TONIGHT’S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis are set to play the first game of their six-game series tonight at Victory Field. The I-Cubs are coming off of five straight losses to Omaha and will send Joe Biagini to the mound to try to end the losing streak. Biagini has been good
TONIGHT’S GAME: Iowa and Indianapolis are set to play the first game of their six-game series tonight at Victory Field. The I-Cubs are coming off of five straight losses to Omaha and will send Joe Biagini to the mound to try to end the losing streak. Biagini has been good this year against the Indians, going 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA (6ER/19.2IP) in four games against them. He went seven quality innings in his last start against Indianapolis, allowing just three earned runs on six hits while striking out six batters. Biagini is making his first start since August 14, with each of his last two appearances coming out of relief. Toeing the rubber for Indianapolis will be Miguel Yajure, set to make his second start against the I-Cubs. Yajure got credited with the loss in his first start, but threw well, tossing a quality start. The righty spun six innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits while striking out six.
BACK-TO-BACK: Matt Swarmer gave Iowa another quality start on Sunday, his fourth of the season and second in a row. In game two of the double header on Tuesday, Swarmer allowed just one earned run on four hits over six innings of work. The righty also struck out a Triple-A season-high seven batters, while not walking a batter for just the fourth time this year. He allowed just one run, a solo home run that was hit on the very first pitch of the game. The game marked Swarmer’s sixth appearance this year not allowing an earned run. He earned the win in that game, giving Iowa a series split from their series with Omaha back on June 22-27. On Sunday, the righty threw another six innings, allowing one unearned run on a fielding error in the seventh that took him out of the game. Swarmer walked three batters, but struck out another seven to tie his season-high mark with the I-Cubs. To go along with his seven strikeouts, he allowed just one hit, a single in the fourth inning. The bullpen gave up three late runs as Iowa lost the game, so Swarmer didn’t earn his fourth win of the season, but it was arguably his best start of the season at the Triple-A level. With the loss, Iowa moved to 7-11 in games that they get a quality start from their starting pitcher this year.
JUST WHAT HE NEEDS: After three two-hit games in a row to end the series against St. Paul, Abiatal Avelino got ice cold in his last series. In six games against Omaha, the infielder hit just .048, going 1-for-21 with four walks and five strikeouts. Fortunately for Avelino, he is going to play a team he has had a ton of success against. In 17 games against the Indians this season, he is hitting .359 (23-for-64) with three doubles, a triple and a home run. Avelino has scored seven runs and driven in 11 while taking six walks compared to striking out seven times. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen bases against them. For context, Avelino has played Indianapolis in 20% (17-of-87) of his games this year. In those games, he has recorded 28% (23-of-83) of his hits, 31% (11-of-35) of his RBI, and 40% (6-of-15) of his stolen bags.
THROWIN’ GAS: In Sunday’s game against Omaha, Juan Gamez pitched in his sixth game with the I-Cubs. He threw a scoreless inning, allowing one walk while striking out two. The hard throwing righty threw 61% (11-of-18) of his pitches for strikes in his first game back from the injured list. He landed on the 10-day injured list back on August 19, after suffering the loss in an extra-inning game to St. Paul. He is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in his six games with Iowa, allowing six earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. Gámez has made a quick climb through the Cubs’ system this year, briefly starting the year with Double-A Tennessee before going to South Bend and playing six games with the Cubs. He rejoined the Smokies on June 12, where he went 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 12 games. Five of the six earned runs he allowed with Tennessee came in the first stint with the team, all in one game. He joined Iowa on July 30 and has not allowed a run in four of his six appearances, again getting tagged with one bad outing on August 8 against Indianapolis. The 27-year old will look to keep his scoreless game streak going against the Indians that got to him in that outing.
COMMON DENOMINATOR: Iowa lost six of the seven games they played at home against Omaha, including five in a row. In those six losses, they struggled immensely with putting the ball in play, especially when it mattered most. Iowa struck out 69 times in their six losses, for an average of 11.5 strikeouts per game. They hit .186 (8-for-43) with runners in scoring position, leaving 42 men on-base over those games. The I-Cubs had double-digit strikeout figures in five of the six games, tallying nine strikeouts in the one game they didn’t get fanned 10 or more times. The offense scored three runs or less in four of the six games, putting up five runs in one game and six in another. In Sunday’s game, a 4-3 extra-inning loss, Iowa struck out 15 times, going just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 men on-base. Their four, five and six hitters went 1-for-13 in their at-bats, combining for eight of the team’s 15 strikeouts.
MILLER TIME: Hitting out of the leadoff spot, Ian Miller grabbed another two hits on Sunday, giving him five hits in his last three games. The outfielder is riding a three-game hitting streak entering this series, hitting .455 (5-for-11) over that span. In those three games, he has two multi-hit games, three runs scored, a double and a home run. He has also walked twice, raising his on-base percentage to .571. The speedster stole one base, making it three stolen bags in his last six games.
AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa will look to break their four-game losing streak against the Indians heading into this six-game series on a five-game losing streak. The last time the two teams met, Iowa took the first three games at Principal Park and dropped the final four, losing the series and setting the season record at 10-8 in favor of the I-Cubs. Iowa won the series four games to two the last time the two teams met at Victory Field, with Iowa taking each of the last three games. They outscored Indianapolis by 12 runs in that series, with both of their losses coming in one-run, extra inning games.
KEEP IT GOING: In his last game, outfielder Greg Deichmann recorded two of Iowa’s five hits on Saturday night, driving in the team’s only run in their 7-1 loss. His RBI single in the eighth inning gave him at least one run batted in in four of his last five games. He also has at least one hit in four of his last five games, including back-to-back multi-hit games. The power tool is starting to show as Deichmann recorded a double, triple and home run last series against the Storm Chasers. Despite hitting just .174 (4-for-23) in seven games with Chicago and .222 (14-for-63) in 18 games with Iowa, the outfielder is starting to put together much better at-bats. With two hits in each of his last two games, Deichmann now has five two-hit games with the I-Cubs this season.
SHORT HOPS: With their extra-inning loss on Sunday, Iowa fell to 26-5 when leading after seven innings and 28-3 when having a lead after eight innings...Iowa out-hit Omaha 8-6 on Sunday, falling to 33-13 when they out-hit their opponent...although Iowa scored three runs off of Omaha’s starter on Sunday, they didn’t score a run the rest of the way, moving to just 6-21 this year when a left-handed pitcher starts against them.
