IL Iowa Cubs

June 26 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Omaha

Published on June 26, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (16-27) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (31-14)

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

RHP Joe Biagini (1-2, 4.50) vs. LHP Daniel Lynch (3-1, 4.84)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Omaha will face off for game five of six tonight, as they have split the first four games, each winning a pair. Joe Biagini will take the ball for Iowa, set to make his seventh start of the year and second against the Storm Chasers. Biagini is 1-2 on the year, with his most recent loss coming on May 22 against Omaha. He pitched just three innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, both season high marks. He also walked a season-high three batters and struck out just two. Opposite Biagini will be lefty Daniel Lynch who is set to make his eighth appearance for Omaha. It will be his third time facing the I-Cubs, through his first two games against Iowa, Lynch is 0-1 and has allowed eight runs on 13 hits over 10 innings of work. He has walked four batters and struck out 11 combined, while giving up a home run in each of the two appearances.

FRIDAY FEELING: The I-Cubs have had a lot of fun playing on Friday nights this season, and last night was no exception. With their ninth-inning victory over the Storm Chasers, Iowa moves to 5-3 on Fridays and 4-1 in Friday home games. The team has not only won, they've done it in exciting fashion more often than not. The I-Cubs have achieved both of their walk-off wins on Friday nights, with the first coming on May 7 against Indianapolis and the second coming last night. They've also won both of their extra-inning games on Fridays. In addition to the May 7 matchup, the I-Cubs took a game in extras on their last road trip to St. Paul. Iowa defeated the Saints in come-from-behind fashion, taking the lead in the top of the tenth on a wild pitch and then stranding the bases full to complete the victory in the bottom half of the inning. The Friday night fun has yet to carry over, however; the I-Cubs are 0-6 in Saturday games.

KING OF K'S: Cory Abbott worked five innings in a no-decision for Iowa last night, but he also racked up five strikeouts to increase his season total to 54. That number is good for first on the team by far, leading second-place Michael Rucker by 17. It also ranks first in the Triple-A East and second in Triple-A overall. Abbott trails first-place Drew Anderson by just one strikeout despite spending almost two weeks on the Major League roster and pitching three fewer innings than Anderson has. Abbott's five strikeouts last night tie a Triple-A season low for him in a single game, matching his total from May 19, when he also started against Omaha.

BIAGINI IS BACK: Joe Biagini will return to the mound at Principal Park for the first time in over a month tonight to face off with Omaha. The righty's last home start came on May 22 against the Storm Chasers, a three-inning outing that ended when he was removed with an injury. Following that, Biagini did not pitch in a game for more than three weeks. He returned to action on June 15 at St. Paul and has been ramping up since, throwing just 14 pitches for one inning in his first start and stretching out to two innings and 33 pitches in his second start last Sunday. Before the injury-shortened outing against Omaha, Biagini held a 2.81 ERA (5ER/16IP) in three starts for Iowa.

THE RIGHT GUY: Erick Castillo came to the plate in the ninth inning of a tied game last night with the bases loaded. Castillo delivered for Iowa, knocking a single into the outfield to score Nick Martini from third base. The catcher has played just three games with Iowa, in which Iowa has won two of the three games. In 2019, the I-Cubs won the first eight games Castillo started in, spread over a three-month span. So far this year with Iowa he is hitting .375 (3-for-8) with two walks, two runs batted in and just one strikeout. He has recorded one hit in all three starts, one against St. Paul on June 19 and two here against Omaha in game two on June 23 and the walk-off last night, June 25.

GET TO HIM: The I-Cubs have been able to get to Omaha's starter Daniel Lynch, something only one other team has done this year. In his two games against Iowa, Lynch is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. The loss marks his first and only loss of the year with the Storm Chasers. St. Paul scored seven runs on eight hits over five innings against Lynch, but he still got the win, and has limited damage in his other appearances. He is 3-1 with a 4.84 ERA, allowing 19 earned runs on 44 hits over 35.1 innings. He has walked 12 batters compared to 35 strikeouts. Lynch has thrown five or more innings in five of his seven appearances with the Storm Chasers, going four innings in his two shortest starts of the season. After allowing three home runs to the Saints on June 10, the lefty has yet to allow a home run in his last two starts.

THE STREAK LIVES ON: Ben Leeper has been lights out since joining the I-Cubs bullpen on June 8. Leeper wasn't drafted out of Oklahoma State when there was just a five-round draft in 2020, but signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on July 21, 2020. He was assigned to Tennessee to start the year and played 10 games with the Smokies, going 1-2 with a 1.26 ERA. He allowed two earned runs on nine hits over his 14.1 innings pitched before being called up to Iowa. With the I-Cubs, Leeper has yet to allow a hit in his six games played. He has spun 8.1 innings, allowing one run on one hit batter and four walks while striking out 15. The righty earned the first Triple-A win of his career last night, tossing 1.2 innings, walking one and striking out four, including striking out the side in the top of the ninth inning.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa took the edge in the current series two games to one with last night's win over the Storm Chasers. Omaha is still ahead in the season series, 9-6, but the I-Cubs hold the lead at Principal Park with five victories to the Storm Chasers' four. Iowa and Omaha will face off in three more series this season, two at Omaha and one in Des Moines.

HAVE TO MAKE CONTACT: Iowa had four hitters strike out two times last night and totaled 11 strikeouts on the night. Michael Hermosillo, Taylor Gushue, Nick Martini and Ian Miller all struck out twice against the Storm Chasers in last night's game. For Hermosillo, it marked his fifth game out of the 19 he has played with Iowa that he has struck out twice. He has struck out at least once in all but five of the games he has played with the I-Cubs. Hermosillo, Gushue and Martini were last night's three, four and five hitters and combined to go 2-for-11 with six strikeouts.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa is 0-6 on Saturdays, the only day of the week they haven't won at least one game...Nick Martini hit a solo home run in the second inning last night for his second of the series and fourth total deep fly of the year.

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