IL Iowa Cubs

June 30 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

Published on June 30, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (18-28) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (25-23)

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

RHP Mike Hauschild (0-1, 5.68) vs. RHP Mitch Keller (0-0, 3.18)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis are set to face off for game two of their six-game set today, after the I-Cubs took game one by a score of 9-3. Righty Mike Hauschild will take the ball for Iowa in his third start of the year and first against Indianapolis. Hauschild is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA in 6.1 innings this year, allowing nine runs, just four earned, on 11 hits. He has walked five and struck out four, but allowed three home runs. Opponents are hitting .393 and slugging .750 against the righty. Opposite of Hauschild will be Iowa native Mitch Keller taking the ball for the Indians in his fourth game of the year at the Triple-A level. Keller started the year with Pittsburgh, but struggled to the tune of a 3-7 record and a 7.04 ERA. Today will mark his second start and fourth game with Indy, where he has not yet received a decision and owns a 3.18 ERA. Keller has spun 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven.

TURNING IT AROUND: From May 25 to June 6, Taylor Gushue was struggling, hitting just .135 (5-for-37) over that span. It was a two-series stretch, against the St. Paul Saints and Omaha Storm Chasers in which he struggled. Over the two series, he only scored once and knocked in five, walking three times compared to taking 15 strikeouts. Since then, he is hitting .324 (12-for-37) in his last 10 games. He has seven more hits in the same exact number of at-bats, taking the same amount of walks while cutting the strikeouts down by five, striking out 10 times. He has also doubled once and hit three home runs, driving in seven. In his last five games, Gushue has really gotten hot, registering at least one hit in each game, his longest streak of the season. He has two hits in three of the five games, and has struck out just twice, on June 25 against Omaha.

LEEPER STAYS NASTY: Since joining the I-Cubs' roster on June 8, Ben Leeper has not allowed a hit in his seven games. Leeper was an undrafted free agent in 2020, signing to a minor league contract on July 21 with Chicago. 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. Now, in seven games with Iowa, the righty owns a 0.96 ERA (1ER/9.1IP) and has yet to allow a hit. He has walked four, hit a batter and struck out 17 of the 33 batters he has faced, good for 52%.

HEATING UP: Catcher Tony Wolters started the year with Chicago, but hit just .125 (3-for-24) in 14 games. He got designated for assignment on May 19 and outrighted to Iowa on May 22. He started off slowly with the I-Cubs, hitting .179 (7-for-39) in his first 13 games, from May 28 to June 16. He scored two runs, hit a double, walked five times and struck out 12 times over that span. Since then, in eight games, Wolters is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with a double, a home run and nine runs batted in. He has walked six times compared to six strikeouts, and scored five runs. With a double and two walks in last night's game, he has now reached base safely in four straight games, hitting safely in three straight.

NICE STRETCH: After last night's start, Adrian Sampson now leads the team in wins (3), is tied for the lead in games started (7) and leads the team in innings pitched (43.2). The righty won his third straight game, tossing five or more innings for the fifth consecutive game. Sampson is 3-0 with a 3.57 ERA, allowing seven earned runs over 17.2 innings of work. He has given up 16 hits, walked eight, three home runs and struck out 17. A big key for Sampson has been the run support Iowa's offense has given him. In his last three starts, the I-Cubs have scored 12, eight, and nine runs, letting Sampson settle in and just throw strikes. In the 76 batters he has faced over his last three games, he is throwing 61% of his pitches for strikes.

TWO OUT MAGIC: With two outs in the top of the first inning last night, Michael Hermosillo and Taylor Gushue hit back-to-back solo home runs, giving Iowa a 2-0 lead. In the third inning, Cam Vieaux got another two quick outs, before Iowa went on to score six more runs. The I-Cubs got three singles, a double, two walks and took advantage of a throwing error by Indianapolis to gain an 8-2 advantage in the run column. Starting pitcher Adrian Sampson even got in on the action, with a bases loaded single, bringing in two runs and turning the lineup over. Eight of the nine runs Iowa scored came with two outs, and the six-run third inning marked the second largest single inning for Iowa this year.

HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS: Iowa registered 13 total hits as a team last night, two shy of their season-high 15 hits. They got 14 hits in Sunday's game against Omaha, marking just the fourth time this year the I-Cubs have gotten double-digit hits in back-to-back games. They did it on June 3 & 4 against Omaha, June 6 & 8 against Omaha and Columbus and June 10 & 11 against the Clippers. Their 13 hits last night came from 11 different players, with just Michael Hermosillo and Taylor Gushue having two-hit games. Just two players that got an at-bat in Iowa's lineup did not register a hit, but both reached base via a walk and a hit by pitch.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa took a 1-0 series lead with their 9-3 win against Indianapolis last night, after taking three of the five games from the Indians at Principal Park the first time they played. It marked the first win for Iowa at Victory Field since August 12, 1997, when the I-Cubs won 1-0 in front of 11,643 fans. Iowa outscored Indy 18-14 in the first five games they played, thanks in large part to a 8-3 victory in the second game of the series.

CHECKING IN ON THE REHABBERS: Iowa currently has four major league rehabbers on their roster available for today's game. Dillon Maples threw in last night's game, giving up one run on two walks while striking out two batters in his one inning of work. Both Justin Steele and Trevor Williams threw in Sunday's game. Steele allowed a run in his one inning of work and Williams tossed two scoreless frames, striking out two and allowing just one baserunner to a hit by pitch. Nico Hoerner played in his second game last night, going 1-for-3 with an RBI and two strikeouts. In his time leading off, he is 2-for-5 and has made one play at second base.

DOWN TO THREE: Marty Pevey is in his eighth season as Iowa's manager, the longest any manager has been with the I-Cubs. In 2018, Pevey collected his 1,000th career managerial victory, while also becoming the winningest skipper in Iowa history with his 356th victory as manager. Entering this year, he was 1,123-1,230 overall in 17 seasons as a minor league manager, good for the ninth-most wins among active MiLB skippers. With Iowa's 18 wins this year, Pevey is now 497-541 with Iowa, just three wins away from 500.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa is now 4-5 in the first game of their series this year, last night marked the third time they have won the first game on the road...after losing 18 of 20 games from May 22 to June 10, Iowa has now won seven of their last 15 games, including four against the top two teams in the division...Iowa stranded the bases loaded in both the sixth and ninth innings last night, leaving a total of nine runners on-base.

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