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July 7 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

July 7, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (35-44) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (38-40)

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

RHP Cam Sanders (0-4, 5.60) vs. RHP Mike Burrows (0-1, 6.00)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Cam Sanders will toe the rubber for Iowa in game three tonight, with the series currently tied at one game apiece. Sanders is still in search of his first Triple-A win, going 0-4 with a 5.60 ERA through nine games so far with the I-Cubs. He has allowed 22 earned runs on 30 hits while hitting seven batters and walking 22 compared to 31 strikeouts. On the other side, Michael Burrows will make just his fourth start with Indianapolis tonight. Through his first three starts, he is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA, allowing eight earned runs on 15 hits in 12.0 innings. Burrows started the year with Double-A Altoona, going 4-2 with a 2.94 ERA through 12 starts, striking out 69 batters compared to just 19 walks. Over his 52.0 innings, the righty held his opponents to an average of just .199.

JACKSON IN ACTION: Jackson Frazier went 2-for-3 last night and drove in the game-tying run with a single in the seventh inning. The two-hit night was enough to extend his hitting streak to a season-high five games - his longest streak since August of 2019, when he hit in five straight with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In the first ten games Frazier played for Iowa after being outrighted, he went just 8-for-41 with three doubles, good for a .195 average and a .268 slugging percentage. Since the calendar turned to July, however, he has hit in all five games, going 6-for-17 with his first two home runs of the year. That has given the outfielder a .353 average and a .706 slugging percentage over his last five. He has also collected eight RBI over that span, accounting for one third of Iowa's total run production so far this month.

YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: For the second consecutive game, Iowa's pitching stepped up in a big way last night. In their loss on Monday, the I-Cubs pitching staff allowed three runs in the first inning, but not another run until the 10th, when they surrendered two in their walk-off loss. Three different relievers did not allow a run in their outing, with the five total pitchers combining to walk three while striking out 10. They followed that with last night's game in which they allowed just one run on a solo home run in the second inning. As a group the four pitchers allowed just five hits and four walks while striking out 12. After allowing 62 runs in their last six game series against Columbus, an average of 10.3 runs per game, Iowa has now allowed just six total runs through the first two games of the current series.

SNAPPED: Last night's win for Iowa ended their season-long losing streak at six games, dating back to June 29. The six-game skid was their longest of the year, and their longest since the last eight games of the season last year, from September 23 to October 3. Iowa had four losing streaks of six or more games last year, with their longest streak being nine games from May 22 to June 1.

BUILDING BACK: Infielder Nick Madrigal and left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris both joined Iowa's roster today on Major League rehab assignments. Madrigal, who was placed on the injured list on June 15 with a groin strain, is on his second stint with the I-Cubs this year after previously rehabbing with them from May 28 to 31. He went 1-for-7 with two RBI in the two games he appeared in for Iowa during that stretch. Daniel Norris was added to Chicago's injured list on June 23 with a left index finger strain and will make his Iowa debut this week. Norris has gone 0-4 with a 7.24 ERA (22ER/27.1IP) in 24 games for Chicago this year after signing a one-year deal with them in March. When he takes the mound for Iowa, it will be his first Minor League appearance since August of 2018, when he made a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo.

START OUT A WINNER: Aside from one rehab inning with the ACL Cubs, Steven Brault made his first appearance of the season last night, throwing a scoreless inning of relief. With the scoreless eighth inning, Brault earned the win, moving to 1-0 on the season. It marked his first game since September 10, 2021, when he pitched two innings for Pittsburgh against the Washington Nationals. The southpaw was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB draft, but was traded two years later on February 20, 2015, to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has been in the Pirates system ever since that trade, accumulating 46 games with Indianapolis over five seasons. The 30-year-old was twice an MiLB.com Organization All-Star for the Pirates in 2015 and 2017, and was the International League Most Valuable Pitcher with the Indians in 2017.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa and Indianapolis are set to play game three of their six-game series tonight, with the series tied at one game apiece. With their win last night, Iowa moved just two games below the .500 mark against the Indians this year, at 5-3. The win moved their all-time record against Indianapolis to 34-52, while going just 15-26 against Indianapolis on the road. Through the first eight games between the two teams, the Indians hold the series scoring lead by seven runs, at 30-23.

SHORT HOPS: Last night was the first time all year that Iowa had a quality start thrown against them on the road and won the game; before that, they were 0-4 with four one-run losses when they got a quality start thrown against them on the road...the I-Cubs got their first win of the month last night four games and six days into the month, marking the first time they have lost the first four games of a month since July 1-3 in 2018; they also lost the first four in the month of May in 2018.

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