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June 25 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Omaha

June 25, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (15-27) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (31-13)

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

RHP Cory Abbott (1-3, 6.03) vs. LHP Marcelo Martinez (0-1, 36.00)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Omaha are set to play game four of the six-game set tonight. Iowa will send Cory Abbott to the mound, making his first start for Iowa since June 13, when he spun six innings allowing just three runs. Abbott has faced Omaha once this season and did not receive a decision, going 4.1 innings allowing four runs on eight hits. He will match up against Marcelo Martinez, who is making just the second Triple-A start of his young career. Martinez went just two innings, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits in his first start against the Louisville Bats. Before joining Omaha, he was 1-2 with a 5.08 ERA in seven games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

MAKE 'EM EARN IT: Last night, Mike Hauschild surrendered eight runs on seven hits and two home runs. However, only three of those runs were earned, as a two-out error came back to bite Hauschild and the I-Cubs. With two outs in the third inning, Tyler Ladendorf made a fielding error with the bases loaded, allowing a run to score and the inning to continue. The next batter, Anderson Miller, hit a grand slam, putting up a five-spot of unearned runs against Iowa. For Omaha, it was their first grand slam of the year, despite hitting a league-leading 89 home runs on the season. The five-run inning provided enough cushion for the Storm Chasers to win the game, eventually winning by just two runs, 8-6.

BACK ABBOTT: Cory Abbott will make his seventh start for Iowa tonight and his first appearance since returning from Chicago. The righty was called up for the second time this season on May 16 and pitched twice out of the bullpen for the big league club, tossing five total innings against New York and Miami. He now holds a 4.32 ERA (4ER/8.1IP) at the Major League level in four appearances out of the Cubs' bullpen. Despite the almost two weeks Abbott has spent on the Major League roster, he has also made significant contributions to Iowa's season. Heading into tonight's game, he ranks fourth in the Triple-A East and seventh in all of Triple-A baseball with 49 strikeouts on the season. In addition to the K's, his consistency has proved valuable to an Iowa team that has seen a lot of turnover in their rotation. Tonight Abbott will be the first pitcher to start seven games for the I-Cubs in 2021, and the 31.1 innings he's spun so far rank second on the team behind only Adrian Sampson.

WATCH IT FLY: Trent Giambrone knocked his first home run of the season in last night's game, a two-run shot to bring Iowa within two runs. The home run was part of his two-hit night, as he also drove in three runs. The infielder has now reached base in every game he has played, with hits in five of the six and two walks in two of the six. Last night was his first multi-hit game of the year, something he accomplished 28 times in 2019 with the I-Cubs. In his first six games this year, Giambrone is hitting .316 (6-for-19) with five runs, a home run, three runs batted in and four walks. He has struck out just one more time than he has walked, with five punch outs. In 2019, the utility-man hit 23 home runs and drove in 66 runs in 126 games with Iowa.

PUTTIN' ON THE HITS: In the three games the I-Cubs have played against Omaha this week, the team is hitting for a .320 average (24-for-75). That offensive performance is a marked improvement over last week's showing in St. Paul, when the team hit just .210 (34-for-162). In addition, Iowa has already notched three doubles and four home runs over just 20 innings in the past two days - good for a .520 slugging percentage - compared to the five doubles and five home runs they hit in all five nine-inning games against the Saints. Their slugging percentage in that series was .333. While the Storm Chasers have outhit the I-Cubs 25 to 24 so far this week, they're actually hitting for a lower average in the series so far, with a team mark of .294 (25-for-85).

SCORELESS AT LAST: Michael Rucker spun 2.1 scoreless frames for Iowa last night, holding the Storm Chasers to eight in the run column. The righty allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out four batters. For Rucker, it was the first outing he has had that he didn't allow a run to score since May 27 against the St. Paul Saints. Since May 27, he has pitched in six games spanning 13.1 innings. Over that time, he has allowed 15 earned runs on 21 hits, including two walks and seven home runs. Rucker has struck out 17, but opponents have still hit .362 against him and had a slugging percentage of .828. Over the six-game span, his ERA was a whopping 10.13, raising his ERA on the year to 6.33. Last night marked just his fourth scoreless outing in 13 appearances on the year.

AGAINST OMAHA: The Storm Chasers' victory in last night's game evened the current series at one game a piece. Omaha still has the edge in the season series, 9-5, but they are tied at four wins a piece at Principal Park The two teams have played 14 out of their 36 scheduled games this season.

TWO-FOR-THREE: Iowa had three hitters register two-hit games last night, after just three total batters in the first two games of the series. Last night, Michael Hermosillo, Taylor Gushue and Trent Giambrone all turned in two-hit nights. Gushue and Giambrone each scored twice as well, accounting for four of the team's six runs. Hermosillo raised his average to .362 (21-for-58) with Iowa, good for the team lead of players with at least 10 at-bats. Gushue is now second on the team in RBI, with 24 on the year.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa fell to 0-4 last night when having a hit total equal to their opponents...Friday is the only day of the week that the I-Cubs have a winning record, at 4-3, while being 3-1 at Principal Park...after catching seven innings last night, Tony Wolters now leads the team in innings caught this year with 110.2.

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