Iowa Cubs (31-54) at Nashville Sounds (39-45)Friday, July 6 • 7:05 p.m. CT • First Tennessee Park • Nashville, TNRHP Duane Underwood Jr. (3-8, 4.42) vs. RHP Daniel Mengden (MLR)
Iowa Cubs (31-54) at Nashville Sounds (39-45)
Friday, July 6 • 7:05 p.m. CT • First Tennessee Park • Nashville, TN
RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (3-8, 4.42) vs. RHP Daniel Mengden (MLR)
TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Nashville meet for the third game of the set tonight. RHP Duane Underwood Jr. gets the baseball against rehabbing RHP Daniel Mengden. This is Underwood's second start since his major league debut with Chicago in which he spun 4.0 innings and allowed just one run against the Dodgers. Despite the big league success, the righty has struggled in recent outings with Iowa and is 4-0 with a 6.93 ERA (19ER/24.2IP) through his last five starts.
GO BIG OR GO HOME: Iowa put up a six-spot in the sixth last night on its way to a 7-1 victory over Nashville. Iowa has relied on the big inning lately, scoring four or more runs in a single frame in each of its last three games and going 2-1 in these contests. The I-Cubs have scored four-plus runs in an inning in 15 games and are 12-3 when doing so.
TEAM VOSLER:Jason Vosler went 0-for-4 in his Triple-A debut on June 25, but has hit safely in each game since to collect a 10-game hitting streak. A hit tonight would match Efren Navarro for the longest hitting streak for an I-Cub in 2018. Vosler is 12-for-39 (.308) over this stretch with one double, three homers and nine RBI. He has 15 strikeouts and has yet to draw a walk as an I-Cub.
OH TO BE YOUNG: Chesny Young tabbed his third multi-RBI game of the season last night with a career-high three runs knocked in. Young holds a career .297 minor league average, but has averaged just one RBI every three games throughout his career. His best RBI season came in 2015 when he knocked in 44 between Single-A South Bend and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach.
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE: Jacob Hannemann is making a comeback, notching back-to-back multi-hit games. The outfielder hit an extended hot streak, batting .336 (42-for-125) from April 30-June 14 but hit a skid, batting just .063 (3-for-48) from June 15-July 3. Hannemann is 4-for-7 with one double and three runs scored in this series.
AGAINST NASHVILLE: Iowa evened the season series 4-4 with a win last night. The I-Cubs have seen much more offensive success against Nashville in the last two games, batting .283 (21-for-74), compared to a .181 clip (35-for-193) through the first six meetings between the two teams. Bijan Rademacher leads the way with a .278 average (5-for-18) against the Sounds.
START ME UP:Alec Mills and Casey Coleman recorded back-to-back wins, marking just the second time this season Iowa starters have picked up the victory in consecutive games. The first occurrence was May 8-9 at Omaha with Michael Roth and Mills earning the wins. Iowa starters are 13-36 on the season with a 5.00 ERA and 18 quality starts.
STOKING THE COALS: Mark Zagunis matched a career high with four hits against Memphis Monday. It was the first time he's accumulated four hits since May 18, 2016 while he was with Double-A Tennessee. Adding a 2-for-4 game Tuesday, Zagunis is batting .412 (21-for-51) with a scorching .516 on-base percentage through his last 16 games. This hot streak follows a mini-slump for the outfielder in which he batted just .105 (4-for-38) with a .209 OBP through 12 games June 3-16.
PITCHING PROWESS: The Iowa pitching staff fanned 13 last night behind the nine-strikeout performance of Casey Coleman -- one shy of the season high for an Iowa pitcher. I-Cubs pitchers have whiffed double-digit batters 15 times this season with its season high of 14 coming on June 8 vs. El Paso. Alec Mills paces the I-Cubs with 77 strikeouts this season.
SHORT HOPS: Iowa improved to 8-37 when its opponent scores first...For the first time this season, Iowa has won back-to-back with by a margin of four or more runs...Dakota Mekkes recorded Iowa's last save on June 25 at New Orleans...The I-Cubs have only committed one error through their last seven games.
