IL Iowa Cubs

May 16 Game Notes: Iowa at St. Paul

Published on May 16, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (5-5) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (5-6)

Sunday - 2:05 PM - CHS Field - Saint Paul, MN

RHP Joe Biagini (1-1, 1.64) vs. RHP Randy Dobnak (0-1, 5.40)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and St. Paul play in the series finale of their six-game set today. It is a rematch of the two pitchers from game one of the series, a game Iowa took by a score of 11-1. St. Paul has taken the last two games, each by one run (4-3, 2-1), to take the 3-2 series lead.

FIRST BLEMISH: In their 10th game of the season, the Iowa Cubs' bullpen had their first blemish. Before last night's game against St. Paul, the bullpen had a perfect 3-0 record. Last night, reliever Robert Stock surrendered a walk-off blast on his second pitch of the game to Ryan Jeffers. This homer gave the bullpen their first loss of the season, bringing their record to 3-1. Despite receiving the loss, the I-Cubs bullpen has still been lights out so far this season. They own a 3-1 record, with a 2.03 (9 ER / 40.0 IP) ERA, allowing just 15 walks compared to 50 strikeouts. Last night's home run was the fifth long ball the bullpen has given up.

QUITE THE DEBUT: Adrian Sampson made his Iowa Cubs debut last night, tossing three scoreless innings. The righty allowed just one hit while also striking out one batter. Sampson has a career record of 27-21 in Triple-A, with an ERA of 4.08. He has started 66 of his 81 Triple-A appearances, throwing 401.2 total innings at the level. Sampson has also made an appearance in 41 major league games (20 starts), in parts of three seasons with Seattle (2016) and Texas (2018-2019).

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES: The pitching staff may receive the win or loss decision, but the offense has not been holding up their end of the bargain this series for Iowa. In the series, Iowa is hitting .232 (13-for-56) with runners in scoring position, leaving 47 runners on. If you take out the first game of the series when Iowa scored 11 runs, the team is hitting just .071 (3-for-42) with runners in scoring position, leaving 38 men on base. The team has the ninth-worst batting average in the Triple-A, at .221. Iowa's pitching staff has the third-best ERA in the Triple-A, 2.86. The two teams above them and five teams below them in ERA all sit above .500.

HAVE TO GET THE CLOSE ONES: After falling in last night's game by a final score of 2-1, Iowa is now 1-3 in one-run games. Three of their five losses come by one run this year. Typically, the teams that end up being really good at the end of the year are the teams that have won the close games. In 2019, when Iowa went 75-65 and won the PCL American Northern Division, they were 22-14 in one-run games.

ANOTHER STELLAR OUTING: Jake Jewell has been spectacular out of the bullpen for manager Marty Pevey. The righty is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his four appearances with Iowa this year. In his first outing of the season against Indianapolis, he gave up one run on two hits, including a solo home run. Since then, Jewell has 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit over that span. He has struck out seven batters compared to allowing just two free passes. Jewell owns a WHIP of 0.88 and his opponents are hitting just .167 against him.

CAN THEY DO IT AGAIN? The pitching matchup of Joe Biagini and Randy Dobnak is the same as the first game of this six-game set, when Iowa won 11-1. The I-Cubs offense touched-up Dobnak, scoring five runs on four hits while also patiently receiving five walks in his 4.1 innings of work. On the other side, Joe Biagini spun five scoreless innings, not allowing a hit to Saints batters. He walked two and struck out six, lowering his ERA on the season to 1.64.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: St. Paul took their first lead of the series, winning last night's game to take a 3-2 lead. Iowa needs to win today's game to leave St. Paul with a series split.

THE RIGHT GUY: Hitting out of the nine-hole last night, Ian Miller went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base. He registered three of the I-Cubs five hits, and was responsible for the team's only run, on an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning. Miller's last three-hit game came on June 27, 2019 when he went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI for the Tacoma Rainiers against the Albuquerque Isotopes. The speedster is just the guy the I-Cubs want on, as he has stolen 30 or more bases five times in his professional career. Most recently, he swiped 35 bags in 2019, 29 with Triple-A Tacoma and six with Triple-A Rochester.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa is outscoring St. Paul by seven runs (23-16) in the series, but the Saints hold the 3-2 series lead.

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