IL Iowa Cubs

July 24 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Omaha Storm Chasers

Published on July 24, 2022 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (41-50) @ OMAHA STORM CHASERS (46-45)

Sunday - 5:05 PM - Werner Park - Papillion, NE

LHP Matt Dermody (5-3, 4.22) vs. RHP Jonathan Heasley (1-0, 4.44)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Matt Dermody will get the ball for Iowa tonight looking to make it two straight wins for Iowa. Dermody leads Iowa in both wins with five and innings pitched with 70.1, allowing just 33 earned runs on 79 hits over that time frame. The southpaw is scheduled to make his 19th appearance and 13th start of the season for Iowa tonight. Entering tonight's contest, he has struck out 60 while walking 17 as opponents are hitting .279 against him. Opposite of Dermody will be Jon Heasley taking the ball for the Storm Chasers. Heasley is 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA in six starts with Omaha this year, allowing 13 earned runs on 19 hits over 26.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 30 while walking just six, with all six of the games coming from May 6 and before. Since his last start on May 6, he has made 11 starts for Kansas City and is pitching tonight as part of a Major League rehab assignment. The right-hander has been on the 15-day injured list since July 10 with right shoulder tendinitis.

MILESTONE MATT: As one of two pitchers who have been with Iowa all season, tonight's starter Matt Dermody has been one of the most consistent pieces of the I-Cubs' pitching staff this year. He leads the team in wins (5) and innings (70.1) while ranking second in starts (12) and strikeouts (60). The lefty has filled various roles for the I-Cubs, bouncing between the rotation and long-relief, which is a change for him after he spent the last seven seasons working almost exclusively as a reliever. In fact, tonight's start will set a career high for starts in a season for Dermody, who set his previous high of 12 in 2014 in Single-A. Despite the new job description, he has found success this year, especially lately. With last week's one-run outing in the books, Dermody is now 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA (5ER/28.1IP) and 26 strikeouts over his last six outings.

ONE MORE FOR RARE COMPANY: Dixon Machado has been a huge part of Iowa's success this year and is now just one hit away from joining an elite list among Triple-A players. With two hits in each of the first two games after the break, Machado is now sitting at 99 hits, just one away from reaching the 100 mark. With a hit tonight, the infielder would become one of just three batters in the International League and one of four batters in all of Triple-A to record 100 hits this year. He leads the team in games played (81), hits (99), doubles (19), walks (45) and on-base percentage (.407). His 99 hits rank third in all of the International League, while his .313 batting average is good for fourth and his .407 on-base percentage sits in third in the IL. Machado also leads the team with 26 multi-hit efforts and has been Iowa's leadoff hitter in 81% (74-of-91) of their games and in 94% (74-of-79) of his starts.

ONE AWAY: Jackson Frazier extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games last night, just one game shy of his career high. The streak is his longest streak since 2016, when he hit in 11 straight with Double-A Akron, and his longest ever at Triple-A or higher. Frazier's streak is also the second-longest streak by an I-Cub this year, just four games shy of Dixon Machado's season-high 14-game streak. Frazier has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games and has reached base in all 17. After starting his I-Cubs career with a .195 average (8-for-41) over his first ten games, the outfielder has turned it on since the calendar flipped to July. He has gone 20-for-63 through 17 games this month and collected 18 RBI over that span, which is the most by an I-Cub in July.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE: Narciso Crook went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a double last night, collecting the fifth multi-homer game by an Iowa player this year. He joins Jared Young, Nelson Velazquez and Robel Garcia, who did it twice, as the fourth player to accomplish the feat. The long balls were Crook's 12th and 13th of the year, putting him just one behind team leader, Jared Young. In addition to the homers, his double made last night his sixth three-hit performance of the year, meaning he is now second in that category behind Dixon Machado, who has eight. Crook has now gone 6-for-16 over his last four games with two doubles, two homers and six RBI.

KKKKKKKKILIAN: After struggling through his previous two starts, Caleb Kilian got back on track with a dominant five-inning performance last night. Kilian had lasted just three innings on July 8 and 14, but completed a full five in his start last night. He shut out the Storm Chasers, limiting them to two baserunners on a hit and a walk. It was Kilian's second five-inning shutout of the season, as he previously held the Saints scoreless on May 8, and his first one-hit outing at Triple-A. Kilian registered eight of the 15 outs via strikeout, tying his season high and missing his career mark by just two K's. With 78 strikeouts on the season, Kilian is now ninth in the International League despite missing three weeks on the big league roster.

SOMETHING NEW(COMB): Sean Newcomb registered his first save of the season last night with his four-inning shutout performance. It was his seventh career save in nine years of professional ball, and his first multi-inning save. The lefty started his career as a starter, making just one relief appearance in his first five seasons, and after transitioning to a reliever in 2019, worked mainly one or two innings at a time. In fact, he had made just two bullpen appearances longer than two innings before this month. Since the start of July, however, he has pitched at least two innings in every appearance, and the new role seems to suit him. Newcomb has earned a 1.88 ERA and allowed just six hits in 14.1 innings over five appearances this month. He is the second I-Cub to record a four-inning save this season, joining Brandon Leibrandt, who did so on June 28.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa and Omaha are scheduled to play game three of their four-game set at Werner Park tonight with the series tied 1-1 after the first two games. Each team has dominated in their respective victories, with the Storm Chasers taking game one by a scored of 9-1 and Iowa coming out on top 10-0 last night. With the win last night, Iowa moved to 10-4 on the year against Omaha and 1-1 here at Werner Park. The I-Cubs moved to 319-293 all-time against Omaha including 142-158 all-time on the road against the Storm Chasers.

SHORT HOPS: The seven-run fifth inning last night tied the most runs Iowa has scored in any single inning this year dating back to April 12 against Toledo when Iowa scored seven runs in the fourth inning...last night marked Iowa's fourth shutout of the year and their first on the road...Levi Jordan's home run in the sixth inning last night marked his third of the year with Iowa and his first since April 14; the infielder was the first I-Cubs hitter to hit a home run in the second game of the year on April 6 and hit a second home run on April 14.

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