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August 29 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Omaha

August 29, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (42-59) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (56-44)

Sunday - 1:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Matt Swarmer (3-6, 5.93) vs. LHP Foster Griffin (0-0, 2.45)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and Omaha are set to play the sixth and final game of the series today, with Iowa trying to avoid the series sweep. Matt Swarmer will take the ball for the I-Cubs, looking for his second win of the homestand. The righty spun a quality start last time out against the Storm Chasers, getting Iowa's only win in their seven games at Principal Park this week. He will match up against Foster Griffin, who started the first game of the series for Omaha. Griffin tossed four innings, allowing just one unearned run. The southpaw allowed three hits while striking out four, lowering his ERA on the year to 2.45.

DO IT AGAIN: In his last start in game two of the doubleheader on Tuesday, Matt Swarmer earned his third win of the season for the I-Cubs, moving to 3-6 on the year. He made his third quality start of the season, allowing just one earned run on four hits over six innings of work. The righty also struck out a Triple-A season-high seven batters, while not walking a batter for just the fourth time this year. He allowed just one run, a solo home run hit on the very first pitch of the game. The game marked Swarmer's sixth appearance this year not allowing an earned run, and he will try to back up that performance with another solid outing today. With a win, Swarmer could help Iowa avoid being swept in a six-game series for the second time this season at home.

WELCOME BACK: Tommy Nance returned from exactly one month on the injured list, after landing on the 10-day IL back on July 28. Earlier this season, after three outings with Iowa, Nance made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs. The righty didn't allow a run in his first 12 appearances, going 1-0 over that span. In those 12 games, he surrendered just two hits and six walks while striking out 13, allowing opponents to hit just .057 against him. After his 11.1 scoreless innings, he allowed at least one run in six of his next seven appearances, including each of his last five before being optioned back to Iowa on July 1. He made five more appearances with the I-Cubs, striking out at least one batter in all five before being placed on the injured list. Last night, in his first game back, Nance threw a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one two-out single before recording the final out. With Iowa, he has now retired the first batter he has faced a perfect nine-of-nine times.

A LITTLE BIT OF NASTY: Brendon Little made his third appearance for Iowa last night against the Storm Chasers, throwing two perfect frames. It was the best outing of his Triple-A career, not allowing a single batter to reach base. In his three games, Little has pitched five innings for the I-Cubs, allowing just three hits. He has walked one batter and struck out six, including three punch outs last night. The lefty had a 3.09 ERA and one save in 13 games (23.1 IP) with Double-A Tennessee before joining Iowa's roster on August 20.

KEEP IT GOING: Outfielder Greg Deichmann recorded two of Iowa's five hits last night, driving in the team's only run in their 7-1 loss. His RBI single in the eighth inning gave him at least one run batted in in four of his last five games. He also has at least one hit in four of his last five games, including back-to-back multi-hit games. The power is starting to show as Deichmann has recorded a double, triple and home run this series against the Storm Chasers. Despite hitting just .174 (4-for-23) in seven games with Chicago and .222 (14-for-63) in 18 games with Iowa, the outfielder is starting to put together much better at-bats. With two hits in each of his last two games, Deichmann now has five two-hit games with the I-Cubs this season.

DOING THEIR THING: The Storm Chasers hit four more home runs last night against Iowa pitching, bringing their total in the five-game series to 14 long balls. With 14 home runs in this series, they have now tied the Las Vegas Aviators for the most in all of Triple-A, both tallying 169 home runs this year. Not only can they hit the long ball, they can also play small-ball and steal bases to put pressure on the defense. Omaha swiped two more bases last night, bringing their total to 127 on the year, 17 more than the Worcester Red Sox who are second in the Triple-A in stolen bags. They have already stolen 14 bases in their six games here at Principal Park. With 127 stolen bases, Omaha has gotten caught stealing just 23 times; for reference, Iowa has stolen 72 bases this year, 55 less than Omaha, and gotten caught stealing 21 times, just two less than the Storm Chasers. They average 1.27 (127SB/100G) stolen bases per game, and have now swiped 43 against the I-Cubs this season, good for 34% of their total on the year.

AGAINST OMAHA: Omaha will go for the six-game series sweep today, after taking each of the first five games. Despite having one win against Omaha in the homestand, it was the second game of a doubleheader, counting as a makeup game from a series in late June. That victory in game two gave them a six-game split from the previous series, but with the loss in game one of the doubleheader and four consecutive losses after the doubleheader, they are now losing the current series 5-0. The Storm Chasers smacked four more home runs last night and are now out scoring the I-Cubs by 22 this series, 39-17. Omaha leads the season series 17 games to 12, while beating Iowa in 10 of their 17 games played here at Principal Park.

STRIKEOUTS AREN'T EVERYTHING: In his 15th start of the season for Iowa last night, Cory Abbott allowed seven earned runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings of work. The righty allowed four home runs, accounting for six of the seven runs he allowed, following the trend of his season so far. The righty has surrendered 19 home runs in 72.1 innings pitched this year for Iowa, the most of his career at any level. He gets a lot of swings and misses, striking out another nine batters last night, but when his opponents make contact, it has typically left the yard. With his nine strikeouts last night, he now has 102 punchouts on the year, putting him third in the Triple-A East division, just 13 behind the leader.

SHORT HOPS: Each team had double digit strikeouts last night, with Iowa striking out 11 times and Omaha striking out 14 times...Iowa is 7-20 this season when they face a lefty; they are hitting .225 (206-for-915) as a team when they face southpaws...with the loss last night, Iowa has now lost nine of their last ten games at Principal Park.

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