Iowa Cubs (31-58) vs. Nashville Sounds (43-45)Friday, July 13 • 1:08/7:08 p.m. CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IARHP Casey Coleman (1-0, 1.50) vs. LHP Dean Kiekhefer (5-0, 4.43)RHP Eddie Butler (0-2, 15.19) vs. RHP Daniel Mengden (1-0, 0.00)
Iowa Cubs (31-58) vs. Nashville Sounds (43-45)
Friday, July 13 • 1:08/7:08 p.m. CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA
RHP Casey Coleman (1-0, 1.50) vs. LHP Dean Kiekhefer (5-0, 4.43)
RHP Eddie Butler (0-2, 15.19) vs. RHP Daniel Mengden (1-0, 0.00)
TODAY'S GAMES: Coming off the All-Star break, Iowa and Nashville meet again for a five-game set. The series includes a day/night doubleheader on Friday, with both games as 7.0 inning contests. Casey Coleman will take the bump for Iowa in Game 1, squaring off against LHP Dean Kiekhefer. Coleman is coming off his first appearance in affiliated baseball since July 5, 2017, while earning his first win since June 24, 2017 with Fresno. His nine K's on the night matched his career high--the third nine strikeout performance of his pro career. Rehabbers RHP Eddie Butler and RHP Daniel Mengden will face each other in Game 2.
DOUBLE-DIPPING: Iowa is currently in a 10-way tie in the PCL for double-header records with a .500 winning percentage. The I-Cubs trail Colorado Springs and Round Rock at 5-5 and 4-4, respectively, in most doubleheaders, and are currently in a three-way tie for third at a 3-3 record with New Orleans and Fresno. League-leading Memphis holds the best record, with a 5-1 mark, while Sacramento is the only other club with a winning record, at 3-2.
NEW MANAGER IN TOWN: Skipper Marty Pevey will hand the reigns over to hitting coach Chris Valaika for the series as Pevey takes the series off. Valaika has already managed the I-Cubs during six games in lieu of Pevey's ejections, with the most recent being on July 2.
STRONG AND STEADY: Jason Vosler went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 14 games (17-for-56, .304) -- the longest hitting streak for an I-Cub this season. Vosler adds three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI to this line. Vosler is one of 16 PCL players to have 14+ game hitting streaks this season and has the second-longest active streak among active PCL players behind Round Rock's Willie Calhoun (16G). Albuquerque's Daniel Castro claims the league's longest hitting streak of 2018 with 24 games.
K-CORNER: As a team, the I-Cubs combined to K 13 times in last night's game, propelling them into the top five PCL clubs in whiffs. The first four I-Cubs in the lineup registered multi-strikeout nights. Across the lines, Nashville is one of the four teams ahead of Iowa in the K category, tied at third with Las Vegas at 799 strikeouts after the I-Cubs struck out 12 Sounds on Thursday. In total, only Bijan Rademacher (1-for-2) and Jorge Mateo (2-for-4) avoided a strikeout in last night's game.
AGAINST NASHVILLE: Nashville holds an 8-4 edge in the season series and is 3-1 at Principal Park. It's been a pitchers duel in each meeting, as Iowa holds a 3.31 ERA against Nashville's stingy 2.78 ERA. In 11 games, Taylor Davis leads Iowa's offensive production against Nashville. The catcher has put together a 10-for-34 (.294) performance, scoring three runs, with a double, four RBI and eight walks--including a 2-for-4 game on Thursday, with a run, double and two RBI.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS: The Iowa Cubs have sent 15 promotions to the Chicago Cubs, with David Bote, Duane Underwood Jr., Justin Hancock and James Norwood all making their Major League debuts this season. Back on the farm, 13 prospects have made their way up to Des Moines thus far, with the second-half of the season bringing Tennessee Smokies Jason Vosler, Craig Brooks, Norwood and Trey Martin. In total, 10 Iowa Cubs have made their Triple-A debuts leading up to the All-Star break; and while it is less than two months until turning the page on 2018, it is just the beginning of talent yet to make its way through Principal Park.
ROSTER ROTATION: Chris Gimenez returns to the I-Cubs for the first time since May 25. The catcher appeared in 12 games for Chicago, going 4-for-28 with one run scored, one RBI, seven strikeouts and a stolen base. 2018 marks his 12th season of professional baseball. Ali Solis will head to the DL, as Chicago promotes catcher Will Remillard to Iowa. Remillard received his first callup to Triple-A after spending this season with Double-A Tennessee. In 14 games, Remillard batted .304 (14-for-46) with four runs, three doubles, a home run, RBI, two walks and 15 strikeouts.
MAKING A COMEBACK: Chris Coghlan's 3-for-5 night was his first multi-hit contest of the season, scoring a team-leading two runs with an RBI off his first homer of the season. It was Coghlan's first homer since May 1, 2017 while with Toronto. After going 0-for-11 through his first four games with Iowa, Coghlan has hit safely in four-straight games (6-for-18, .333).
SHORT HOPS: The I-Cubs continue to pace the PCL in losses while trailing opponents after 5.0, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 innings...and are the only team with 50+ losses when trailing after 7.0...conversely, Iowa (22-0) is tied with Omaha (33-0) and Tacoma (45-0) for an undefeated record when leading after 8.0 innings...Kyle Ryan had given up just five earned runs through 28.0 relief innings prior to last night.
