to a .357 average (15-for-42) during the streak as a whole. With his two-double effort in game one, Rivas also collected his fourth multi-hit game of the streak. The streak, which began on August 13 in Omaha, includes every game Iowa has played since then. Not only is it Rivas' longest of the season, however - beating out his seven- and eight-game streaks from earlier this season - it is the longest of Rivas' professional career. His career-high heading into 2021 was nine games, set from April 22 to 30 with Advanced-A Stockton in 2019.

AN INSIDE LOOK: For much of the year, Iowa and Omaha have been on opposite ends of the standings in the Triple-A East Midwest division. Iowa has spent most of the season in sixth place, while the Storm Chasers have been in first place for much of the year. Interestingly, some of the stats show the story more than others. Omaha has almost twice as many home runs (156) as Iowa (89), coming just 19 long balls away from exactly doubling the I-Cubs total. Similarly, Omaha is 24 stolen bases away from doubling Iowa, with 114 compared to Iowa's 69. Other stats are oddly close, including batting average, walks, strikeouts, doubles and triples. As a team, Iowa has a batting average of .250 compared to .255 for Omaha. The I-Cubs have 402 walks with 901 strikeouts, compared to 334 free passes and 872 strikeouts for Omaha. Iowa has five more doubles (153-148) and one less triple (15-16) than the Storm Chasers on the season.

AGAINST OMAHA: The I-Cubs and the Storm Chasers will meet for game two of their current series, with Omaha leading 1-0. The two teams split their doubleheader yesterday, with Iowa winning the sixth game of their series from June 22-27, and Omaha winning game one of the current series. The I-Cubs hold a narrow 7-6 advantage against Omaha at Principal Park and trail by one in the season series, 12-13.

CAN'T TOUCH THIS: Erich Uelmen pitched in just his second game with Iowa last night since joining the team on August 19. The righty was electric, throwing 2.1 perfect innings against Omaha. He struck out three batters, throwing 59% (24-of-41) of his pitches for strikes. Uelmen retired all seven of the batters he faced, but not one with a flyball. He struck out three and induced four ground balls to keep Omaha off the bases.

SHORT HOPS: Jared Young and Trent Giambrone each recorded two hits in game two of the doubleheader last night, combining to drive in five of Iowa's eight total runs.

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