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July 3 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

July 3, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (19-30) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (27-24)

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

RHP Matt Swarmer (0-4, 12.12) vs. RHP Max Kranick (1-2, 4.66)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis will match up for game five of the six-game set tonight after each taking two of the first four games. Matt Swarmer will take the ball for Iowa, still in search of his first Triple-A win. The righty is 0-4 in his first four starts with an ERA of 12.12. He has given up 22 earned runs on 26 hits including eight home runs while walking six and striking out 13. Swarmer is set to face Indianapolis for the first time of his career. Opposite of Swarmer will be Pittsburgh's No. 26 ranked prospect by MLB.com, Max Kranick getting the start for Indianapolis. Kranick is coming off of his major league debut, in which he spun five perfect frames and got the win against the St. Louis Cardinals. The righty is 1-2 with a 4.66 ERA with the Indians and is set to face Iowa for the first time this season.

LOVING THE THIRD: The third inning has been a key inning this series for Iowa. In the two games they have won this series, the I-Cubs have put up nine total runs in the third inning. In game one, they scored six, two-out runs and won the game 9-3 and last night, they scored three two-out runs and won the game 5-2. Iowa has now scored a total of 37 runs in the third inning this year, leading the way for runs in any inning. The 37 runs in the third inning have accounted for 16% of their total runs scored this year, 227.

AVELINO LIKES INDY: Abiatal Avelino came into the series against Indianapolis hitting just .083 over the last two series, or 10 games. Against St. Paul and Omaha, the infielder was just 2-for-24 at the plate, taking nine walks and striking out twice. In his first three games against Indianapolis, he has completely turned it around, hitting .455 (5-for-11), registering multi-hit efforts in two of the three games. He has walked once, struck out twice and stolen a base. Avelino has had success against Indy, dating back to the very beginning of the season. In his first series against the Indians, the first series of the year, Avelino registered two hits in three of the five games he played. Overall, he hit .368 (7-for-19) with a home run, five runs batted in, a walk and three strikeouts.

SAVE THAT BALL: Alfonso Rivas hit his first home run of the season last night, giving Iowa some insurance in the seventh inning. It was Rivas' first homer with Iowa, and just the second of his Triple-A career, as he hit one with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019 before being traded to Chicago. In nine games with Iowa, Rivas is hitting .172 (5-for-29) with a double, home run and three runs batted in. The first baseman is heating up as he is 3-for-9 with all three of his RBI in his last two games. Caleb Knight also had a Triple-A first last night, his first hit. In his first Triple-A at-bat as a pinch hitter, Knight registered a single. The catcher was added to Iowa's roster yesterday from Double-A Tennessee, where he played in just one game since being added to the Smokies' roster on June 22.

LEADING THE WAY: Jake Jewell recorded his third save of the season last night for Iowa, pacing the team in that category. Coming into the game last night, he and Ryan Meisinger were tied for the team lead, each with two saves. Jewell on the year is now 2-1 with three saves, holding a 3.38 ERA (9ER/24.0IP) with nine walks, 28 strikeouts and has allowed three home runs. He has not allowed a run over his last six appearances, surrendering just two hits over the 9.1 innings. Over that span from June 11, the righty has struck out 14 compared to just three walks and opponents are hitting .067 against him.

LEAVING THEM LOADED: Iowa left the bases loaded in the fourth inning of last night's game against Indianapolis, marking the fourth time they have left the bases loaded this series. They left them loaded twice in game one of the series, once in the second game and once last night. In the series, Iowa is now 11-for-46 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of 43 runners on base. Iowa has split the series so far 2-2, but have left 46 runners on base and had two one-run losses in extra innings.

KEEP IT GOING: Tony Wolters is currently on a five-game hitting streak, his longest of the year with Iowa. Over the streak, Wolters is hitting .444 (8-for-18) with six runs scored, two doubles, a home run and five runs batted in. He has also walked four times compared to five strikeouts while going 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts. Three of the five games have been multi-hit games, including last night, when the catcher went 2-for-5 with a home run in the seventh inning.

STELLAR OUTING: Trevor Williams made his second start with Iowa on his major league rehab assignment last night against Indianapolis. He went five innings allowing one unearned run on just two hits and one walk. He struck out three Indianapolis batters, throwing 78% (45-of-58) of his pitches for strikes. In his first start, he faced seven batters over two innings, allowing one to reach on a hit by pitch while striking out two. He has not allowed an earned run over his first seven innings with Iowa, earning the win in last night's game against his former organization. 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.

WRIGHT'S WALKS: Steven Wright threw 62% (74-of-119) of his pitches for strikes last night, but he had some key walks that allowed Iowa to score. In the third inning, he walked the opposing pitcher, Trevor Williams to lead off the inning. He also walked Abiatal Avelino, allowing Nick Martini to bring them both in with a two-out double. Wright walked five total batters last night, just two less than the amount of hits he allowed. The I-Cubs struggled with the knuckleballer, but were able to take advantage of the lack of control at times and scratch across a couple of runs. Their patience also brought his pitch count into triple-digits in just the fifth inning.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: With the 5-2 victory last night, Iowa and Indianapolis have now split the first four games, each taking two. Each of the I-Cubs' losses have been by one run and they have won the two games by nine total runs. They lead the series in scoring now by seven, outscoring Indy 21-14. The I-Cubs also hold a 5-4 record on the season series between the two teams, splitting the first four at Victory Field and going 3-2 at Principal Park. Iowa has outscored Indianapolis by 11, 39-28. The Indians have already tied the amount of runs they scored in the entire first series, with 14.

SHORT HOPS: Despite making three errors in the field, Iowa won last night's game, moving to 1-2 on the year when committing three or more errors...Iowa has now accounted for two of Indianapolis' six losses when playing at Victory Field...Iowa has been hit by a pitch nine times this series, led by Nick Martini three times, Abiatal Avelino twice and now Michael Hermosillo twice...Iowa is 0-7 on Saturdays, the only day they haven't won a game this year.

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