IL Iowa Cubs

August 6 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Indianapolis

August 6, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (35-44) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (38-42)

Friday - 7:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Mike Hauschild (0-4, 6.35) vs. RHP James Marvel (3-3, 5.47)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa will try to bounce back from yesterday's shutout loss in game five of the seven-game series against Indianapolis tonight. They'll send Mike Hauschild to the mound still in search of his first win for Iowa. The righty is 0-4 in eight starts so far, and has been credited with the loss in all three of his outings at Principal Park. He'll face Indianapolis for the second time this season after completing six shutout innings at Victory Field on June 30. Indianapolis will answer with James Marvel, who is 3-3 with a 5.47 ERA (45ER/74.0IP) in 15 games for the Indians this season. He'll face the I-Cubs for the third time this year after allowing two earned runs in five innings in each of his previous starts against them.

TURN THE PAGE: With a 3-for-4 performance in last night's game, Trayce Thompson has continued his hot start to the month of August. The outfielder established himself as one of Iowa's biggest power threats with a seven-homer month in June, but struggled in July. Thompson hit just .174 (12-for-69) with four extra base hits and led the team with 30 strikeouts last month. Since the calendar turned, however, Thompson has picked it back up. He is 6-for-10 with a double and two walks in August so far. His three-hit game last night was his second of the season and accounted for half of Iowa's offense against Indianapolis.

STEPPING UP: After going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts on Wednesday, infielder Levi Jordan tallied both of his first two Triple-A hits in last night's game. Jordan joined Iowa's roster on Tuesday from Double-A Tennessee, where he hit .267 (32-for-120) with five doubles and five home runs in 33 games. He played both halves of Wednesday's doubleheader following the promotion, but did not reach base in either game. Last night, in his third straight start for the I-Cubs, Jordan went 2-for-4 with singles in the second and sixth innings. He was one of only three I-Cubs to manage a hit in the contest. For Jordan, it was his tenth multi-hit game of the year after he collected eight multi-hit efforts in Tennessee and one with the ACL Cubs.

SECOND SHOWING: Juan Gamez made his second appearance out of the bullpen for Iowa last night, entering in the seventh and pitching two scoreless innings to keep the game within reach. Gámez was promoted from Double-A Tennessee and made his I-Cubs debut last week against Louisville. The righty allowed one run on two hits and a walk in one inning of work against the Bats. He improved on that line last night, allowing just one hit and one walk in his two innings of work. He also recorded his first strikeout as an I-Cub with a punch-out of Anthony Alford.

SOMEHOW SHUT OUT: For just the seventh time all year, Iowa was shut out last night, losing 2-0 for the second time this home stand. They had plenty of chances to score, including loading the bases in the first inning with just one out and having runners on second and third in the second inning. The I-Cubs went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 11 men on-base last night. Over their 10-game home stand, Iowa has scored 27 runs, averaging just 2.7 runs per game. Their highest run total was six runs in the 6-4 win on Wednesday, while scoring five runs twice. They have scored three runs once, two runs four times, and have been shut out twice. They had their opportunities, but left the bases loaded twice last night in their shutout loss.

SNAPPED: Coming into last night's game, Iowa had won six straight against Indianapolis, going back into their last series at Victory Field. The I-Cubs took that series four games to two, winning the first game of the series and the final three. They took the first three of this home stand before losing last night, tallying six straight wins in which they out scored the Indians by 15 runs, 32-17. Indianapolis' longest winning streak this year between the two teams was two games, back on June 30-July 1, taking two extra-inning games from Iowa.

TURN IT: Iowa's pitching staff allowed six hits and walked seven batters last night, but only surrendered two earned runs on one swing of the bat from Anthony Alford. The I-Cubs struck out just four batters, but used the pitcher's best friend to get out of trouble. Iowa's defense turned a season-high five double plays last night, including two inning-ending double plays. By turning two five times, Iowa tied their franchise record, last done on August 18, 2015, at Las Vegas. It marked just the eighth time in Iowa Cubs' history that they turned five double plays in a single game.

NO DAMAGE DONE: After completing three scoreless innings in his first start for Iowa, Keegan Thompson put in another solid outing in yesterday's game. The righty pitched 3.1 innings without allowing a run, surrendering only two hits and three walks to the Indians. The outing marks the second longest for Thompson this season, beaten only by his 3.2 inning start against the Dodgers on May 4. Thompson joins Justin Steele, Trevor Williams, and Shelby Miller as the fourth Iowa starter to not allow a run through his first two starts with the team.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Indy won their first game of the series last night, shutting out Iowa 2-0 and ending the I-Cubs six-game winning streak between the two teams. Despite winning three games against Indianapolis to start this series, the second game of Thursday's doubleheader was actually a completion of a postponed game from the first series of the year. Yesterday's loss cut the current series lead for Iowa in half, making it just a 2-1 series. Iowa has beaten Indy 4-2 in each of their first two series, and with the 2-1 lead in the current series, lead the season series 10-5, with a 6-3 record at Principal Park.

SHORT HOPS: Ian Miller stole two bases in last night's game, making him the fourth I-Cub to do so in 2021...his 11 stolen bases are second on the team behind Abiatal Avelino's 12... Keegan Thompson went 1-for-1 at the plate last night, meaning Iowa's starting pitcher has collected a hit in three out of four games so far this series.

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