Iowa Cubs (34-60) at Memphis Redbirds (60-35)Tuesday, July 17 • 7:05 p.m. CT • AutoZone Park • Memphis, TNRHP Alec Mills (4-9, 5.06) vs. LHP Austin Gomber (6-3, 3.69)
Iowa Cubs (34-60) at Memphis Redbirds (60-35)
Tuesday, July 17 • 7:05 p.m. CT • AutoZone Park • Memphis, TN
RHP Alec Mills (4-9, 5.06) vs. LHP Austin Gomber (6-3, 3.69)
TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs will send Alec Mills (4-9, 5.06) to the hill to throw against Austin Gomber (6-3, 3.69). Tonight will be the second time Mills and Gomber have dueled against each other. Gomber was able to seal the victory for Memphis striking out 16 I-Cubs in eight innings of work on April 23.
FIRE IN THE COURTROOM: Ryan Court has increased his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games after going 2-for-4 last night. During his hitting streak, Court is batting .405 (15-for-37) with four doubles and five RBI. The bat has heated up for Court in the height of summer. Since May 21, he is batting .321 (37-for-115) with 20 RBI through 35 games after hitting .184 (23-for-125) through his first 35 games with Iowa.
JASON BOSS-LER: INF Jason Vosler hit his fifth home run as an I-Cub in last night's game off MLB rehabber Luke Weaver. Through 20 games played with Iowa this year, Vosler is now just two long balls shy of being the active team leader in home runs. Vosler also averages an RBI per each contest with 20 RBI in 20 games played with Iowa. Jason Vosler's 13 July RBI are tied for the sixth-most in the PCL in the month. With his 17 overall homers this season, he is the current leader in home runs across all the Cubs farm system.
SWIPING A BAG: The Iowa Cubs were able to steal two bases in last night's loss to Memphis. The I-Cubs have stolen 11 bases since coming back from the All-Star break on July 12 and have stolen at least one base in every game since July 6. The team has 64 stolen bases on the year and sits in the middle of the pack in this category in the PCL.
FLEX SPOT: Ten I-Cub arms have made their way up to Chicago this season; including, today's starter, Luke Farrell, RHP's Anthony Bass, Justin Hancock, Dillon Maples, Cory Mazzoni, James Norwood, Jen-Ho Tseng, Duane Underwood and LHP's Randy Rosario and Rob Zastryzny. Over a combined 83 games at the big-league level, the group has thrown 107.0 innings en-route to a 2.97 ERA. Rosario leads the way in the win column at four victories, while Farrell is just one shy of the mark. The staff has combined for a 9-5 win/loss record-- starting three games and finishing 25. Farrell paces the group with 37 Ks compared to his 11 walks, adding to a group 1.81 K/BB (98K/54BB). Anthony Bass has only walked one batter to his 14 strikeouts while pitching for the Cubs.
AGAINST MEMPHIS: Iowa's record against Memphis has fallen to 1-12 after dropping their ninth-straight game to them last night. Last night's loss has tied the most losses in a season to Memphis (12), a record that was set in 2014. Iowa is also well past their longest losing streak to Memphis (7 games) which dates back to 2003. Mark Zagunis leads Iowa's offense at a scorching .417 (15-for-36) clip. Over 12 games, Zagunis has scored seven runs and hit five doubles, a home run and seven RBI vs. Memphis.
COLD START: The two new Iowa Cubs Chris Coghlan and Trey Martin are off to a slow start with their new team. Coghlan, who has spent time at the major league level, is only batting .146 and has struck out 13 times in 12 games played. Like Coghlan, Martin hasn't swung a hot bat and is only batting .200 throughout 12 games played with Iowa. Martin started off his Iowa career with a pair of multi-hit games, but is only 1-for-16 at the plate in his last five games.
GO BIG OR GO HOME: Last night's five-run eighth for the Redbirds was enough to topple Iowa. It was the sixth time this season Iowa has allowed five or more runs in a single frame with the team losing all six of these games. On the flip side, the I-Cubs have posted five or more runs in an inning seven times and are 6-1 in these games.
TWO-FER: Two runs or fewer runs have decided each of Iowa's last five games with Iowa going 3-2. This season, two or fewer runs have decided 53 of Iowa's games with Iowa going 21-32.
COMFORT ON THE ROAD:Taylor Davis enters tonight with an 18-game road on-base streak dating back to May 22. The catcher is batting .355 (22-for-62) in enemy territory over this stretch and boasts a .452 on-base percentage as he adds 10 walks. Davis has doubled five times and has eight RBI.
SHORT HOPS: Even though the I-Cubs have homered in 36 games this season, they just hold a 17-19 record when they hit a long ball…Jason Vosler has been able to tally a hit in 17 of 20 games played with Iowa this season… After adding two more hits in last night's game, Chesny Young is now tied with Mark Zagunis for the second most multi-hit games (19) on the season. The two just sit behind Taylor Davis with 21.
