August 9 Game Notes at New Orleans

TONIGHT'S GAME: The I-Cubs will look to build on their 9-3 season record against the Baby Cakes with RHP Luke Farrell (0-3, 4.37) on the mound. Farrell will be making his third start since being optioned back from Chicago on July 27. Farrell and the I-Cub offense will face RHP Sandy Alcantara, who was just optioned from Miami. He is 5-3 with a 3.71 ERA for the Baby Cakes and 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in one game with Miami. 

HEATING UP: Chris Coghlan notched his first four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, two doubles and an RBI Tuesday. This is his fifth multi-hit game of the season after joining the I-Cubs on July 1 (30G). Over his last five games, Coghlan is batting .294 (5-for-17) with three runs and an RBI. 

JASON BOSSLER: Over Iowa's last 10 games, Vosler is pacing the I-Cubs, alongside Stephen Bruno, with a .342 average (13-for-38), seven runs scored, a home run and eight RBI and is batting .421 in his last five games with two runs, a home run and five RBI. The third baseman's solo shot in Sunday's game marked his sixth long ball on the season with Iowa and 18th overall in 2018 between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa. Vosler now leads all Chicago farmhands in home runs. 

FREE PASS: Of the PCL's 16 teams, the New Orleans Baby Cakes rank third in BB/K rate at .51 (415BB/810K). Despite striking out 10 times in back-to-back games while walking four times in each, Iowa sits in the middle of the pack at a .38 K/BB rate (370BB/981K), tied with Omaha. Tacoma leads the PCL with a .62 rate (529BB/853K) with Fresno following at .52 (469BB/905K). 

BRILLIANT BRUNO: Stephen Bruno continued to produce at the top of the lineup, as he registered his eighth two-hit game of the season and 12th multi-hit performance. Over the homestand, Bruno went 9-for-26 (.346) with seven runs, two RBI, four walks and three strikeouts. With Chesny Young on the DL and David Bote with Chicago, Bruno has taken full advantage of his opportunity and has thrived batting higher in the order. During the season, Bruno is hitting .333 (33-for-99) while batting leadoff or second as opposed to batting .155 (16-for-103) in the rest of the spots in the lineup. 

AGAINST NEW ORLEANS: Iowa holds a 154-140 all-time advantage over New Orleans, with a 3-1 record at The Shrine on Airline in 2018. The I-Cubs enter tonight's game on a one-game winning streak against the Baby Cakes, with a 9-3 overall record in 2018. Of Iowa's seven series wins on the season, three of them have come against New Orleans (5/25-29, 6/25-28, 7/20-22). Five I-Cubs are batting .300 or better against New Orleans, including Stephen Bruno (.300, 3-10), Chris Coghlan (.300, 3-10), Mark Zagunis (.306, 11-36), Taylor Davis (.422, 19-45) and Ryan Court (.415, 17-41). 

HITS, HITS AND MORE HITS: Taylor Davis joins Stephen Bruno as the only other I-Cub bat to collect a multi-hit day on Tuesday. With his double and single, Davis now paces Iowa in multi-hit games at 24, with Zagunis close behind at 23. The backstop has gone 7-for-24 in his last nine games, with two runs, a home run and five RBI. 

HITTING THE MARK: Over his last 14 games, Mark Zagunis has gone 16-for-49 for a .327 average -- driving in nine and swiping three bags along the way. While he ended his six-game hitting streak on Tuesday, he managed to continue to get on base with a walk, later scoring one of Iowa's six runs in the game. Zagunis continues to pace the I-Cubs in OBP at .392 -- good for 10th in the PCL.  

TOTAL DOMINANCE: Over 48 at-bats, Luke Farrell is holding lefties to a stingy .167 batting average, allowing just eight hits and two runs with seven walks and 17 strikeouts. Leadoff hits have been where he gets tagged the most, surrendering nine hits over 32 at-bats. Otherwise, the righty has been able to hold opposing offenses to just a .180 average with runners on, and a .100 opposing batting average with runners in scoring position. 

SHORT HOPS: Over the last 12 games, Stephen Bruno, Ryan Court and Jason Vosler have played second, short and third, respectively...Despite out-hitting Las Vegas 12 to 11, Iowa dropped its 23rd game when out-hitting an opponent and is now 19-16 when collecting 10 or more hits.