IOWA CUBS (11-22) vs. COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (14-20)
Sunday, June 13, 2021 • 1:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA
RHP Cory Abbott (1-3, 6.39) vs. RHP Matt Koch (1-2, 6.89)
IOWA CUBS (11-22) vs. COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (14-20)
Sunday, June 13, 2021 • 1:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA
RHP Cory Abbott (1-3, 6.39) vs. RHP Matt Koch (1-2, 6.89)
TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and Columbus matchup in the series finale of their six-game series today. Righty Cory Abbott will take the ball for Iowa, fresh off of his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs. In five starts with the I-Cubs this year, Abbott is 1-3 with a 6.39 ERA. Abbott will face Matt Koch, making his fourth start for the Clippers this season. It'll be his third appearance against Iowa this series after appearing twice out of the bullpen earlier this week. He pitched 1.1 innings in those two games and gave up one unearned run on two hits.
STAY HOT: Dakota Mekkes entered last night’s game in the sixth inning, with Iowa trailing 6-1. Despite not being in a really intense situation, he still came out and took care of his business, throwing two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out one, bringing his total strikeouts on the year with Iowa to 17 compared to just six walks. His scoreless outing extended his scoreless innings streak to 11 innings without allowing a run, dating back to May 28. Over that stretch, the righty has pitched in five games, allowing six hits, three walks and striking out 10. Opponents are hitting just .162 in 37 at-bats against him, and have hit just one extra-base hit: a double. With the I-Cubs this year, Mekkes has a 1.47 ERA (3 ER/18.1 IP) in nine games.
LONG BALL STRIKES AGAIN: Adrian Sampson battled through five innings in last night’s game against the Clippers, an eventual 7-1 loss for Iowa. Sampson threw five innings, allowing six runs on six hits while walking three and striking out five. The big thing that hurt the righty once again, was surrendering the home run ball. He gave up two more homers last night, bringing his total to 10 over six appearances with the I-Cubs this year. The righty has given up a season-high four home runs twice this year, also tying his career high that he had only done twice before this year. 10 of his 33 hits allowed this year have left the yard, good for one in every 3.3 hits. In the three games he has allowed a home run, they have accounted for 13 of the 16, or 81% of the runs scored against him. Eight of the 10 have been solo home runs.
NOT MESSING AROUND: Last night, Justin Garza entered the game for Columbus in the eighth inning, pitching with a 7-1 lead. He did exactly what you are supposed to do as a pitcher in that situation, by coming in and throwing strikes. Garza struck out five of the six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings, closing out the game for the Clippers with two perfect frames. In 10 games this year, the righty reliever has registered 24 strikeouts compared to just one earned run over 18.0 innings pitched.
HE’S BACK: Cory Abbott was recalled on June 5 by Chicago, and made his major league debut that day against the San Francisco Giants. The righty spun two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing one hit while walking one and striking one out. He pitched again two days later on June 7 against San Diego, throwing 1.1 innings. The Padres scored three runs (one earned) against Abbott on four hits including one home run. He was optioned back to Iowa the following day on June 8, and will make his first appearance for the I-Cubs since making his debut. In his last outing with Iowa on May 30 against St. Paul, Abbott struck out a career-high 13 batters through six innings of work. He has struck out five or more batters in every outing with the I-Cubs, but has also given up one home run in all but one outing, including allowing two long balls in each of his last two starts. Abbott will look to provide Iowa with a quality start to help get them their second win of the series and build momentum for when they face St. Paul next week.
LEADING THE LINEUP: Taylor Gushue went 1-for-4 last night and his one hit came in the first inning, when he knocked an RBI single into the outfield to score Abiatal Avelino. The RBI was Gushue’s 23 of the year, good for the team lead. The next closest to him is outfielder Trayce Thompson, who currently sits at 16 runs batted in. Gushue also leads the team in multi-RBI games with five, one ahead of Thompson. Ever since the calendar turned over to June, Gushue has been struggling at the plate, hitting .167 (6-for-36) with one home run, three runs batted in, two walks and 15 strikeouts.
AGAINST COLUMBUS: Iowa and Columbus are set to play the sixth and final game of the series today at Principal Park. With last night’s victory, Columbus secured the series win, as they have now won four of the five games already played. It marks just the second series the Clippers have won this year, after defeating Louisville 4-1 on the road in their first series of the year. For Iowa, the loss last night makes three straight series losses after winning two of their first three with a split in between them. After a six-run victory last night, Columbus has now outscored Iowa by eight runs this series, 34-26.
SHORT HOPS: Iowa is 3-17 in their last 20 games, falling 12.5 games out of first place in their division with an 11-22 record...the I-Cubs did not record a hit yesterday after Jacob Olson’s double in the fourth inning...Iowa only registered four total hits last night, with not one player having a multi-hit effort.
