June 12 Game Notes - Iowa at Fresno

Iowa Cubs (35-30) @ Fresno Grizzlies (32-32)
Wednesday, June 12 • 9:05 PM • Chukchansi Park • Fresno, CA
RHP Trevor Clifton (1-5, 4.04) vs. RHP Joe Ross (0-0, 3.86)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa begins a seven-game road trip, its longest in the month of June with game one tonight against Fresno. Starter Trevor Clifton will look to get his first win since May 1 against San Antonio.
WATCH IT FLY: Iowa has allowed the fourth-fewest home runs in the PCL with 78, but is still on pace for 168 on the season, a mark that would stand as the second-most in franchise history. The 1996 squad holds the record with 170 allowed. Matt Swarmer (15) and Alec Mills (11) have already set career highs in homers allowed. Iowa kept Albuquerque from going deep on Monday to snap a streak of nine-consecutive games with at least one home run allowed. 
CLIFTON'S STRUGGLES: Iowa takes the field behind starter Trevor Clifton tonight for the 10th time this season. In 11 appearances, Clifton is 1-4 with a 4.04 ERA. The righty's last win came on May 1 when he threw 5.0 innings allowing just two runs on two hits while striking out eight against the San Antonio Missions. Since that win, Clifton has made six starts, going 0-5 in those starts. Over that span, he has allowed 17 earned runs on 31 hits, walked 12 while only striking out 22 to the tune of a 5.96 ERA. The righty has allowed at least one home run in his last four starts and six in his last six starts compared to allowing just one long-ball in his first five starts of the season.
TEAM LEADER: Outfielder Ian Happ is heating up over his last three games, batting .400 over that stretch with a double, two home runs and five runs batted in. His recent home runs put him in the team lead with 11 and also moved him into the lead for RBI on the I-Cubs with 37. In that three-game stretch, Happ also drew five walks and only struck out once. These five walks put him tied for the league lead with 40 free passes on the year. He surpassed both teammates Phillip Evans who has drawn 38 walks -- good enough for third in the PCL -- as well as Dixon Machado who recently came off a two-week stint on the injured list and is still eighth in the league with 35 free passes. 
AGAINST FRESNO: Tonight's game marks the first of a three-game set against the Grizzlies, the only series of the year between the two teams. Last year at Chukchansi Park, Iowa was swept in the only meeting of the year against Fresno. The last time the I-Cubs won a game against the Grizzlies on the road dates back to August 15, 2016.
STREAKING:Jim Adduci extended his hitting streak to a season-best nine games with a 2-for-4 performance last Monday against the Isotopes. Through this stretch, Adduci is batting .400 (11-for-27) with four home runs and 14 RBI. 
JUNE GLOOM: After the best start in the team's PCL era in May, they are on the opposite trend in the month of June. Iowa is 2-7 so far in the month of June, but is being outscored just 57-49 due in large part to their 13-run offensive explosion on Monday against Albuquerque. The pitching staff has struggled, allowing at least five runs in seven of the nine games in June and is holding a 5.23 ERA for the month. Iowa is behind its 2018 pace in the month as the team started 3-7 in June. 
POWER SURGE: Robel Garcia is having himself a career year. The utility infielder never had more than six home runs in a single season. He had five in 2013 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in his last season in affiliated baseball previous to the 2019 campaign. After starting the year with Double-A Tennessee, Garcia got called up to Iowa on May 9. Although he hasn't played a game with the Smokies since May 8, he still leads the team with six home runs. He also leads all Cubs minor league affiliates with 16 combined home runs on the year, tying Javier Baez and one behind Anthony Rizzo for the organizational lead. Garcia has 10 home runs in just 31 games with the I-Cubs, one behind Ian Happ with the team-leading 11. 
SHORT HOPS:Jacob Hannemann hit two home runs Monday for just the second time in his career, the last on June 23, 2016 with Double-A Tennessee.