June 26 Game Notes: Iowa @ Louisville

IOWA CUBS (33-37) @ LOUISVILLE BATS (26-44)

Sunday, June 26, 2022 • 12:05 PM CT • Louisville Slugger Field • Louisville, KY

RHP Caleb Kilian (2-0, 2.51) vs. RHP Deck McGuire (0-2, 6.08)

TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and Louisville will meet for the series finale today, with Caleb Kilian taking the ball for Iowa. Kilian is set to make his first start with Iowa since June 10, when he threw 2.3 innings of three-run ball. The right-hander has been in the big leagues for each of his last two starts, suffering losses to the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed five earned runs in each of those two starts, walking five batters in each as well. He has not walked more than two batters in any start with Iowa entering today’s game. On the other side, Deck McGuire is set to make his second start of the series for Louisville. In his first start on Tuesday, Iowa handed McGuire his second loss of the year with Louisville, scoring four earned runs on six hits over four innings. The righty walked two batters and struck out just one, putting him at 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA through five starts with the Bats.

MATCHED HIS BEST: Greg Deichmann went 1-for-3 with a single last night, giving him a six-game hitting streak entering today’s game. The outfielder has one hit in each of those six games, dating back to June 18 against Omaha. It is tied for his longest streak of the year, matching his six-game streak from May 29 to June 4 against Memphis and St. Paul. Over that stretch, he hit .435 (10-for-23) with a double, five home runs and 13 runs batted in. He hit a home run in four consecutive games and in five of the six games played. He also had multi-hit performances in three of the six games, recording two hits twice and three hits once. Although he is tied for his season long, his current stretch hasn’t been as impressive as the first, with just one hit in each game. He did have a double in Friday’s game for his only extra-base hit of the stretch. Deichmann is hitting .233 (35-for-150) in 46 games with Iowa this year.

DIALING IT IN: In his fourth game since being optioned to Iowa on June 12, Michael Rucker threw another scoreless two innings last night. The righty has not allowed a run since joining Iowa’s roster, throwing 6.2 scoreless innings so far. He has allowed just three total hits while walking three and striking out five. His three strikeouts last night were his most in a single game with Iowa this year, surpassing the two he recorded in Wednesday’s game.

THE LONE RUN: Narciso Crook scored Iowa’s only run yesterday, taking a walk before stealing second and third. A throwing error by Louisville’s pitcher allowed him to score, coming across as the only run the I-Cubs would score all night against the Bats. Although this was a unique way to manufacture a run, it is nothing new to see Crook in the middle of the scoring for Iowa lately. The outfielder has been on quite the tear over his last 21 games, hitting .383 (31-for-81) with five doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 20 runs batted in over that stretch. After starting the year hitting just .154 (10-for-65) in his first 23 games of the year, Crook has completely turned it around in his last 21, raising his average on the year to .281 (41-for-146). Over his last 21 games, he has recorded at least one hit in 17 of the games, while adding nine multi-hit performances.

NOT ENOUGH OFFENSE: Iowa scored just one unearned run on five hits yesterday, dropping their second game of the series to Louisville. In their two losses, Iowa has scored one run on 11 hits, allowing five runs on nine hits in those two games. With the loss tonight, they moved to 0-20 on the year when scoring three or less runs. The pitching staff did their part, allowing just two runs on four hits, but Iowa fell to 10-3 when allowing two runs to their opponent. The I-Cubs’ team average dropped to .256, still good for fifth in the International League.

TOUGH LOSS: Despite taking the loss last night, Blake Whitney threw well in his first game of the year with Iowa. The righty earned a promotion from Double-A Tennessee after going 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 17 relief outings for the Smokies. In those 17 games, he allowed 13 earned runs on 30 hits while walking 10 and striking out 49 over 42.0 innings pitched. Whitney surrendered just one hit in his two innings last night, striking out a batter as well. Unfortunately for Whitney and the I-Cubs, the one hit left the stadium for a solo home run, putting Iowa behind 2-1.

GET ONE OUT: After recording just five hits including one double in last night’s 2-1 loss to Louisville, Iowa is now on a stretch of six games without hitting a home run, dating back to June 19 against Omaha. In those six games they have combined to hit 14 doubles and one triple, including two games with four doubles and one three double game, but haven’t been able to get one to fly over the wall. Their current six-game stretch is their longest of the year without hitting at least one home run. The previous long was four straight games, done back on April 29-May 3 when they played four games against Indianapolis and St. Paul. Luckily for Iowa, the lack of home runs hasn’t cost them wins this stretch, as they are 4-2 over their last five games. They now rank tied for 14th in the International League in home runs with 67.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE: After their loss last night, Iowa enters the series finale up three games to two in the series, looking for their second consecutive series win as they were last night. The loss dropped Iowa to 6-5 this year against Louisville, with all 11 games coming here at Louisville Slugger Field. They are not 9-11 all-time on the road against Louisville and 19-16 overall against the Bats. Today will be the last game between the two teams at Louisville Slugger Field, with one series at Principal Park yet to take place from August 9-14. Iowa enters today’s contest leading the season scoring by 16 runs, at 52-36.

SHORT HOPS: With Robert Dugger earning a quality start last night, Iowa is now 0-5 in road games that the opponent’s starter works six or more innings, they are 3-9 overall in such games…the I-Cubs out-hit Louisville 5-4 last night, but lost 2-1, making them 27-10 when they out-hit their opponent this year… Darius Hill had his 10-game hitting streak snapped last night, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout; it marked just his third start with Iowa without recording a hit…Iowa fell to 9-13 in one-run games with their one-run loss last night.