Game Notes - 5.18.17 @ LV

Iowa Cubs (17-21) at Las Vegas 51s (16-24)
RHP Seth Frankoff (0-1, 3.56) vs. LHP Josh Smoker (0-0, 0.00)
9:05 pm CT | Cashman Field | Las Vegas, NV

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Las Vegas play game the final game of a four-game set at Cashman Field tonight. The I-Cubs won last night 5-4, handing Las Vegas its' sixth loss in the team's last seven games. Iowa has now won two games in a row for the the first time since May 4-5.
FRANK-LY ASTOUNDING: Tonight's starter for Iowa Seth Frankoff is having one of the best season of his career. Through five starts and two relief appearances, Frankoff holds a 3.56 ERA over 30.1IP. Frankoff is also second in the PCL with a WHIP of 0.92 behind only Tacoma's Ryan Weber (0.76). Frankoff is also leading the league in opponent's batting average at .170. Weber is second behind Frankoff at .180. 
KELLY HERE TO STAY: Right-hander Casey Kelly made his season-debut for Iowa after joining the team from Extended Spring Training. Kelly went 5.0 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, one walk all while striking out six. Kelly signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs in the offseason. The former first-round draft pick of the Red Sox is looking to get his career back on track after bouncing around through Boston, San Diego and Atlanta's systems. Last season Kelly posted his lowest ERA (3.53) for the Gwinnett Braves since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013.
MOVING ON UP (ISH): Iowa has spent the majority of the season in the lower-half of the PCL when it comes to batting average. As a team, Iowa is hitting .305 since the beginning of May, good for second-best in the PCL behind Reno. Iowa hit only .245 in April, tied for worst in the league with Oklahoma City in that time. The I-Cubs are now hitting .270 as a team, putting them right in the middle of the PCL. Iowa, however, ranks second-to-last in the league in ERA at 5.86, only ahead of Fresno. The team ERA dropped from 5.46 in April to 6.44 in May.
TEN FOUR: Iowa has at least 10 hits in each of its last four games. It's the first time all season that the offense has tallied four straight double-digit hit games. Iowa had 10 or more hits in four consecutive games on three occasions last season, with the most recent occurrence coming on August 12-15 at Fresno. If Iowa tallies 10 or more hits its next game, Iowa will have 10+ hits in five consecutive games for the first time since July 30 - August 3, 2015 at Nashville (7/30-7/31) and Colorado Springs (8/1-8/3).
AGAINST LAS VEGAS: Iowa went 1-3 against the 51s in Des Moines in 2016, getting out-scored 16-22. The I-Cubs were held to a .207 (25-for-121) batting average with seven extra-base hits. Three of the four pitchers who claimed a decision for Iowa last season remain on the roster with Jake Buchanan taking the only win and Félix Peña, Rob Zastryzny and Pierce Johnson getting losses. Las Vegas has taken six of the last nine meetings between the two teams and the series currently sits at a 47-46 Iowa advantage after Wednesday night's win.
IOWA FIVE-O: The I-Cubs jumped out to another early 5-0 lead on Wednesday, scoring three runs in the second inning and two in the third. It's the third time in Iowa's last four games that the team has led 5-0. Despite giving up the lead in those first two contests on May 14 at Salt Lake and May 16 at Las Vegas, the I-Cubs are 3-0 in those games.
23 CARAT MAGIC: 23-year-old catcher Victor Caratini has found his mojo, hitting .387 (36-for-93) since April 17. With last night's 3-for-5 performance, the catcher has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games (19-for-42, .452) and leads the Cubs farm system with 27 RBI. He has 14 multi-hit games on the season. He also has the sixth-best average in the PCL (.358).
SAVIN' DAVID ROLLINS: Left-hander David Rollins got the save last night, coming into the game with one out in the ninth. He faced two batters and got both of them out, registering his second save of the season. After Justin Grimm's save on Tuesday, Rollins and Grimm are the first pair of relievers to record saves in back-to-back games since the trio of Felix Pena, Rob Zastryzny and Rollins recorded saves in the first three games of the season.
DON'T DOUBT DAVIS:Taylor Davis has recorded multiple hits in back-to-back games for the first time this season. In 30 games this season, Davis has hit safely in 23 of them. Davis has also reached base safely in 29 of 30 games this season and has reached in every game dating back to August 10, 2016 with the exception of May 2.
SHORT HOPS: Iowa is looking for its first three-game win streak since the start of the season when they started 3-0... David Rollins recorded his first scoreless outing last night since May 5 at New Orleans. Since that date, span Rollins has given up 15 earned runs...Taylor Davis notched his first three-hit game of the season last night.