June 19 Game Notes at Tacoma

Iowa Cubs (25-43) at Tacoma Rainiers (37-34)
Tueday, June 19 • 8:05 p.m. CT • Cheney Stadium • Tacoma, WA
RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (3-6, 4.50) Jr. vs. RHP Mike Morin (2-1, 3.24)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa will throw RHP Duane Underwood (3-6, 4.50) against Tacoma as the I-Cubs try to avoid a four-game sweep. The last time the I-Cubs were swept in Tacoma happened in May of 2016. Overall, the I-Cubs were last swept April 25-29 at Oklahoma City. 
FIRST INNING WOES: Duane Underwood will take the ball for the Iowa Cubs tonight making his 13th start of the season. Underwood has been solid this year, but his issues have come in the first inning. The right hander has compiled a 15.75 ERA and surrendered 21 earned runs in the first inning alone. Aside from his first inning problems, he has just given up 12 earned runs in 53.0 innings of work equaling a 2.00 ERA. 
SLOWELY BUT SURLEY: Mark Zagunis recorded three hits in last night's game, which is his 13th multi-hit game of the season. Zagunis has struggled at the plate in June batting .204 and tallying an eight-game hitless streak. However, Zagunis is slowly climbing out of the hole batting .278 in his last five games.
OVER THEIR LAST 10: The I-Cubs are now 2-8 in their last 10 games after last night's loss to Tacoma. Over this time frame, the team is hitting .231 and the team ERA is up to 7.00. David Bote has been one of the bright spots over this span of games, going 12-for-37 (.324) with three home runs and eight RBI. 
ROSTER ROTATION The Iowa Cubs made several roster moves yesterday. LHP Rob Zastryzny was called up to Chicago to take the place of LHP Brian Duensing, who was placed on the bereavement list. While with Iowa, Zastryzny posted a 3.97 ERA in 34.0 innings pitched. INF Stephen Bruno was placed on DL and Iowa has activated INF Ryan Court. Court was seeing the ball well, batting .392 (11-for-28) in his last 10 games before his DL stint. 
AGAINST TACOMA: Tonight, Iowa is trying to avoid being swept by Tacoma for the third time in the team's history. The last time the I-Cubs were swept by Tacoma was in May of 2016. Iowa featured big league players Willson Contreras, Albert Almora Jr., Carl Edwards Jr. and now Tacoma Rainiers players John Andreoli and Dan Vogelbach in that 2016 series. 
DON'T WALK THIS WAY: The Iowa Cubs did not record a walk in last night's contest. The team hasn't been able to register a walk in six different games this season. 
ON THIS DATE IN IOWA HISTORY...Cubs third baseman and then top prospect, Kris Bryant, was promoted to Iowa in just his second professional season in 2014. In his I-Cubs debut, Bryant homered for his first Triple-A hit. 
IN THE "L" COLUMN: Iowa is just one loss behind pace for the fewest wins in club history at the 68 game mark. The 1981 squad holds the record with a 24-44 clip. Iowa has lost five in a row for the second time in 2018, the first coming as part of an eight-game losing streak April 21-29.
HOME RUN HAPPY: Iowa has launched seven homers in its last five games after hitting just three through 16 games prior. David Bote leads the team with 11 homers and is nearing his career high of 14 set in 2017 with Double-A Tennessee. 
RUN PRODUCTION: The I-Cubs were held to two runs last night, marking the 23rd time this season that they have scored two or fewer runs. They are 2-21 in these games. 
Short Hops: With last night's loss, the I-Cubs have now dropped 20 night games on the road… The I-Cubs have a team 6.45 ERA through 16 games played in the month of June...Iowa enters tonight 1-6 when playing on Tuesday.