IL Iowa Cubs

July 21 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Indianapolis Indians

Published on July 21, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (54-37) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (43-49)

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

RHP Riley Thompson (2-6, 4.97) vs. LHP Kent Emanuel (7-3, 6.07)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis will play game four of their six-game series tonight, with Iowa currently holding onto a 2-1 series lead. Looking to earn at least a series split for Iowa tonight will be Riley Thompson. Thompson is 2-6 with a 4.97 ERA this year, pitching in 18 total games including 12 starts. The righty has allowed 32 earned runs on 49 hits and 28 walks while striking out 57 batters over his 58.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .230 against him, while 11 of the 49 hits he has allowed have gone for home runs. In two games against Indianapolis, Thompson is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA, allowing two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four in 5.2 innings pitched. Opposite of Thompson will be Kent Emanuel looking to keep the Indians win streak going, in search of his team-leading eighth win of the year. The southpaw enters tonight's contest with a 7-3 record and a 6.07 ERA, allowing 49 earned runs on 94 hits and 18 walks in 72.2 innings pitched. He has fanned 62 batters over that span, but opponents have hit .314 against him. Tonight will mark his 18th game of the year and 14th start with Indianapolis, making his third start against Iowa. In his first two starts against the I-Cubs, Emanuel went 1-1 with an 8.38 ERA, allowing nine earned runs on 16 hits in 9.2 innings.

KEEP IT ROLLING: The record hasn't shown it, but Riley Thompson has been throwing the ball well since returning to a starting role. Since May 30, the righty has allowed three or less earned runs in all eight of his starts, allowing two or less in seven of the eight times out. He has gone 5.0 innings and allowed one or less earned run in three of those eight games, including each of his last two. In his most recent two starts on July 5 against St. Paul and July 15 against Columbus, Thompson has combined to allow just two earned runs on four hits and six walks in 11.0 innings. He struck out 10 batters over that span, limiting opponents to a .111 batting average against him. Despite going 0-1 in those two games, he has an ERA of just 1.64. He is 1-3 with a 3.28 ERA in his last eight starts dating back to May 30, surrendering 13 earned runs in 35.2 innings pitched.

WINDY CITY: Bryce Windham provided a spark to Iowa's lineup last night, collecting three of the team's 11 total hits, good for his first three-hit game of the year. The catcher went 3-for-5 with a run scored, a triple and a run batted in out of the nine-hole, raising his batting average on the year to .313. The 26-year-old missed over a month of the year on the injured list with a hand injury, but since returning on May 18, he has been a great addition to Iowa's offense. His .313 average is second on the active roster, going 26-for-83 with five doubles and two triples in his 30 games played. He is the only player on Iowa's active roster to have walked more times than he has struck out, with 12 walks compared to just 11 strikeouts, raising his on-base percentage to .384.

FINDING A WAY: Despite going 0-for-4 last night at the top of the lineup, Yonathan Perlaza still found a way to be productive, drawing two walks to set the stage for the rest of the I-Cubs hitters. This has been a common trend for Perlaza, who has shown power and the ability to be patient all year long. In 70 games with Iowa, the switch hitter is batting .290 with 23 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 50 runs batted in. He has also taken a team-leading 44 walks, bumping his on-base percentage up to .394. The 24-year-old leads the team in runs scored (58), hits (79), doubles (23), triples (3) and walks (44). His 23 doubles are tied for eighth among all qualified players in the International League.

GET OUT OF IT: Chase Strumpf made his Triple-A debut on May 31, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in. The home run came on his first career Triple-A at-bat, coming into Iowa's lineup with a bang. In his first 20 games from May 31-June 22, the infielder hit .250 (17-for-68) with two doubles, five home runs and 16 runs batted in. He also took 14 walks while striking out 26 times. From June 14-June 22, the 25-year-old had a seven-game hitting streak, including three multi-hit games. Since then, however, it has been a rough stretch for the Cubs No. 23 ranked prospect. Dating back to June 23, Strumpf has just two hits, going 2-for-47 with one home run, three runs batted in and five walks compared to 22 strikeouts over that span. In the 13 games he has played, Strumpf is hitting just .043, dropping his season average with Iowa to .165. Last night, he went 0-for-4 with a walk and four strikeouts, raising his strikeout rate with Iowa to 35%. He is the only player for Iowa this year to have four strikeouts in a game and he has done it twice after last night's game.

NOT WHAT YOU'D EXPECT: Darius Hill went 2-for-5 with a run scored, a home run and a run batted in last night. He got the scoring started for Iowa in their three-run fourth with his solo home run. For Hill, not known for his power, it was his second home run of the season and 18th of his four-year minor league career. The outfielder now has more home runs (18) in his minor league career than he did in his four seasons at West Virginia (17). His two hit night gave him 16 multi-hit efforts this year and raised his batting average to .267 in 61 games with Iowa.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: The I-Cubs and Indians will meet for game four tonight, with Indianapolis looking to tie the series after their extra-inning victory last night. Entering last night's game, Iowa was riding a seven-game winning streak against the Indians. Their 5-3 loss snapped that streak, giving them their first loss of the series and second of the season to the Indians when playing here at Principal Park. In their nine home games against Indianapolis this year, Iowa is now 7-2. With their 3-3 record on the road this year, the I-Cubs are now 10-5 overall this season against the Indians. They are 48-63 all-time overall against Indianapolis, going 26-28 here at home all-time against the Indians.

SHORT HOPS: Last night was Iowa's first loss this season when tied after eight innings, moving to 3-1 in those games...Iowa left 14 batters on-base last night, one shy of their season-high 15 left on-base back on June 1 against Columbus...13 of Iowa's 17 home losses have come when their opponent scores first...last night was Iowa's first loss in a Thursday home game, moving to 7-1 at home and 13-4 overall in Thursday games this year...Iowa recorded two more hits than Indianapolis last night, at 11-9; it marked their sixth loss when out-hitting their opponent this year (39-6) and when they have 10 or more hits (29-6)...the I-Cubs are now 17-18 this year with one error, breaking their season-long five-game errorless streak from July 14-19...last night was Iowa's first extra-inning home loss of the season, they were 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road going into last night's game...Iowa lost just their second game this year when Caleb Kilian is the starter, moving to 13-2 in his 15 starts this year...infielder Nick Madrigal is expected to join Iowa's roster on major league rehab coming back from a hamstring injury suffered on July 3; in 11 games with Iowa this year, Madrigal is hitting .488 (20-for-41) with six doubles, three triples a home run and seven RBI.

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