IL Iowa Cubs

May 30 Game Notes: Iowa vs. St. Paul

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


IOWA CUBS (9-12) vs ST. PAUL SAINTS (12-11)

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

RHP Cory Abbott (1-2, 6.52) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 1.50)

TODAY'S GAME: The I-Cubs look to break their season- long seven-game losing streak and avoid the sweep today against St. Paul. It will be a rematch of game one of the series, with Cory Abbott facing off against righty Bailey Ober.

KEEP THE BROOMS IN THE CLOSET: Iowa is in danger of being swept by St. Paul, the first six-game sweep of the season for either team. Not only is Iowa facing the possibility of being swept, they are also looking eight-straight losses right in the face. Their longest losing streak of 2019 was six games, from June 4-9. They lost eight in a row in 2018 from April 21-29. They also had a losing streak of seven and two streaks of five games that season. The 2018 I-Cubs owned a record of 50-88, finishing 23.5 games out of first place.

SOMETHING MISSING: Iowa lost a lot of key pieces to the Major League roster heading into this series, with P.J. Higgins, Nick Martini, Rafael Ortega, and Patrick Wisdom all receiving call-ups in the past two weeks. Those four plus Cameron Maybin, who was traded to the Mets, made up a big chunk of Iowa's lineup - and an even bigger chunk of their offensive production. Before the St. Paul series, the five of them accounted for 34% of the team's at-bats, 32% of their hits, and 40% each of runs scored and RBI. They also hit 53% of Iowa's home runs and took 46% of the team's walks.

NEED MORE POWER: St. Paul's pitching staff has done a good job keeping Iowa's bats quiet in general, but they've been especially adept at limiting extra base hits. During the first five games of the series, Iowa has hit nine doubles, a triple, and no home runs. That puts their slugging percentage at just .287 in the series thus far. St. Paul, on the other hand, has slugged .443 in the series. Though they've also hit nine doubles and a triple, it's the home runs that have made the difference, and the Saints have crushed seven of them against Iowa in the last five games.

DEJA VU: For the second time this series and the third time this season, Bailey Ober will take the ball for St. Paul against Cory Abbott, who will start for the I-Cubs. The pitching matchup is the same as it was for game one of this series, a contest St. Paul won 17-6, and also the same as it was on May 13 in St.Paul -a game Iowa won 7-3. Both Ober and Abbott picked up their first Triple-A wins in games against one another. Ober came out on top the last time around, earning the win on a five-inning performance in which he gave up one run on four hits and struck out five. Abbott also picked up his win on a five-inning start and he also allowed only four hits, but he gave up two runs and struck out eight.

HOME RUN BALL: St. Paul scored four of their six runs last night with the long ball, hitting all three off of Iowa relievers. After starter Tyson Miller spun three scoreless innings, the bullpen came in and surrendered six runs over as many innings. Robert Stock allowed three earned runs, Trevor Megill allowed two earned runs and Kyle Ryan allowed one. All three relievers each gave up one home run, bringing the bullpen total to 15 on the year.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: The I-Cubs and Saints will wrap up their series at Principal Park today. The Saints have already won the series, and a win today would secure the sweep. The teams split the first six-game set in St. Paul, so the season series stands at 3-8 heading into this afternoon's game. The Saints and the I-Cubs have now played 11 of their 30 total scheduled games this season. They'll see each other next in St. Paul for a series that will kick off on June 15.

MILLER TIME: Tyson Miller got the ball in his first start of the season last night for Iowa. After joining the team late this year, Miller had made two appearances out of the bullpen previous to last night's start. In his first two appearances, the righty tossed 2.1 innings, allowing three runs on two hits while walking two and striking out two. All three earned runs came on a home run in his second appearance. Last night, he tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four Saints' batters. With the outing, Miller lowered his ERA to 5.06.

SHORT HOPS: During the current series, Iowa has fallen from second to fifth place in the Triple-A East Midwest division and are currently 5.5 games behind first-place Omaha...last night marked the first game Iowa has lost when registering 10 or more hits this season...Iowa's seven-game losing streak is the longest active streak in Triple-A baseball.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 30, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central