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September 11 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Toledo

September 11, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (46-66) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (65-47)

Saturday - 7:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Joe Biagini (3-6, 5.03) vs. RHP Ricardo Pinto (9-2, 4.30)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Toledo will face off for the fifth game of their six-game set tonight. With last night's victory, the Mud Hens have already secured at least a series split. The I-Cubs will send out righty Joe Biagini to try and fend off Toledo, fresh off one of his most dominant outings of the season. Biagini came just one out from a complete game shutout in the second half of last Sunday's doubleheader, earning his third win of the season. He'll face the Mud Hens for the second time this season tonight after shutting them out for five innings last time they met. His mound opponent will be Ricardo Pinto, who will make his fourteenth start of the season for Toledo and his second against Iowa. He took the victory in his last meeting with the I-Cubs after allowing two runs on seven hits in five innings on July 14.

STREAKING: Outfielders Greg Deichmann and Trayce Thompson broke their previous season long hitting streaks last night, each going 1-for-4. Deichmann is now riding a five-game hitting streak after hitting a deep fly last night in the ninth inning to get Iowa within a run. The 6-foot-2 outfielder is batting .294 over that stretch, with two doubles and two walks. He has a hit in 12 of his last 15 games, including four multi-hit games. Since August 22, Deichmann is hitting .281 (16-for-57) with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven runs batted in. He has also taken four walks to raise his on-base percentage to .328. Thompson has shown off his power lately, hitting three home runs in the first four games of the series. He finally broke through for a six-game hitting streak after recording a five-game stretch three times this year. The two outfielders combined to drive in Iowa's only two runs last night, coming through with an RBI single in the eighth inning and a solo home run in the ninth, respectively.

GETTING IT DONE: Zach Davis hit out of the leadoff spot for the ninth time last night, with the I-Cubs now going 3-6 when he is the leadoff man. Although that doesn't sound great, Davis did his job as a leadoff man, getting on base twice with a 2-for-4 performance last night. He was the only player in Iowa's lineup to have a multi-hit game, recording eight total hits as a team for their third consecutive game. For Davis, it was his fourth multi-hit game of the year as a member of the I-Cubs, his third two-hit game with one three-hit performance.

NOT GONNA CUT IT: In a one-run loss last night, the I-Cubs went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position last night, leaving seven men on-base. A big reason they didn't drive those runs in was because of their inability to put the ball in play in big spots. Toledo's starter Mark Leiter Jr. struck out 14 batters on his own before their two relievers struck out two more. Five players in Iowa's lineup had multiple strikeouts last night, with four players each striking out three times. 17 strikeouts set the season high against Iowa this year, previously set at 16 by Omaha on May 22.

SIT 'EM DOWN: For the second night in a row, Iowa's pitching staff combined to strikeout 14 Toledo batters last night, led by starter Matt Swarmer with 10. It set a career high for Swarmer, after striking out nine four times in his career and once this year. Each reliever struck out two batters in their one inning, bringing their total to 14. It marked the second straight game that Iowa's starter struck out 10 batters after Cory Abbott got 10 on Thursday. For Abbott, it was his third game this year with the I-Cubs that he recorded double-digit strikeouts, including his career-high 13 set back on May 30 against St. Paul. He has struck out eight or more batters nine times this year, including in each of his last three starts, in which he has recorded nine, nine and now 10. The righty now leads all of Triple-A with 121 strikeouts this year, despite spending over a month of the season in the majors with Chicago. Abbott was followed by Erich Uelmen and Juan Gamez, who each struck out two batters in their three combined innings. Swarmer did not walk a batter last night, throwing 66 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

ONE OUT AWAY: Joe Biagini gets the nod in tonight's game, coming off his third win of the season for Iowa. He'll try to earn back-to-back wins for the first time this year after coming just one out away from a complete game shutout in his last outing in Indianapolis. He threw a season-high 114 pitches, 65 of them for strikes, and struck out eight batters, also a season high.

TOUGH LOSS: For the third time in four games, Matt Swarmer made a quality start last night, tossing seven scoreless innings of two-run ball. The righty has been on a different level lately, tossing 5.2 or more innings in each of his last five starts while allowing two or less runs in each of his last four. Last night tied his the longest start of the year, setting his season high with seven strong innings of work. It marked just the third time this season and first since August 8 that an I-Cubs starter worked seven innings. Swarmer also set a career high with 10 punchouts last night, after striking out nine four times in his career. Unfortunately for Swarmer, the offense scored just two runs late, not enough to get him off the hook as he dropped his seventh game of the year compared to just three wins with Iowa. He has now lost or not received a decision in three out of his five quality starts this year with the I-Cubs.

AGAINST TOLEDO: After losing their first game of the series to Iowa on Thursday, Toledo took control back with a 3-2 victory in last night's game. That secured at least the series split for the Mud Hens, and a win tonight would give them the series victory. Last night's win also gave Toledo the win in the season series, as they took four out of six when the team's met in Toledo in July. Though the Mud Hens have taken seven out of ten, the I-Cubs trail them by only eight runs scored in those matchups, having scored 31 to Toledo's 39.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa fell to 37-14 on the year when out-hitting their opponents, after recording two more hits than Toledo in last night's loss...the I-Cubs are now just 1-2 on the season when their starter throws seven innings...Iowa is 11-12 when receiving a quality start from their starter this year.

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