Iowa Cubs Game Notes - July 16 vs. Las Vegas

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Las Vegas meet for game three of the four game set tonight at Principal Park. This will be the only series played between the two ball clubs this season. Iowa is 3-7 in its last 10 contests and has fallen to 12.0 games behind first-place Oklahoma City in the American North Division. Las Vegas currently sits 5.5 games back of first place in the Pacific South Division behind El Paso.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The I-Cubs halted a two-game skid as they topped the Las Vegas 51s 7-2, last night at Principal Park. Despite being out-hit eight to seven, the Iowa bats recorded three extra-base hits and were 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Juan Perez led Iowa's offensive effort batting 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, a RBI and three runs scored. Jake Buchanan (8-5) got the ball for Iowa in his 15th start of the season. The righty limited Las Vegas to just two runs off six hits, good for his 11th quality outing of the season. He walked one and sat down four batters on strikes. Federowicz and Vogelbach both tallied multi-hit games going 2-for-4 with one and two RBI, respectively.

QUALITY PITCHING: Righty Jake Buchanan recorded his 11th quality outing of the season in last night's win over Las Vegas. Through those eleven starts, Buchanan holds a 1.90 ERA (15ER/71.2IP) including back-to-back scoreless outings on May 30 and June 4. He accounts for 48 percent of Iowa's quality starts, the most on the team thus far. Buchanan also leads the I-Cubs in strikeouts with 75. He is currently on pace to break his season-high record of 104 strikeouts set in 2011.

GOING STREAKING: Daniel Vogelbach is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, a new high for the 2016 season. Through that time Vogelbach is batting .464 (13-for-28) with two doubles, six RBI and six walks for an on-base percentage of .559. Vogelbach leads the Pacific Coast League in on-base percentage with a .425 mark on the season.

LEADING THE WAY: Juan Perez's triple last night has placed Iowa tied with Reno for first in the PCL with 40 triples this season. Iowa also holds the top honors for stolen bases with 120 and comes in at third in on-base percentage and batting average with .352 and .282, respectively.

GOT THEIR NUMBER: Juan Perez has been electric against Las Vegas so far this series, batting 1.000 (4-for-4) with a double, a triple, four runs scored and a stolen base. Prior to this series, Perez had struggled, holding a .235 average and just one walk through the last 10 games, putting his on-base percentage at .257. Including last night's double, Perez has recorded the second most doubles on the team at 17, just one shy of leader Daniel Vogelbach.

BIRD WATCHER: John Andreoli paces the league in both walks (60) and strikeouts (117). He leads Daniel Vogelbach in walks by five and Reno's Kyle Jensen in strikeouts by eight. The last player to lead the PCL in both catagories at season's end was Sacramento's Jack Cust in 2005. 

AGAINST LAS VEGAS: Iowa holds the narrow 45-43 advantage over Las Vegas all-time. The two teams meet for the first and only time of 2016 this series. Although the I-Cubs hold the advantage all-time, Las Vegas is ahead at Principal Park with a 25-23 record. Iowa dropped its final two contests of the season to Las Vegas in 2015, both in walk-off fashion. On August 17, Danny Muno crushed a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to give the 51s a 5-4 win. The next night, Dan Rohlfing was hit by a pitch with bases loaded in the ninth by Blake Cooper to bring in the scoring run.

ON THE FARM: Baseball America released its mid-season Top 100 Prospects list and three Cubs' farm hands made the cut. Gleyber Torres came in at No. 27, the highest ranking Cub minor leaguer. The 19-year-old just appeared in the Futures Game and is hitting .265 with nine homers for Advanced-A Mytle Beach. Infielder Ian Happ is ranked 37th and is smashing .351 through 20 games with Double-A Tennessee after a recent call-up. Eloy Jimenez rounds out the group of Cubs at No. 46. The outfielder holds a .331 average with Single-A South Bend. 

REMARKABLE RELIEVERS: Following the All-Star Break, the I-Cubs bullpen has recorded back-to-back scoreless outings, giving up just three hits between five relief pitchers. Jose Rosario tallied his third consecutive scoreless appearance with Iowa last night. While the bullpen has recorded three of Iowa's four wins during the month of July, the relievers hold a combined 5.84 ERA (30ER/46.2IP), which is higher than the starters' 5.65 ERA (39ER/62.1IP).

ROLLERCOASTER RIDE: John Andreoli has had an up-and-down season amassing a .240 batting so far this season. His .240 average is the highest it has been since April 11 when he was batting .263. He recorded a season low of .125, but despite that is still among the league leaders in several categories. Andreoli holds the top spot for games played (90), base on balls (58), and strikeouts (115). He is also in fifth place for runs scored (61) and stolen bases (22). 

FIELD CHAMPS: The I-Cubs have been extremely productive in the field this season recording 79 double plays and 18 outfield assists while on defense. Munenori Kawasaki leads all shortstops in the PCL with a .985 fielding percentage - 4 errors in 260 total chances - and has partaken in 38 double plays. Matt Murton has been a stud in the outfield having yet to record an error in 62 total chances over 265.2 innings. He is the only I-Cub (30+ games) that has yet to record an error. 

BACK TO THE GRIND: Upon returning to Iowa from his five game stint in Chicago, Jeimer Candelario has struggled to spark his offense, going 0-for-7 in his last two games with four strikeouts. Munenori Kawasaki also returned from a quick trip to Chicago and has had little more success, recording his only hit this series last night.