June 25 Game Notes - Iowa vs. Omaha

Iowa Cubs (42-35) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (37-40)
Tuesday, June 25 • 7:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA
RHP Matt Swarmer (4-7, 5.96) vs. RHP Arnaldo Hernandez (1-4, 8.79)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa welcomes the I-80 rivals, the Omaha Storm Chasers into town for the final four games of the season series between the two teams. The I-Cubs are looking for their first win at Principal Park in the matchup after being swept in a four-game set on May 11-14.
NOBLE ROBEL:Robel Garcia hit another home run in yesterday's game against Round Rock, giving him 13 on the year with Iowa. 13 home runs puts him just two behind the team-leader Trent Giambrone with 29 fewer games played for Iowa. Garcia also hit six home runs for Double-A Tennessee before joining Iowa, giving him 19 total on the year. Since joining the I-Cubs, Garcia is hitting at a .294 clip (45-153) with eight doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 29 runs batted in. He leads the team with at least 10 at-bats with a .614 slugging percentage.
TURN IT AROUND: Although this series is in late June, it could be one that is remembered towards the end of the season heading into playoffs. This four-game set is the last time Iowa and Omaha meet, with Iowa currently holding a five-game lead in the division. The I-Cubs are going to have to turn around a couple of statistics if they want to extend their lead even more on the Storm Chasers. First off, the team is 0-3 on Tuesday games at home. Secondly, Iowa is 0-4 against Omaha at Principal Park. Iowa has won just five out of their last 23 home games.
STREAKING NO MORE: After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday afternoon's game, Jim Adduci's hitting streak came to an end at 19 games. Adduci is tied with Memphis' Rangel Ravelo for the longest streak in the PCL this season. From May 20th to June 24th, Iowa's first baseman hit .367 (29-for-79) with seven doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI and four free passes while striking out 17 times. Over this stretch, Adduci raised his average over 50 points, from .237 to .290.
GET ON BASE: Since being optioned to Triple-A on May 25th, Mark Zagunis has been an on-base machine. In 18 games, the outfielder is hitting .324 (22-for-68) with 10 doubles, one home run, and 11 runs batted in. Adding seven walks, Zagunis has an on-base percentage of .387. He has reached base in all 18 games as an I-Cub by way of the base-hit in all but three of those games.
AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa leads the season series over Omaha by a record of 7-5 entering the final four-game set against the Storm Chasers of the 2019 campaign. The I-Cubs have played great baseball at Werner Park, going 7-1 and outscoring the Storm Chasers 45-20 in those eight games. However, at Principal Park, Omaha swept Iowa in a four-game set outscoring the I-Cubs 28-11 in those four games. Coming into the series, Iowa leads the second place Storm Chasers by five games in the American Northern division.
TALE OF TWO STORIES: Iowa is 9-11 in the month of June while scoring the exact same amount of runs as their opponent, each at 111. The I-Cubs in the month of June has the second-best ERA in the PCL of 4.48. They have allowed 94 earned runs, and 33 home runs while walking 74 batters and striking out 192. With just six games left in the month, this is their lowest ERA for any month this year, they are one strikeout away from tying their April total, and have given up 23 less free passes than any other month. The hitting, however, is the second-worst in the league for the month of June. They are hitting .250 with 39 doubles, 36 home runs, 109 runs batted in with 70 walks and the third most strikeouts in the league with 195.
BEATING THE STORM: Robel Garcia, Ian Happ, and Phillip Evans have seen great success against the Storm Chasers this season. Garcia is hitting .300 with two home runs and four RBI, Happ is hitting .270 in 37 at-bats with the same number of walks and strikeouts at 10. Happ also has two home runs and seven RBI against Omaha. Evans is hitting .289 (13-for-45) with four home runs, seven RBI along with seven free passes in 12 games. Tonight's starter Matt Swarmer will look to repeat his last two performances against Omaha as he has a 1-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in those two games. The righty has allowed three earned runs (two home runs) on just nine hits over 11.0 innings against the Storm Chasers. On the other side of the coin, Elier Hernandez, Erick Mejia, and Bubba Starling are all hitting over .300 against Iowa.
SHORT HOPS: Dakota Mekkes allowed an earned run for the first time since June 6 yesterday, snapping a streak of 5.1 innings pitched without allowing an earned run...59% (61/104) of the I-Cubs home runs this year have been solo shots.