Iowa Cubs (37-63) at Fresno Grizzlies (58-42)Tuesday, July 24 • 9:05 p.m. CT • Chukchansi Park • Fresno, CARHP Duane Underwood Jr. (3-9, 4.49) vs. RHP Josh James (3-4, 3.51)
Iowa Cubs (37-63) at Fresno Grizzlies (58-42)
Tuesday, July 24 • 9:05 p.m. CT • Chukchansi Park • Fresno, CA
RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (3-9, 4.49) vs. RHP Josh James (3-4, 3.51)
TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Fresno meet for the first and only time of 2018. Iowa enters the series 6-4 over its last 10. RHP Duane Underwood Jr. will make his first start since July 6 after illness disrupted his throwing schedule.
HAVE A NIGHT: Ryan Court legged out a triple in the eighth inning Friday to complete the cycle. It was just the second cycle for an Iowa player in franchise history, and the first since Robin Jennings on Aug. 15, 1997 vs. Oklahoma City. It was the second cycle Principal Park has seen in 2018 as Memphis' Luke Voit completed the feat on June 30. Court's cycle was the sixth in the PCL this season.
COURT ORDERED: Ryan Court's hot streak propelled him to PCL Player of the Week honors, as announced by the league yesterday. Court hit .615 (16-for-26) the week of July 16-22 with two home runs and six RBI, while hitting for the cycle Friday. Court is the first I-Cub to win the award since Daniel Vogelbach on May 15, 2016. Jen-Ho Tseng was the last I-Cub to garner a PCL weekly award, winning Pitcher of the Week on Aug. 23, 2017.
WINNING: Alberto Baldonado took his fifth win of the season Sunday and has set a new career high in wins. His previous high was three, matched in 2010 (RK) and 2014 (SS).
SOMETHING'S GOING RIGHT: Ryan Court is riding a seventeen-game hitting streak, batting .483 (29-for-60) with a .523 on-base percentage throuhg the stretch. It is tied for the 10th-longest streak in the PCL in 2018 and is the third-longest active streak behind Colorado Spring's Mauricio Dubón (23 games) and Reno's Ildermaro Vargas (22 games).
TAKE A HIKE: Mark Zagunis continued his steady walk rate after drawing a free pass Sunday. The outfielder holds a healthy lead among I-Cubs with 50 walks, as Bijan Rademacher trails by 18 with 32 BBs. Zagunis ranks sixth in the PCL in walks as former I-Cub Daniel Vogelbach leads the catagory with 61.
AGAINST FRESNO: Iowa has taken each of the last three series against Fresno and seven of the last eight, only dropping the 2014 set in Fresno 1-3. In the 2017 matchup, Taylor Davis went 6-for-16 with four RBI. Jacob Hannemann was 4-for-12 with four walks for a .500 on-base percentage.
MILLS ON THE HILL:Alec Mills spun 6.2 innings in Sunday's game, allowing just one run to earn his team-leading eighth quality start of the season. Mills has last at least 6.0 innings in five of his last six starts.
ROSTER ROTATION: Today, the Chicago Cubs activated Eddie Butler off the disabled list after a successful rehab assignment with Iowa. Butler struggled in his first two outings, allowing a combined seven runs in 2.1 innings. He ended his stint with a start against Memphis in which he allowed two runs, one earned, through 5.0 frames. Butler had been on the DL since April 20 with a right groin strain.
SHORT HOPS: Ryan Court tabbed his 21st multi-hit game of the season Sunday. Of the 21, eight have come in his last 11 games...Trey Martin is 0-for-15 through his last seven games.
