IL Iowa Cubs

July 1 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

July 1, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (18-29) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (26-23)

Thursday - 6:05 PM CT - Victory Field - Indianapolis, IN

RHP Cory Abbott (1-3, 5.94) vs. RHP James Marvel (3-1, 4.40)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis are set to face off for game three of their six-game series tonight, after splitting the first two games. Cory Abbott is set to toe the rubber for Iowa in his sixth start of the year and second against Indianapolis. Abbott is 0-1 against Indy, taking the loss in his first game of the season. He spun six innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits, walked three and struck out eight. The righty is looking for his first win since May 13 against St. Paul; he currently holds a 1-3 record with a 5.94 ERA. Opposite of Abbott will be James Marvel, set to make his second start against the I-Cubs. Marvel is 3-1 on the year with a 4.40 ERA in nine games with Indianapolis. He has allowed 22 earned runs on 47 hits, including eight home runs while walking 19 batters compared to 35 strikeouts. Against Iowa, he tossed five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. The I-Cubs took three walks compared to striking out five times while hitting one home run.

BRING 'EM IN: Yesterday's game saw Iowa leave a lot of scoring opportunities go to waste in their 2-1 extra inning loss to Indianapolis. Iowa was 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners on-base. They loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning and scored just one run on a sacrifice fly, then left the bases loaded in the fifth inning as well. Iowa is now 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position and has left 22 runners on-base this series against the Indians.

PITCHERS WHO PITCH: Mike Hauschild got the start for Iowa yesterday, and made his best start of the season for the I-Cubs. The righty was 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts hitting from the nine-spot, but made up for his hitting with a stellar outing. Hauschild spun six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits. He didn't walk a single batter compared to striking out five. He got into a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning but got out of it and then fed off of that momentum in the sixth, striking out the side to end his day. Unfortunately for Iowa, they couldn't give him much run support, scoring just one run in 10 innings, making it so Hauschild couldn't receive his first win of the season. Iowa is now just 4-7 this year when they receive a quality start from their starting pitcher.

BACK-TO-BACK: For the first time in his Triple-A career, Ben Leeper threw back-to-back games for the I-Cubs. In game one of the series, Leeper threw a perfect ninth inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Yesterday, he pitched in the eighth and once again threw a scoreless frame, walking one and striking out one. With two more scoreless innings this series, he lowered his ERA to just 0.87 in eight games with the team. He is just the second reliever to throw in back-to-back games this year, first done by Kyle Ryan on June 12 and 13 when he threw 1.1 perfect innings while striking out two. Leeper has not allowed a hit yet in his 10.1 innings, striking out 49% of the batters he has faced.

TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM: In both games this series, Iowa has been hit by a pitch three times. In the first game, it was Abiatal Avelino in the sixth inning then Nick Martini and Tyler Ladendorf in the ninth inning. Yesterday, Alfonso Rivas took a ball off of his foot in the first inning, and both Avelino and Martini got hit again in the fifth. With the six hit-batters this series, Iowa has now been hit by a pitch 25 times this season, ranking 10th in the Triple-A East. On the flip side, Indianapolis pitchers have now hit 23 batters this season, ranking ninth in the Triple-A East.

GETTING THE CALL: Taylor Gushue got his contract selected by the Chicago Cubs yesterday, and made his major league debut against Milwaukee. He came in as a defensive replacement for Patrick Wisdom, who was injured, and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Before he left the I-Cubs, he was heating up, hitting .324 (12-for-37) in his last 10 games and riding a five-game hit streak.

STAY HOT: Ian Miller hit from the leadoff spot in yesterday's game and registered three hits for the third time this season. He was 3-for-5 and scored the only run Iowa had in the first inning against starter Mitch Keller. With the three hits, he extended his hitting streak to five games, tying a season-long streak. His first five-game hitting streak came from June 6-June 13, when he hit .421 (8-for-19) with two runs, two doubles, a walk and five strikeouts. Over his current streak, Miller is hitting .444 (8-for-18) with one run, one run batted in, two walks and four strikeouts. He has also moved up in the order in his last couple of games, hitting from both the two-hole and the top-spot. After hitting .194 (14-for-72) with seven walks and 28 strikeouts in 20 games in the month of May, Miller turned it around in June, hitting .348 (24-for-69) with five walks and 13 strikeouts in 21 games.

ON TO THE NEXT ONE: Heading into July, Iowa holds a record of 18-29 after winning nine games in both May and June. Iowa pitched better in May, going 9-13 in 22 games compared to 9-16 in 25 games in June. In May, the I-Cubs staff had a 4.13 ERA while allowing 33 home runs, walking 73 batters and striking out 239. In June, they allowed 43 home runs, walked 80 and struck out 210 on their way to a 5.27 ERA. The offense was better in June however, hitting .252 with 67 extra-base hits, 105 RBI, 95 walks and 219 strikeouts. Comparatively, Iowa hit .232 with 59 extra-base hits, 101 RBI, 94 walks and 230 strikeouts in May. Iowa ended May on an eight-game losing streak and started June losing 10 of their first 12 games.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Yesterday's loss to Indianapolis marked the first loss of the season for Iowa when taking a game into extra-innings. They were previously 2-0 with one victory at Principal Park and one on the road against St. Paul at CHS Field. The home win came against the Indians in just the fourth game of the season. In each of the I-Cubs' two extra-inning victories, Iowa scored the go-ahead run in unique ways. Against the Indians, Andrew Romine scored on a passed ball, when the pitcher and catcher got their signals crossed. When the I-Cubs played the Saints, Ian Miller scored on a wild pitch that went to the backstop.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: With the extra-inning loss yesterday, the series between Iowa and Indianapolis is now tied 1-1, with the I-Cubs outscoring the Indians 10-5. They took three of the first five games the two teams played at Principal Park, outscoring Indy 18-14.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa fell to 0-5 on the year when having an equal hit total with their opponent after tying Indy in the hit column yesterday, each with six...yesterday's loss broke a three-game winning streak against Indianapolis dating back to their first series of the season May 4-May 9...Ryan Meisinger, who allowed the game-winning run to score in the tenth without recording an out, is now just 5-for-20 in retiring the first batter he faces this year...Manuel Rodriguez made his Triple-A debut in yesterday's game, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from July 1, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central