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June 5 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints

June 5, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (25-27) VS. ST. PAUL SAINTS (23-29)

Sunday - 1:08 - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

LHP Matt Dermody (2-2, 4.50) vs. RHP JC Ramirez (3-0, 5.40)

TODAY'S GAME: Matt Dermody will take the ball for Iowa looking to earn the I-Cubs a series split. The lefty is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA this year, starting six of his 10 games for Iowa. Dermody has allowed 19 earned runs on 47 hits including five home runs over 38.0 innings this year, hitting four batters while walking seven and striking out 30. His 38.0 innings are good for the team lead. The 31-year-old will make his third start against St. Paul this year and second of the series, currently holding a 1-0 record against the Saints. In his first two games, he has allowed five earned runs on 11 hits over eight innings. Opposite of Dermody will be right JC Ramírez toeing the rubber for the Saints, trying for the second consecutive game to earn the Saints a series win. Ramirez is 3-0 this year with a 5.40 ERA, set to make just his second start of the year for St. Paul. So far, he has 10 appearances and one start, allowed 16 earned runs on 26 hits over 26.2 innings. He has walked 15 batters while striking out 23, allowing opponents to hit .260 against him. Ramirez is set to face Iowa for the third time this year, having shut them down through his first two. In those two outings, he has allowed just two hits over 6.1 innings pitched, walking two batters compared to three strikeouts.

THE HICKS IS IN: John Hicks enters tonight's game on a seven-game hitting streak, which is his longest of the season and tied for the longest on the team this season. In Hicks' first 24 games this season, he hit just .163 (15-for-92) with three home runs, five runs scored and six RBI. He struck out 28 times over the 24 games, which was good for a K rate of 29%, and walked just once. In his last seven games, Hicks has turned it on, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with a 1.038 slugging percentage and a 1.538 OPS. He has more than doubled his totals for home runs and RBI total and scored seven times. Of the 11 hits in his streak, seven of them have been for extra bases. Included in that is his seventh home run of the season last night, which moved Hicks closer to the team lead. He now trails leader Jared Young by just two, despite having played 12 fewer games.

OUT IN FRONT: Last night the I-Cubs scored six runs in the first inning, tying their season high for runs in the first. They put up six in the first frame of Wednesday's game as well, which they'd go on to win 13-3. With those two showings in the book, the I-Cubs have now scored 37 runs in the first inning this year, which is their most in any inning. Meanwhile, their pitching has limited opponents to just 14 runs in the first frame, which is the least of any inning. The early run support has tended to pay off, as the I-Cubs are now 15-9 when they score first, including a 7-2 mark when they score first at home.

LONG RELIEF: Brendon Little spun 2.1 innings of one-run ball last night, allowing just one hit while striking out four. It marked the second straight game he has allowed an earned run after throwing 11.0 scoreless innings to start the year. He has also gone three straight outings without surrendering a free pass after walking at least one batter in each of his first six outings. His four strikeouts matched a season high set back on May 21 against Columbus, he has struck out multiple batters just three times this season, striking out two on May 18 in his game against the Clippers. Little's 2.1 innings marked his longest outing since throwing 2.2 innings of relief on July 29 last season for Double-A Tennessee. Since that outing, he has thrown two innings eight times, but hasn't come out for a third inning of work until last night's game.

YOU GET A HIT, YOU GET A HIT: All nine players in Iowa's starting lineup recorded a hit last night, with three players notching two-hit games. Each of the bottom five hitters in the lineup also drove in runs, with Greg Deichmann leading the way with three RBI out of the seven-hole. Seven of Iowa's 12 hits went for extra bases, with four doubles and three home runs.

CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP: Greg Deichmann hit his fourth home run in as many games last night, clubbing a three-run blast as part of the I-Cubs' six-run first inning. The long ball marked not only his fourth consecutive game with a home run, but also his fifth home run in his last six games. He is just the third player since at least 2008 to hit a home run in four consecutive games for Iowa, with Trent Giambrone doing so in 2019 and Robel Garcia accomplishing the feat this year. His home run in the first inning extended his hitting streak to a season-long six games, in which he is now hitting .435 (10-for-23) with five home runs and 13 runs batted in. Prior to his current hot streak, the outfielder did not have a single home run this year. With his three-RBI game last night, Deichmann now leads the active roster in multi-RBI games with five.

NEED SOME CONSISTENCY: Sean Newcomb had his best outing of his Major League rehab assignment so far last night, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings. The southpaw allowed just one hit, retiring the other five batters he faced in order. It broke a two-game streak of allowing multiple walks, surrendering two on May 27 and three on May 31. Newcomb earned the win with his outing last night, his first win since August 25, 2021, against the Nashville Sounds as a member of the Gwinnett Stripers.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: Iowa will go for back-to-back wins to earn a series split today, entering the game trailing in the series 3-2. With a four-run win yesterday, Iowa cut their deficit to six in runs scored by each team in their 11 games played this season, currently sitting a 72-66 in favor of St. Paul. The Saints also lead the season series 6-5, while holding a 29-17 record against the I-Cubs all-time. With a win today, Iowa would earn a series split, the same result the two teams had in their six-game series at CHS Field this season. The I-Cubs moved to 5-12 all-time against the Saints when playing at Principal Park with their win last night.

SHORT HOPS: For the fifth time this year, Iowa's relievers did not allow a walk yesterday, the first time since May 10 against Omaha...with three home runs last night, the I-Cubs now have 10 long balls this series, the most they have in any series this year; the previous high was nine in their series against Omaha from May 10-15...if Matt Dermody does not receive a decision today, it will mark the first six-game series all year in which a starting pitcher does not receive a decision...Greg Deichmann and Narciso Crook hit back-to-back home runs for Iowa last night, marking the second time that has happened this year, with the first coming back on April 19 at Louisville when Jared Young and Brennen Davis went back-to-back...Iowa's 37 runs this series are the most they have scored in any series this year, six more than they scored (31) against Omaha...last night marked the first time Iowa has scored exactly nine runs in a game this year.

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