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September 3 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

September 3, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (43-62) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (50-54)

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

RHP Cory Abbott (1-6, 7.22) vs. LHP Cam Vieaux (2-2, 8.13)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa will take on Indianapolis for the fourth game of their six-game series tonight, trying to get back on track after last night's loss. The I-Cubs will send Cory Abbott to the mound for his fourth start against Indianapolis. The righty is 0-1 against the Indians and 1-6 overall with a 7.22 ERA (58ER/72.1IP) in 15 starts for Iowa. He'll face off with Cam Vieaux, who will make his third start against Iowa this season. Vieaux is 1-1 against the I-Cubs after allowing seven runs (four earned) in 2.2 innings the first time they met and shutting out the I-Cubs for five innings in the rematch. The southpaw is 2-2 with an 8.13 ERA (25ER/27.2IP) in seven starts for Indianapolis this year.

NOT A LEFTY: Iowa will see starter Cam Vieaux for the third time this season tonight, with the I-Cubs currently hitting .250 against him in his 7.2 innings pitched. That is a rare up-tick in production for Iowa against a lefty this season, as they have hit just .228 as a team against southpaw's. On the other side, the I-Cubs are hitting .251 as a team against right-handed pitchers entering tonight's game. They have struggled against lefties all season, going just 6-21 this year when a left-handed pitcher starts against them. Right-handed hitters Erick Castillo (.095), Trent Giambrone(.152), Tyler Ladendorf (.109) and Trayce Thompson (.187) are all hitting under .200 with at least 20 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this year. As a team, Iowa has struck out in 30% of their at-bats against lefties compared to 27% when they face a righty.

GET BACK IN A GROOVE: Dakota Mekkes made his first appearance since August 15 last night, after being placed on the injured list on August 19. The righty is 0-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 22 games for Iowa this season, but has had good stretches broken up by injuries. Mekkes had a streak of 11.0 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts before his first trip to the injured list on June 19. Most recently, he had a scoreless outing in three of his last four appearances before once again landing on the injured list. Last night, he allowed one earned run on one hit, one walk and struck out one batter, but for Mekkes to get back to where he has been, he needs some consistency and to stay healthy. He has walked at least one batter in 10 of his last 15 games, totaling 12 walks to 11 strikeouts over that span.

SWING AND MISS STUFF: Down 5-2 last night in the seventh inning, manager Marty Pevey turned to Aneuris Rosario to make his second appearance for the I-Cubs. The 26-year old righty threw a perfect inning, striking out all three batters he faced. Rosario threw 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes, keeping batters off balance with his fastball and off-speed mix. He has now struck out five batters over 2.1 Triple-A innings, after striking out 10 batters in 11.0 innings with Short-Season Eugene in 2019. Rosario is no stranger to striking out the side, as he struck out all six batters he faced in his two outings with the Rookie League Arizona Complex League Cubs on August 21 and August 24 this year.

ALL OF THE OFFENSE: Jared Young boosted his average to .292 in his 20th game with Iowa last night, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI triple. Young hit .326 in 35 games with Double-A Tennessee this year before being promoted to Iowa on August 10. He has continued his hitting as he has registered two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 runs batted in. The corner infielder has walked four times compared to 15 strikeouts, while stealing one base. In last night's game, he provided all the offense for the I-Cubs, driving in their first run of the game on his RBI triple, and scoring their only other run two batters later on a ground out. Young accounted for two of Iowa's four hits last night, and was the only player in the lineup with a multi-hit game.

HIT AROUND: After back-to-back outings of not allowing a hit over three total innings from August 12-21, Ryan Kellogg has now surrendered 10 runs on 18 hits in his last two outings. The lefty has been a spot-starter and played a long-relief role for the I-Cubs this year, tying his season high with 5.0 innings pitched last night. He also tied his season high in walks with four, throwing 60% (47-of-78) of his pitches for strikes. Kellogg did a good job of working out of trouble, only allowing four earned runs while still giving up 10 hits and four walks. He used a double play in each of his last two outings to get out of trouble, including the bases loaded with one out in his fifth and final inning. It marked the first time in a game in which he threw more than two innings that the southpaw did not record at least one strikeout.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Despite their loss last night, Iowa still holds a slight edge in the season series against Indianapolis. Though the I-Cubs trail in the current series 3-2, they've won 11 of the 21 games the teams have played so far this season, including five of nine in Indianapolis. The Indians are currently the only team the I-Cubs hold a winning record against this year.

POWER OUTAGE: After hitting four solo home runs on August 27 against Omaha, Iowa's bats have lost their power, totaling just one home run in their last five games. The one long ball came from Major League rehabber Willson Contreras, whose solo home run in game one of the series against Indianapolis gave Iowa a 2-1 lead at the time. Iowa has seven doubles over those five games and one triple, but with just one home run, are averaging just 2.6 runs per game.

SHORT HOPS: From August 6-11, Trayce Thompson had a five-game stretch in which he walked eight times in 24 plate appearances; his pinch-hit walk last night marked just his second free pass in his last 11 games, or 39 plate appearances...Iowa went 0-for-7 as a team with runners in scoring position last night...with their loss last night, Iowa fell to last place in the Triple-A East Midwest division for the first time since July 18 and are now 18 games out of the top-spot.

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