IL Iowa Cubs

September 4 Game Notes: Iowa at Indianapolis

Published on September 4, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (44-62) @ INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (50-55)

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

RHP Matt Swarmer (3-6, 5.40) vs. RHP James Marvel (4-6, 5.60)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The I-Cubs and Indians match up for game five of the series tonight, with the series tied at two games apiece. Matt Swarmer will take the ball for Iowa, looking for his third consecutive quality start and fourth straight start of six innings. The righty has moved to 3-6 with a 5.40 ERA on the year, allowing just one earned run on a solo home run over his last 12.0 innings pitched. Swarmer has struggled against the Indians, going 0-1 with an 11.12 ERA in two games. He has allowed seven earned runs on nine hits including two home runs in 5.2 innings against Indianapolis. Indy is hitting .391 against the righty, taking five walks compared to five strikeouts. Opposite of Swarmer will be James Marvel, set to make his 18th start of the year for Indianapolis. With one out today, Marvel will have completed 100 innings, coming in to the start with 99.2 innings completed. He is 4-6 with a 5.60 ERA on the year, going 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA in three starts against Iowa. Marvel has allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits over 15.0 innings against the I-Cubs, walking 10 batters and hitting three compared to striking out 12.

JUST ENOUGH: Brendon Little ran into a little bit of trouble for the second consecutive outing last night, surrendering a solo home run to make it a two-run game in the ninth inning. The game-tying run came to the plate, but Little was able to work out of trouble to earn his first save of his Triple-A career. The reliever last saved a game on August 18 this year with Double-A Tennessee, where he was 0-0 with a 3.09 ERA (8ER/23.1IP) in 13 games. Since joining Iowa's roster on August 20, Little is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five games, walking four batters compared to seven strikeouts. Three of his four walks came in his last outing against Indianapolis, when he took the loss on August 31.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Last night's starter Cory Abbott finally had a start in which he put all of the pieces together, earning the win over the Indianapolis Indians. Abbott has had some big numbers this year, including striking out 13 and 10 batters in separate starts this year. Unfortunately for the I-Cubs, none of those starts have turned into wins for the righty, having lost five games since his last win on May 13. That all changed last night, when Abbott spun six innings of two-run ball, allowing five hits and five walks while striking out nine batters. It marked his fifth start with nine or more strikeouts, including back-to-back games with nine on the dot. The quality start was his first since his very first game of the year on May 6 against the Indians, and his first win since May 13 against St. Paul.

HAD TO HAVE IT: Iowa scored nine runs as a team last night, their most since August 18 in an 11-7 win over St. Paul. Since that win on August 18, the I-Cubs were averaging 3.9 runs per game and held a record of just 3-11. Indianapolis helped them out, making three costly errors, but Iowa put together 11 hits, including five combined hits from the leadoff hitter, Johneshwy Fargas and the eight-hole hitter, Zach Davis.

FUN WHILE IT LASTED: Iowa's offense hit four solo home runs on August 27 against Omaha, but since have just two. The two home runs both came from Major League rehabber Willson Contreras, as the catcher hit another solo shot last night. Contreras caught all nine innings last night, going 1-for-5 with his solo home run hitting out of the two-hole. Iowa doubled twice and tripled once, but other than Contreras have had trouble getting the ball out of the park. Now that Contreras' rehab stint has ended, Iowa will have to find power from another bat in the lineup to keep the scoring going.

GETTING BACK IN A RHYTHM: Tyler Ladendorf played in his seventh game since coming back from the injured list on August 24. Before the third baseman hit the injured list on July 23, he was hitting .333 in the month of July, going 14-for-42 with three doubles, two home runs and nine runs batted in. In his first five games since rejoining the team, Ladendorf went 0-for-11 with one walk and five strikeouts, but has started to look more comfortable at the plate in his last two games. On Wednesday, he went 2-for-4, collecting his first two hits since July 21 against Columbus. Despite striking out twice last night, he still came through with a big RBI double as a part of Iowa's five-run frame.

KEEP IT GOING: Jared Young boosted his average to .292 in his 20th game with Iowa on Thursday, 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 Thursday'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 on Thursday, and was the only player in the lineup with a multi-hit game.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: With their win last night, Iowa moved to 12-10 on the year against Indianapolis, the only team they have played this year that they have a winning record against. They are now 6-4 when the two teams play at Victory Field, and 6-6 at Principal Park. The I-Cubs will look to earn at least a series split with a win tonight, with the series currently tied at two games apiece.

A GOOD SIGN: Trayce Thompson took a pinch-hit walk on Thursday, just the second walk he had taken in his last 11 games and 39 plate appearances up to that point. A walk may not seem like much, but when you are 1-for-13 with nine strikeouts in your last 13 at-bats, a walk can mean everything. It shows you are seeing the ball better, which Thompson proved again in last night's game. He went just 1-for-5, but struck out just once, while driving in two runs. He now leads the team with 50 RBI on the season, 10 more than any other player on the active roster.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa got their fifth win on the road and 10th overall on a Friday night, moving to 10-8 on the season on Fridays; 10 wins marks the most Iowa has on any day this year...the I-Cubs moved to 6-29 when their opponent has 10 or more hits with the win last night...despite scoring nine runs last night, Iowa left a lot on the table, going 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving eight men on-base.

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