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September 2 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

September 2, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (43-61) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (49-54)

Thursday - 6:05 PM CT - Victory Field - Indianapolis, IN

LHP Ryan Kellogg (1-2, 4.80) vs. RHP Beau Sulser (5-5, 4.53)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The I-Cubs and Indians are set for game three of the six-game set, with the series currently tied at one game apiece. For Iowa, Ryan Kellogg will take the mound, set to make his 10th appearance and fourth start of the year. He is 1-2 on the year with a 4.80 ERA, including one game against Indianapolis. He pitched out of relief in that game, allowing an earned run on one hit and three walks over 1.1 innings. Opposite of Kellogg will be Beau Sulser getting the start for Indy. Sulser is 5-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) this year with the Indians, set to make his fourth start against Iowa. The righty is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four games against the I-Cubs, allowing nine earned runs on 20 hits, including three home runs. Sulser has walked six batters compared to 16 strikeouts when he faces Iowa, with the I-Cubs hitting .290 as a team.

GAME OF FIRSTS: Not only did Iowa get a win in their first game of a month for the first time all season, they also had three other firsts in last night's 4-3 win. Super-utility man Bryan Serra got his first hit at the Triple-A level; coming into that at-bat, he was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Serra's pinch-hit single in the seventh inning was just his second hit of the season, his first coming with Single-A Myrtle Beach on July 9. Another first was last night's starter, Luis Lugo earning his first Triple-A win. Lugo spun six innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one run on a solo home run in the second inning. The lefty was 0-1 with Iowa since being called up on August 18, but had five wins with Double-A Tennessee this season. Juan Gamez also earned the first Triple-A save of his career, recording five outs to secure the win. It was his first save since back on June 8 with Advanced-A South Bend.

BREAKING OUT IN A BIG WAY: Entering last night's game, Abiatal Avelino was on a season-long four-game hitless streak. He has played in the most games of any Iowa Cubs player this year, with 89, and is hitting .263 over that span. The infielder was hitting just .045 in his last seven games coming into last night, going just 1-for-22 with four walks and five strikeouts. Despite going just 1-for-4 last night, his one hit was the game-winning hit for Iowa, helping the team break their six-game losing streak. With one out and runners on second and third, Avelino came through with a huge double to grow the I-Cubs' lead to 4-1. Indianapolis scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to bring it back to a one-run game, but nothing more as Iowa was able to get the 4-3 win. Hopefully for the I-Cubs, this huge double gets their shortstop back on track.

QUALITY CONTROL: In his third start for Iowa, Luis Lugo not only registered his first Triple-A win, but also his first quality start at the level. After allowing only one run on three hits in his five innings against Omaha, Lugo took it up another notch and allowed one run on just two hits over six innings last night in Indianapolis. Lugo is the eighth pitcher to make a quality start for Iowa this season, but only the fourth to earn a win from a quality start. Of the 19 quality starts the I-Cubs have received this season, eight have resulted in wins, and only six of those wins have been credited to the starter. Those six wins do, however, account for 40% of the total wins Iowa's rotation has been credited with this season. The starters hold a 2.09 ERA (27ER/116.1IP) in their quality starts, compared to a 6.46 ERA (248ER/345.1IP) in all other starts.

TWO IN A ROW: Though Ryan Kellogg is on his fourth stint in Iowa this season, tonight will mark the first time the lefty has made back-to-back starts for the team. Kellogg has pitched for Iowa out of both the bullpen and the rotation this season, earning a 1-2 record and a 4.80 ERA (26ER/30IP) over nine total outings at Triple-A, but his previous three starts were each separated by at least three weeks. While he picked up the win in his first start with Iowa on June 11, Kellogg has fared better as a reliever overall. His 7.11 ERA (10ER/12.2IP) as a starter compares to a 3.12 mark (6ER/17.1IP) out of the bullpen. The majority of the damage was done last week against Omaha, when the Storm Chasers tagged Kellogg for six runs - including the first home run he surrendered as a starter for Iowa - in his 3.2 innings of work. He'll try to bounce back tonight in his second appearance and first start against Indianapolis.

SWEET SEPTEMBER: After going 10-18 in the month of August, Iowa started the month of September with a victory. It is the first time all season the I-Cubs have started a month with a win, losing their first games of May, June, July and August. In each month before September, Iowa lost the first game and won the second game of the month, starting out 1-1 every time. With the win, Iowa bucked a six-game losing streak, and a five-game losing streak against the Indians dating back to their last series at Principal Park, when Indianapolis took the final four games from August 5-8.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa broke both their five-game losing streak to Indianapolis last night with a 4-3 win. They brought their lead in the season series to two games, holding an 11-9 record over the Indians this year. They are 6-6 against Indy at Principal Park, while moving to 5-3 when the two teams play at Victory Field. Iowa and Indianapolis have played in a lot of close games, with the I-Cubs out-scoring the Indians by just two runs, 87-85 this season.

THE DREADED INNING: On Tuesday, Iowa was in line for a win, leading 3-2 heading into the eighth inning. In the eighth, reliever Brendon Little walked the first three batters he faced, allowing two runs to score and Indianapolis to take a 4-3 lead. The Indians would close the door in the ninth and take a 1-0 series lead, giving Iowa just their sixth loss of the year when they lead after seven innings. Last night was a similar situation for Iowa, holding a lead entering the eighth inning. The I-Cubs were up 2-1 and scored two runs in the top of the eighth, bringing their lead to 4-1. Just as they did on Tuesday night, Indianapolis put the pressure on, scoring two runs to make it a one-run game.

SHORT HOPS: Juan Gamez is just two-for-seven in retiring the first batter he faces entering the game, but has inherited three runners and not allowed a single one to score...outfielder Greg Deichmann extended his hitting streak to a season-long four games with Iowa with his single last night...from the last out in the fourth inning through the end of the seventh inning, Luis Lugo and Ethan Roberts combined to retire 10 batters in a row; eight of those batters were out via the ground ball while two were strikeouts.

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