IL Iowa Cubs

July 2 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

Published on July 2, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (18-30) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (27-23)

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

RHP Trevor Williams (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Steven Wright (3-3, 5.86)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis will match up for the fourth game of the six-game series tonight. Indianapolis currently leads the series 2-1 after back-to-back extra inning wins over the I-Cubs. Trevor Williams will take the ball for Iowa in his second major league rehab appearance after tossing two scoreless innings in his first start. He hit the only batter that reached base against him and struck out two in his two innings of work, throwing 22 of his 32 pitches for strikes. Indy will send out knuckleballer Steven Wright to face Iowa for the second time this season. In his first game against the I-Cubs, Wright spun two innings, allowing one unearned run on a hit while walking two and striking out four. The righty has gone five or more innings in five of his nine appearances this year.

SIT 'EM DOWN: Cory Abbott was nasty again in last night's game, striking out 10 batters over his five innings of work. Abbott struck out the side twice, both in the first and third innings. He has now struck out eight or more batters in five of his eight starts with Iowa, with a season high mark of 13 strikeouts back on May 30 against St. Paul. Despite spending nearly a month of the season with Chicago or traveling from being with the Cubs, Abbott still leads the entire Triple-A in strikeouts with 64 on the year. He is one above Round Rock's Drew Anderson, and six more than anybody else in the Triple-A East.

TEAM LEADER: Last night, outfielder Michael Hermosillo had his second three-hit game of the year with the I-Cubs, good for his 10th multi-hit game of the year. In 23 games with the team, Hermosillo is now batting .351 (27-for-77) with six doubles, four home runs and 17 runs batted in. He has also taken 13 walks, good for second on Iowa's active roster behind infielder Abiatal Avelino. He has registered 11 games with at least one RBI, 11 games with at least one walk and six games with one stolen base.

CRUSHING THE I-CUBS: Through the first three games of this six-game series, two Indianapolis players have torched the I-Cubs. The first, is outfielder Bligh Madris, who started the season with Double-A Altoona and was called up to Indianapolis on May 19. Madris is hitting .267 (27-for-101) with five doubles, a triple, two home runs, 14 runs batted in and 12 walks in 35 games with the Indians. In his last two games against Iowa this series, the outfielder is hitting .625 (5-for-8) with a run scored, a double and two walks compared to one strikeout. The second player is catcher Christian Bethancourt, who is hitting .294 (37-for-126) with seven doubles, four home runs, 22 runs batted in and has taken 11 walks this year with Indianapolis. Against Iowa this series, Bethancourt is hitting .667 (4-for-6) with four RBI. He has accounted for both of the game winning hits this series, singling home the winning run in Wednesday's 10-inning game and both runs in last night's 12-inning marathon.

TWO TOUGH ONES: Entering this series against Indianapolis, Iowa was 2-0 in extra inning games, including one against Indianapolis at Principal Park in the first series of the year. After last night, the I-Cubs are now 2-2 in extras, with back-to-back extra inning losses to the Indians. The first game was a 2-1 loss in 10 innings, a game in which Iowa had just six total hits. Last night, Iowa scored six runs on 11 hits, but gave up two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning to lose the game.

SECOND TIME OUT: Trevor Williams is set to make his second start with Iowa on his major league rehab assignment. In his first start, he faced seven batters over two innings, allowing one to reach on a hit by pitch while striking out two. Tonight will be a special start for the righty, facing his former organization for the first time of his career. Williams was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the second round of the 2013 draft and was traded to Pittsburgh on October 24, 2015. Williams pitched in 21 games over parts of two seasons for Indianapolis, as part of his five years with the Pirates. He pitched in 106 games for Pittsburgh from 2016 through last year, going 31-37 in those games.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa now trails the series one game to two after back-to-back extra inning losses. The I-Cubs still lead the series run column, outscoring the Indians by four, 16-12. Last night's loss marked the first time this year Iowa has lost back-to-back games against Indianapolis. The season series is now tied 4-4 with Iowa taking three of five at Principal Park in the first series of the year and losing two of the first three this series at Victory Field.

TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM: After being hit twice by Indianapolis pitching yesterday, Iowa has now been hit by a pitch eight times this series. In the first game, it was Abiatal Avelino in the sixth inning then both Nick Martini and Tyler Ladendorf in the ninth inning. In game two, Alfonso Rivas took a ball off of his foot in the first inning, and both Avelino and Martini got hit again in the fifth. Martini got hit again last night in the first inning, his third time being hit this series. Michael Hermosillo got hit for the first time this series in the fifth inning, bringing the team total to eight on the series.

KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE: Tony Wolters is currently on a four-game hitting streak, his longest of the year with Iowa. Over the streak, Wolters is hitting .462 (6-for-13) with five runs scored, two doubles and four runs batted in. He has also walked four times compared to five strikeouts while going 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts. Two of the four games have been multi-hit games, his fifth and sixth multi-hit games with Iowa.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa struck out 18 times last night, including two back-to-back strikeouts with the go-ahead run on third base in the 11th inning...the I-Cubs fell to 1-14 when they give up 10 or more hits on the year after surrendering 12 hits to Indianapolis last night...Iowa has scored at least one run in the first inning in every game this series...five of the six outs Michael Rucker recorded last night were via the strikeout.

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