PCL Semifinals Game 4 Notes - Iowa vs. Round Rock

Iowa Cubs (1-2) vs. Round Rock Express (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 7 - 7:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines
RHP Matt Swarmer (10-11, 5.65) vs. RHP Cristian Javier (0-0, 1.64)

TONIGHT'S GAME: After staving off elimination on Friday, the I-Cubs host the Round Rock Express on Saturday at Principal Park looking to force a deciding game five on Sunday. The Express had rattled off six straight victories over the I-Cubs prior to Friday's game. This is Iowa's first postseason appearance since 2008 and fifth since joining the PCL in 1998.
AGAINST ROUND ROCK: Prior to last night's 3-2 victory, the I-Cubs held a 1-10 mark in games decided by one or two runs against Round Rock this season. All three playoff games to this point have been one-run games. Iowa holds a 31-30 mark in such games in 2019. The postseason series thus far has been a close affair, with the Express outhitting Iowa .229-.212, but Iowa leading the way in extra-base hits holding a 6-5 advantage. Round Rock has had Iowa's number in recent seasons, holding a 52-28 edge since 2015. Iowa's last winning campaign vs. the Express came with a 9-7 season series in 2014.
JUMBO JIM: After going 0-for-9 through the first two playoff games in Round Rock, Jim Adduci stepped up in a big way with a 2-for-3 performance on Friday night. Adduci came around to score the game's first run in the second inning, then drove in Donnie Dewees in the sixth to score what wound up being the game-winning run. 
MACHIN-LIKE EFFORT: Vimael Machin bumped his hitting streak to four games with a 1-for-4 outing on Friday. Machin has been Iowa's best hitter this postseason, holding a .385 average (5-for-13) with a home run to his name. He hit .294 in 117 games with Double-A Tennessee this season, while hitting at a .320 clip (8-for-25) in 12 games with the I-Cubs.
HIT PEREDA: In his first Triple-A outing, Jhonny Pereda came up huge with a two-run double in his first at-bat. The catcher also drew a walk during his first Triple-A start. Pereda had six multi-RBI games with Double-A Tennessee this season.
BOISTEROUS BULLPEN: After a pair of heart-breaking outings in extra innings, the I-Cub bullpen recovered nicely by clinging onto the slim lead on Friday. The bullpen has combined for a 4.15 ERA (6ER/13.0IP) in the three playoff games. Manager Marty Pevey called upon the trio of James Norwood, Dakota Mekkes and Alex Wilson on Friday for each player's second game of the series after all three had pitched in game one. With another scoreless outing on Friday, the trio has spun 6.2 scoreless innings thus far in the series, collecting eight strikeouts while allowing just four hits and a walk. Norwood earned his seventh save of the year in last night's win.
SIT 'EM DOWN: Iowa will send Matt Swarmer to the hill on Saturday to try and extend its season. Swarmer finished the season with a league-leading 137 strikeouts. Swarmer is just the fourth Iowa arm in history to accomplish the feat and the first since Paul Abbott had 127 Ks in 1995. He joins the company of Vida Blue (165K, 1970) and Bill Brennan (143K, 1993). Swarmer also finishes in a tie for third in the PCL in innings pitched (151.1) and tied for fifth in the league in wins (10).  Swarmer was second on the team in the regular season with 25 games started, but also made two appearances out of the bullpen. In each relief appearance, he tossed five innings and did not surrender a walk in either outing. 
WELL WHAT HAPPENED WAS: Last time the I-Cubs won their division, they faced the Oklahoma City Redhawks, a Texas Rangers' affiliate, and lost three games to two in the first round. Iowa's Game 5 was a 16-5 route in which the Redhawks out-hit the I-Cubs 12-10 but drew nine walks and blasted six home runs -- including a fourth-inning grand slam off the bat of Travis Metcalf . Iowa has won just one championship in its 51-season history with an American Association title in 1993. Tuffy Rhodes hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Game 7 to win it for the Iowa Cubs.
ON THE MEND: Kendall Graveman made his second rehab start with the I-Cubs on Friday. He tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless ball before giving way to Michael Rucker in the fourth. He was perfect through three frames, but a one-out walk followed by a single ultimately ended his day at 51 pitches. He spun 41 pitches in his first rehab start back on Sept. 1 versus Memphis.
OVER THE LINE: Jim Adduci finished the regular season batting .301 after hitting .217 (23-for-106) through his first 33 games. He became the first I-Cub to hit over .300 with 100+ games in a season since Josh Vitters  batted .304 through 110 games in 2012. Adduci is the first left-handed hitter to accomplish the feat since Brian LaHair hit .331 through 129 games in 2011.
EXTRA, EXTRA: With Thursday's extra-inning loss, Iowa fell to 6-9 when tied after eight innings and to 2-7 in extra frames. The I-Cubs are 1-5 all-time in postseason extra-inning contests. The one victory secured the American Association Championship for Iowa in 1993 with an 11-inning, walk-off win in Game 7.
SHORT HOPS: Through three games in this series, Rogelio Armenteros is the only starter to record a decision, ending Friday with the loss...with a double in the sixth inning, Donnie Dewees recorded his first hit of the postseason...Friday's win was just Iowa's ninth when scoring three or fewer runs...Round Rock tested the arm of newly added Jhonny Pereda on Friday, but Alex De Goti was caught stealing on the play; Pereda nabbed runners at a .333 pace (44-for-132) for Double-A Tennessee this season.