Game Notes - 5.26.17 vs. Reno

Iowa Cubs (21-25) vs. Reno Aces (29-19)
RHP Aaron Brooks (3-4, 7.73) vs. RHP Braden Shipley (5-1, 3.42)
7:08 p.m. | Principal Park | Des Moines

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Reno play the finale of a four-game series tonight. Reno currently has the highest team batting average in the PCL at .301 (13 points ahead of second place Salt Lake at .288), while Iowa sits in the middle of the pack at .264. Iowa is looking for its first series split with Reno since 2013.
A THING OF BEAUTY: Chris Dominguez hit a long home run last night that went over the Cub Club Restaurant in left field. The homer was his second in three games and his third overall. In 22 games since getting assigned to Iowa from Extended Spring Training, Dominguez is hitting .303 (23-for-76) with three home runs, six doubles and 16 RBIs. Dominguez recorded six hits in his first two games, but went hitless in his next six. Since May 11, he is batting.327 (17-for-52), and has recorded a hit in all but two games during that time. 
HIT 'EM OUT: Iowa has hit at least one home run in five of seven games during this homestand with nine total coming off the bats of Chris Dominguez (2), Jeimer Candelario (3), Ali Soli, Stephen Bruno, Mark Zagunis and Victor Caratini. Iowa sits in the middle of the PCL with 43 homers on the season and has gotten homers from 12 different players. Mark Zagunis and Jeimer Candelario pace the current Cubs roster with seven homers each. 
DOING WHAT'S NEEDED: With an abundance of roster moves the past month, Iowa's bullpen has stepped up. Pitchers like Juan Paniagua and Stephen Perakslis have filled in starting spots, and the bullpen has picked up the slack from there. In the past five games, the bullpen has pitched 21.2 innings, allowing 17 hits, two runs (both earned), one home run, five walks, all while striking out 19 batters. The dominance over that period has resulted in a 0.85 ERA for Iowa's relievers. 
DOUBLE 'EM UP: Iowa's offense tallied 10 hits in yesterday's 5-2 loss, making it the second game in a row that they had recorded double-digit hits. Before the last two games, the I-Cubs had failed to record double-digit hits in six-straight games. Iowa is now 10-10 this season when recording double-digit hits, and 10-6 when out-hitting their opponents.
FIRST I LOOK AT THE FIRST: Iowa failed to score in the first two innings last night for just the second time in the last 12 games. Of the club's 233 runs scored this season, 50 have come in the first inning (21.5 percent of Iowa's runs) and 70 have come in the first two innings combined (30 percent of Iowa's runs).  
AGAINST RENO: With the win last night, Reno boasts one of the best records in the PCL at 29-19. In 2016, Iowa took the first game of the series at Reno 17-2 before dropping the next three and being outscored 19-9. Iowa has gone 1-3 against the Aces in each of the last three seasons (2014-16). With a win tonight, Iowa would avoid dropping their fourth-straight series to the Aces, guaranteeing at least its first series tie against Reno since 2013 when they split the series 2-2 at Reno. 
ALMOST THERE: Iowa out-hit Reno last night, but couldn't string enough hits together to top the Aces. Stephen Bruno and Ali Solis led the Iowa offense by going 2-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively, but the rest of the offense couldn't help them out. The rest of the starting position players combined to go 5-for-17. Both batters have recorded multiple hits in consecutive games for the first time this season. 
ZOOMING ZAGUNIS: Outfielder Mark Zagunis struggled to get things going at the plate to begin the season. In his first 26 games of the season, he was 16-for-81 (.198) with 16 runs scored, one double, five home runs, 18 RBIs, 20 walks and 29 strikeouts. However, in 16 games since May 8, Zagunis is 19-for-57 (.333) with 14 runs scored, seven doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, 10 walks and 10 strikeouts. Zagunis has raised his season batting average from .198 on May 8 to .254. Zagunis also leads the PCL with 30 walks and has an on-base percentage of .399. This is Zagunis' fourth season in the Cubs system and he statistically gets on base at a high rate. Through the first 42 games in each year of his career, he owns .423 (2014), .440 (2015), .395 (2016) and .399 (2017) on-base percentages. 
SIDE-ARM MAGIC: Side-arm pitcher David Berg made his third appearance for Iowa last night. In three appearances for Iowa this year, Berg has thrown 6.1 innings, allowing six hits, one walk and has struck out one batter. He is quickly turning into a consistent force in the bullpen. In 10 total appearances between Iowa and Tennessee this year, Berg is 1-1 in 14.2 innings, allowing 16 hits, four runs (three earned), two home runs and two walks all while striking out five -- good for a 1.90 ERA.
SHORT HOPS: Mark Zagunis and Victor Caratini both had to leave the game yesterday after suffering lower leg injuries...Iowa continued to struggle at Principal Park, dropping to 9-12 on the year at home. They are 12-13 on the road...Chris Dominguez crushed his third home run of the season last night, and his second in three days.