IL Iowa Cubs

September 7 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Toledo

September 7, 2021 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (45-63) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (62-46)

Tuesday - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

LHP Luis Lugo (1-1, 4.80) vs. RHP Logan Shore (5-2, 3.83)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa will open a six-game series with Toledo tonight as they welcome the Mud Hens to Principal Park for the first time. The I-Cubs will send out Luis Lugo for his fourth start at Triple-A and his first against Toledo. He'll look to continue his recent success after allowing just one run in each of his last two starts, which lasted five and six innings respectively. He'll square off with Logan Shore, who will be making his eleventh start of the season for Toledo. Shore is 5-2 in 11 total outings for the Mud Hens and has pitched to a 3.83 ERA (21ER/49.1IP). He has allowed just one home run in 49.1 innings and has struck out 43 batters compared to 21 walks. Shore has not lost a game for the Mud Hens since June 8.

A LITTLE TROUBLE: After starting his I-Cubs tenure with a five-inning, three-outing scoreless streak, Brendon Little has now allowed three earned runs in his last three outings, which have lasted a combined two innings. The lefty has entered in a save situation in each of his last three outings, but converted only one of the opportunities. His first opportunity came in game one against Indianapolis on Tuesday, but he allowed two runs to score on a hit and three walks, blowing the save and earning his first loss at Triple-A. After earning the save in his next chance on Friday, he was credited with his second blown save of the series in game one of Sunday's doubleheader. He entered the game with the bases loaded, pitched to just two batters, and surrendered a hit and a walk - enough for Indianapolis to secure a walk-off win. With those three runs, Little has now allowed all five of the runners he has inherited with Iowa to score.

BETTER THAN EVER: Tonight's starter Luis Lugo has made three starts for Iowa so far this season, and each one has been better than the one before it. He made his I-Cubs debut on August 21 in St. Paul and struggled through four innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and a hit batter. His next go on August 26 was markedly better, however, as he pitched five complete innings and allowed only one run on three hits and two walks. His third and most recent start was even better yet; Lugo pitched six innings and allowed one run on only two hits against Indianapolis, enough to net him a quality start and his first Triple-A win. In his 17 appearances for Double-A Tennessee this season, including 12 starts, Lugo averaged just 3.1 innings per outing. So far with the I-Cubs, he has averaged five innings per outing, all of which have been starts.

HIGH QUALITY: With his 6.2 shutout innings against Indianapolis in game two of Sunday's doubleheader, Joe Biagini became the third Iowa starter to earn a win in September, just five games into the new month. Biagini is joined by Cory Abbott, who pitched six innings of two-run ball on Friday, and Luis Lugo, who pitched six innings of one-run ball on Wednesday. The three wins the rotation has been credited with in September already match their total from the entire month of August. That number is also just one shy of the I-Cubs' season high for wins by starters in a single month, set when the rotation took home four wins in both June and July. The starters haven't just been winning, however, they've been doing it in quality fashion; four out of Iowa's last seven games have included quality starts, including three out of six games in Indianapolis, which is the most quality starts in a single series for Iowa this season. The four quality starts came from four different pitchers - Biagini, Abbott, Lugo, and Matt Swarmer - meaning every member of the rotation besides Ryan Kellogg has made a quality start in one of their last two outings. Even when they haven't met the qualifications for a quality start, the starters have given Iowa a chance to win. Kellogg's four-run start on Thursday is the only game of Iowa's last seven where the starter allowed more than two runs, and Biagini's four-inning start last Tuesday is the only one of the seven where the starter did not complete five innings.

CHECK THE STANDINGS: Toledo and Iowa's seasons have gone in very different directions this year, with Toledo owning a one-game lead in first place of the Triple-A East Midwest division, and the I-Cubs 17.0 games behind them in last place of the division. The Mud Hens hold a 62-46 record with a winning percentage of .574, good for third in the Triple-A East. They are 38-16 when playing at their home field, and six games under .500 at 24-30 when playing on the road. Iowa on the other hand, is 45-63 overall, going 20-34 at home and 25-29 on the road. Toledo has a run differential of +89 compared to the I-Cubs, who have scored 41 less runs than they have allowed.

HEATING UP: Trent Giambrone had a stretch of six games from August 26-September 2 in which he hit just .056, going 1-for-18. His one hit was a double and he drove in one run, but had just one walk compared to four strikeouts over that span. Since then, he has had success in his last three games, hitting .444 (4-for-9) with a double, one RBI and three walks compared to two strikeouts. Over those three games, the infielder has an on-base percentage of .583. His partner in the middle infield, Abiatal Avelino is also trying to break out of a slump. After recording two hits in three consecutive games from August 20-22, Avelino hit just .061 (2-for-33) in his following 11 games. He recorded one double and three runs batted in, while walking nine times compared to six strikeouts, giving him an OBP of .262. He has walked five times compared to just one strikeout in his last four games, and in the second game of the doubleheader against Indianapolis on Sunday, broke out in a big way. The shortstop went 2-for-4 with a run scored, a double, home run and three runs batted in. It marked his first multi-hit game since his stretch of three straight ended on August 22.

OVER THE SLUMP: Taylor Gushue broke a 2-for-29 slump in a big way during game two of Sunday's doubleheader, going 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBI. The homer was the catcher's first since July 24 and only his third of the second half. Gushue spent the vast majority of the first two months of the season leading the I-Cubs in RBI and was hitting .270 (34-for-125) for Iowa on June 30, when he was promoted to Chicago for his MLB debut. Since returning to the I-Cubs on July 11, Gushue had hit just .149 (14-for-94) in 29 games leading up to Sunday's matchup, including a .069 average (2-for-29) in his last ten. He entered the game hitting .218 on the season, but with his four-hit performance in the books, Gushue boosted his average back to .232 (52-for-224).

AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa and Toledo are set to start a six-game series tonight at Principal Park, just the second series this year between the two teams. Tonight marks the first time since at least 1998 that Toledo, or any affiliate of the Detroit Tigers will play a game at Principal Park. The last time the two teams met back on July 13-18, the Mud Hens took four of the six games, out-scoring the I-Cubs by three runs, 20-17. Just 13 players (eight fielders and five pitchers) that were on Iowa's roster for the first series are still on the current roster. Both teams totaled five home runs in the first series and Iowa hit .238 compared to .186 for Toledo.

SMALL SAMPLE SIZE: The I-Cubs and Mud Hens have played just six games against each other this year, leading to limited exposure between the pitchers and hitters. In five games against Toledo last series, Nick Martini hit .444 (8-for-18), followed by Abiatal Avelino (.353), Ian Miller (.333) and Tyler Ladendorf (.300). On the other side, both Joe Biagini (5.0 IP) and Matt Swarmer (5.2 IP) did not allow earned runs in their starts, allowing just five total combined hits.

SHORT HOPS: Ian Miller's triple in game one on Sunday gave him the team lead with four on the season... the I-Cubs are 3-0 when Johneshwy Fargas starts in center field and 2-0 when he hits in the leadoff spot... the I-Cubs rank 27th out 30 Triple-A teams with 98 home runs hit and 5th out of 30 with 157 home runs allowed.

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