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May 12 Notes: Iowa vs. Omaha

May 12, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (16-15) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (15-16)

Thursday - 12:08 - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Luke Farrell (0-0, 9.00) vs. LHP Josh Dye (2-0, 1.88)

TODAY'S GAME: Luke Farrell will take the ball for Iowa today, making his first start of the season. It will be Farrell's second appearance for Iowa after throwing two innings against St. Paul on Sunday. The righty allowed two earned runs on two hits, walking two batters while striking out three. Josh Dye will toe the slab for the Storm Chasers, also set to make his first start of the year. Dye is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA this year, throwing 14.1 innings of relief. The southpaw has allowed three earned runs on 13 hits including one home run. He has walked two batters and struck out 11 over his 10 appearances.

OLD FRIEND: Iowa will hand the ball to Luke Farrell today for his 13th career start as an I-Cub, but his first since 2018. The righty signed a Minor League deal with the Cubs on Sunday and pitched in relief for the I-Cubs the same day, officially kicking off his second stint in Chicago's organization. Farrell, who has been in the system of seven different MLB franchises, joined the Cubs for the first time when he was claimed off of waivers from the Reds on October 4, 2017. He made his organization debut with Iowa on April 7 of the next season, and would go on to pitch to a 1-4 record and a 3.64 ERA (22ER/54.1IP) in 12 starts for the I-Cubs. Farrell also saw time on the big league roster later in the season, going 3-4 for Chicago with a 5.17 ERA (18ER/31.1IP) in 20 games (two starts), before the Angels claimed him off waivers on September 3. Farrell won't only be pitching for a former team today, however; he'll be facing one as well. The righty was drafted by Kansas City in 2013 and spent two seasons with Omaha in 2016 and 2017. In 36 appearances for the Storm Chasers, Farrell went 13-7 with a 3.92 ERA (82ER/188.1IP).

LOCK DOWN THE NINTH: After surrendering a solo home run in the ninth inning yesterday, Iowa has now allowed 19 runs in the ninth inning this year. Despite pitching a ninth inning in just 22 of the team's 31 games so far, the 19 runs marks the most runs Iowa's staff has allowed in any inning so far this year.

POWERING UP: Nelson Maldonado ticked off another milestone yesterday, launching his first career Triple-A home run in the fourth inning to kick off Iowa's comeback. The two-run blast helped Maldonado to a four-RBI day, which ties for the most by an Iowa hitter in a game this year. While the infielder hasn't historically been a power-hitter, collecting just nine homers in 123 games over his first two professional seasons, he has shown signs of changing that this year. With three home runs over 12 games with Tennessee and one in his first 12 games with Iowa, Maldonado is on pace to crush a career-high 19 long balls in 2022.

KEEP HIM QUIET: While Iowa's hitters have been putting up some of their best offensive numbers of the year so far this series, their pitchers have been keeping Omaha on the opposite end of the spectrum. Through the first two games of the series, the Storm Chasers have hit just .127 (8-for-63) and taken four walks, leading them to an on-base mark of .191 and an OPS of only .461. Their lineup may get a boost today, however, with Nick Pratto returning from the injured list. Pratto was hitting .250 (22-for-88) with five home runs through his first 23 games at Triple-A this season, and will look to pick up just where he left off in Iowa last year. In 22 games against the I-Cubs in 2021, Pratto hit .235 (19-for-81) but crushed six doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. He also walked 12 times, scored 19 runs, and drove in 16.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: For the second consecutive game, Omaha got out to a lead in the fourth inning. On Tuesday, they scored two runs in the fourth followed by a four-run fourth inning in yesterday's game. In yesterday's game, Iowa fought back with three runs of their own in the fourth and one run in the sixth to tie it. They allowed one run in the seventh but scored two more to take their first lead. The Storm Chasers got a run to tie it in the ninth, but the comeback kids never quit and ended up getting a walk-off single to win the game. For Iowa, it marked their eighth comeback win of the season, with all eight coming at Principal Park. They are now 8-4 at home when their opponents score first, an area in which they are 0-6 on the road. Iowa has scored first in just one home game all year, back on April 14, against Toledo, a game in which they lost 8-6.

SCORCHING HOT: Over his last three games, Tyler Payne has caught fire, going 9-for-12 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. On Sunday against St. Paul, the catcher went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. In game one of the series on Tuesday, Payne went a perfect 4-for-4 while driving in the game-tying run in the sixth inning. Yesterday, the catcher notched two more hits, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Entering Sunday's game against St. Paul, Payne was hitting just .160 on the year in 25 at-bats. He had recorded just four hits all year entering Sunday, a number he matched in Tuesday night's game alone. After his nine hits in three games, the 29-year-old is now hitting .351 on the season. Not only does he have three multi-hit games in a row, but four of his last five games he has produced multiple hits, going 2-for-3 back on April 28 against Indianapolis. Over his seven-year career, this is the first time Payne has ever had three multi-hit games in a row.

MAKING HIS WAY UP: Robel Garcia went 2-for-4 yesterday with a double and another home run. The deep fly marked his third in the last two games and sixth of the season, good for second on the team. He is also second in runs batted in with 15, tied for the team lead with five doubles and leads the team with 16 walks. The switch-hitter is climbing the rankings in the league leaders, moved up to fifth in the International League in slugging percentage at .639 and third in OPS at 1.055.

AGAINST OMAHA: The I-80 rivalry will continue today, in game three of the six-game series between Iowa and Omaha. The two teams will see each other for a total of 21 games this season, after playing each other 40 times in 2021. With a 2-0 series lead, Iowa could guarantee at least a series split with a victory today. Iowa now holds the all-time advantage over Omaha with a record of 310-289, going 169-132 all-time at home.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa's pitching staff got their 300th strikeout of the season in yesterday's game and are now sitting at 302 combined strikeouts on the year...with one run in the ninth inning yesterday, the I-Cubs have now scored double-digit runs in every inning...Iowa has allowed six runs in the fourth inning this series, 33% (6-of-18) of the total runs they have given up in the fourth inning all season... John Hicks extended his hitting streak to a season-high four games with his 1-for-4 day yesterday...yesterday marked Jared Young's sixth career start in right field, with his previous five all coming in 2019 as a member of the Tennessee Smokies.

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