July 9 Game Notes: Iowa vs. St. Paul

IOWA CUBS (21-33) vs. ST. PAUL SAINTS (28-28)

Friday, July 9, 2021 • 7:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Matt Swarmer (0-4, 12.57) vs. RHP Chandler Shepherd (3-3, 5.85)

TONIGHT’S GAME: Iowa and St. Paul will play game four of their six-game series tonight, and the I-Cubs will enter still in search of their first home victory against the Saints. They’ll hand the ball to righty Matt Swarmer, who has yet to record a win in 2021. He is 0-4 for the I-Cubs, but was good in his last start against St. Paul, when he recorded six innings and allowed just one run. His mound opponent will be Chandler Shepherd, who is 3-3 in eight starts for St. Paul. Tonight will mark Shepherd’s second start and third appearance against Iowa. He is 1-1 against the I-Cubs this season, and completed five shutout innings in his last start vs. Iowa. The pitching matchup tonight will be a rematch of that game, in which Shepherd out-dueled Swarmer and earned the win for the Saints at CHS Field.

SNAPPED: Coming into last night’s game, Tony Wolters was riding a season-long seven game hitting streak, one away from tying the team’s season long record of eight. Wolters was hitting .423 (11-for-26) with two doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in, adding five walks compared to just seven strikeouts. Despite walking once last night and scoring a run, the catcher went 0-for-2 at the plate, breaking his streak. Another streak that ended was Michael Hermosillo’s 14-game on-base streak that got started on June 19 against St. Paul. He registered a hit in 10 of those 14 games, took a free pass in three more and also got hit by a pitch on July 2 to keep the streak alive. Over his streak, the outfielder hit .320 (16-for-50) with 11 runs, three doubles, two home runs and eight runs driven in. He also walked seven times and got hit by a pitch four times, good for an on-base percentage of .435.

ROUGH START: Iowa will send Matt Swarmer to the mound tonight in search of his first win in 2021. Swarmer, who is in his second year of consistent Triple-A play, is 0-4 for the I-Cubs this season in five total starts. After starting out solid with Double-A Tennessee, Swarmer has struggled in the majority of his outings since being promoted to Iowa this year. He allowed just eight total earned runs in his five starts at Double-A, good for a 3.13 ERA, but he has allowed five or more runs in four out of the five starts he’s made for Iowa since then. That has resulted in a team-high 12.57 ERA (27ER/19.1IP) with the I-Cubs. The high numbers have come because Swarmer has struggled to get batters out; he’s allowed a .368 average against, which is the highest on the team. Additionally, Swarmer is tied for second on the I-Cubs in both earned runs (27) and home runs allowed (9). He trails only Adrian Sampson, who has allowed 29 earned runs and 14 home runs, but Sampson has allowed those numbers in 49.2 innings, while Swarmer has completed only 19.1. If it held, Swarmer’s combined 7.44 ERA (35ER/42.1IP) between Iowa and Tennessee this season would be his career-high mark for a single season.

ANOTHER ONE: Ben Leeper did it again last night, throwing yet another hitless inning. Leeper has now thrown 12.1 innings with Iowa, allowing one earned run on five walks while striking out 20. He has also hit one batter, stacking his opponents on-base percentage to .140. The Chicago Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month for the month of June has struck out two or more batters in all but three outings this year, including last night. Facing the Saints for the third time, Leeper threw a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two batters on the way.

GOOD TO SEE: Trevor Megill spun two scoreless frames last night for Iowa in his first game since July 3 against Indianapolis. In his previous four games, three with Iowa and one with Chicago, Megill had a 20.25 ERA (9ER/4.0IP) on nine hits, including three home runs, two walks and a hit batter. Opponents were hitting .429 and slugging .905 against the righty in those four games. Last night, however, Megill turned it around and had his best outing since June 8 against Columbus. He tossed two perfect innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced in the process. It marked the second appearance in a row that he threw 2.0 innings after previously throwing more than one inning (1.1) just twice all season.

DUCKS ON THE POND: Jake Jewell entered the game in the fourth inning last night with the sacks full of Saints runners and just one out. He was pitching in relief of Ryan Lawlor, who allowed fountain madness, giving up three home runs in his one inning of work. Jewell stranded all three runners, striking out the first batter he faced and forcing the second batter into a groundout to end the inning. The righty is now a perfect eight-for-eight in stranding inherited base runners this season, not allowing one to score yet. He has also retired the first batter he has faced in 17 of his 19 appearances for the I-Cubs.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: St. Paul has dominated the season series at Principal Park, winning each of the first nine games against Iowa here this season. The lopsided record has helped them to a lead in the season series overall, too, and they hold a 14-6 advantage after their win last night.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: St. Paul has enjoyed playing in Des Moines this season, taking the victory in all nine of their games at Principal Park so far this season. Their success has come as the result of some impressive numbers, including a .265 team average (86-for-325), which is their highest at any park - including CHS Field. The Saints are also slugging .483 as a team and hold an .816 OPS at Principal Park, both their highest marks in any stadium this season. In addition, the Saints have hit more home runs per game (1.88) at Principal Park than they have anywhere else. After the first three games of this series, the Saints are 9-0 in Des Moines and 6-12 on the road otherwise.

SHORT HOPS: Joe Biagini was credited with the loss last night, meaning Iowa’s starter has taken the loss in each of the first three games this series...Iowa’s final four relievers spun 5.2 innings of hitless ball last night, striking out nine batters along the way compared to just one walk.