June 1 Game Notes: Iowa @ Omaha

IOWA CUBS (9-13) @ OMAHA STORM CHASERS (16-7)

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 • 7:05 PM • Werner Park • Papillion, NE

RHP Adrian Sampson (0-0, 5.23) vs. RHP Ronald Bolaños (0-1, 3.52)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The I-Cubs look to break their season-long eight-game losing streak tonight against Omaha. Righty Adrian Sampson will take the ball for Iowa in his first start against the Storm Chasers. For Omaha, Ronald Bolaños toes the rubber looking for his first win of the year. His only loss came against Iowa back on May 21 when he surrendered four runs on three hits including five walks and five strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.

DIFFERENT ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM: Since Iowa and Omaha met on Saturday, May 22, the two teams have gone in completely opposite directions. Omaha won that game 7-1 over Iowa, and hasn’t looked back since. The Storm Chasers have won eight straight games, climbing into first in the division with a 16-7 record. On the other hand, Iowa hasn’t won since that game on May 22, dropping their last eight games. They have fallen to 9-13 and are 6.5 games out of the division lead, currently sitting in fifth place. Omaha is 10-2 at Werner Park this season, and Iowa is 3-3 on the road, set to start just their second series away from Principal Park this season.

NEXT-LEVEL STUFF: Five former Iowa Cubs played yesterday for Chicago and were all contributors in their 7-2 victory over San Diego. Kohl Stewart, who struck out 23 batters and owned a 3.68 ERA in four starts for Iowa, got the start for Chicago. He spun five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, one walk and struck out two Padres’ hitters. With the outing, Stewart got the win, his first major league win since July 21, 2019, as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Sergio Alcántara, Rafael Ortega, and Patrick Wisdom all registered hits yesterday for Chicago. Alcántara got a double in a pinch-hit at-bat, Ortega went 1-4 as the Cubs’ starting right fielder and Wisdom got the start at third. Wisdom went 3-for-4 with two runs, two home runs and two RBI. Tommy Nance closed out the game, tossing a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts. In seven games with Chicago this year, Nance has not allowed a run, surrendering just two hits and two walks compared to eight strikeouts. He holds a 0.60 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .091 against the righty.

WHERE’S THE MUSCLE?: Over their eight-game losing streak, Iowa has not had the same offensive power as their opponents, and it has made a big difference. In the two losses against Omaha that started the streak, the I-Cubs hit three doubles and two home runs, compared to five doubles, a triple and three home runs from the Storm Chasers. In their most recent series against St. Paul, Iowa didn’t hit a single long ball, while the Saints hit 11 of them. Besides home runs, Iowa matched St. Paul as the I-Cubs hit 12 doubles and one triple compared to St. Paul’s 11 doubles and one triple. However, the Saints’ 11 home runs accounted for 50% of their runs in the series, 21-of-42.

SIT ’EM DOWN: Iowa pitching struck out a season-high 19 batters in Sunday’s game against St. Paul. It marked their eighth straight game with double-digit strikeouts, and third straight with 14 or more. Cory Abbott, Iowa’s starter on Sunday, registered a career-high 13 strikeouts through his six innings of work. His previous career high was 12 strikeouts, back in 2019 as a member of Double-A Tennessee. It was the I-Cubs’ most strikeouts as a team since July 27, 2017, when they struck out 20 El Paso batters.

WRONG KIND OF HISTORY: After getting swept by St. Paul in their most recent series and suffering two losses to Omaha before the sweep, the I-Cubs have now lost a season-long eight straight games. Dating back to 2000, Iowa has lost eight straight games in seven different seasons, including three times in 2011. They lost nine in a row twice, in 2006 and 2013 and 10 in a row in 1996. Since then, Iowa’s longest losing streak came in the year 2000, when they lost 12 straight games from April 12-23. The 2000 I-Cubs held a 57-87 overall record, including going 14-25 in one-run games (3-13 on the road), going 4-66 when trailing after six innings, and holding a 6-17 record in the month of April. The 2021 I-Cubs finished the month of May at 9-13, with a 6-10 mark at Principal Park.

SOMETHING MISSING: Iowa lost a lot of key pieces to the Major League roster heading into the last series with St. Paul. P.J. Higgins, Nick Martini, Rafael Ortega, Sergio Alcántara and Patrick Wisdom all received call-ups in the past two weeks. Those five players plus Cameron Maybin, who was traded to the Mets, made up a big chunk of Iowa’s lineup - and an even bigger chunk of their offensive production. Before the St. Paul series, the six of them accounted for 44% (233/530) of the team’s at-bats, 44.9% (57/127) of their hits, 55.3% (47/85) of the team’s runs scored and 47.6% (39/82) of their RBI. They also hit 63.2% (12/19) of Iowa’s home runs and took 66.2% (45/68) of the team’s walks.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa is 3-2 against the Storm Chasers so far this season, all five games coming at Principal Park. In that series, the I-Cubs outscored Omaha by nine runs, 36-27, due in large part to a 16-1 victory in the second game of the series. In 2019, Iowa was 7-1 at Werner Park and will look to get back on track with a victory at the same field in tonight’s game.

DOING ALL HE CAN: Vance Vizcaino has been a much needed addition to the offense as they try to come out of their current slump. Since being assigned to Iowa on May 25, the outfielder is hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one double and three runs batted in. Vizcaino registered a hit in each of his first five games with Iowa, has walked twice and stolen a base. He started the year with Double-A Tennessee and hit .200 (9-for-45) with three home runs, six runs batted in and eight free passes in 14 games with the Smokies.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa’s eight-game losing skid is the longest current streak in all of Triple-A baseball...Iowa goes on the road for just the second time this season after splitting a six-game set with St. Paul in their first trip.