August 10 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs @ Omaha Storm Chasers

IOWA CUBS (62-46) @ OMAHA STORM CHASERS (50-56)

Thursday, August 10 • 7:05 PM • Werner Park • Papillion, NE

LHP Jordan Wicks (3-0, 4.24) vs. LHP Anthony Veneziano (4-2, 4.35)

TONIGHT’S GAME: Iowa will look for their third consecutive win over Omaha tonight, sending lefty Jordan Wicks to the mound. Through five starts with Iowa this year, Wicks enters tonight’s game with a 3-0 record and a 4.24 ERA, allowing 11 earned runs on 17 hits and 11 walks. He has struck out 18 batters in his 23.1 innings pitched, limiting his opponents to a .207 batting average against him. The southpaw is fifth on the team with three wins, despite not joining Iowa until June 29. Tonight will mark the second start of his young career against the Storm Chasers, the team he made his Triple-A debut against back on June 30. In that outing, he spun 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Opposite of Wicks will be Anthony Veneziano, set to make his 11th start of the year in his 12th game with Omaha. Veneziano comes into tonight’s game with a 4-2 record and a 4.35 ERA, allowing 25 earned runs on 45 hits and 26 walks while striking out 46 batters in his 51.2 innings pitched. The southpaw has allowed five earned runs in each of his last two starts and will be facing Iowa for the first time tonight.

OH, WHAT A NIGHT: The I-Cubs had their best offensive performance of the season last night as they defeated Omaha by a score of 20-1. Iowa racked up those 20 runs, which set a new season high, off 17 hits, seven of which were home runs. In the game, five different players recorded multi-hit performances, with four of those players having three hits. It was an immediate offensive barrage from Iowa as it launched four homers in the first inning and totaled eight runs in the frame. Both of those achievements tied season highs as the I-Cubs also hit four home runs and scored eight runs once before this season. On April 29, the I-Cubs scored eight runs versus Louisville, which also happened in the first inning. Two days earlier on April 27, Iowa belted four homers in the fourth inning versus Louisville. The 20 runs scored by Iowa last night marked the most runs the team had scored in over a decade. The last time Iowa scored 20 runs in a game came on August 30, 2010, on the road against the Albuquerque Isotopes. The final score in that contest was 20-9. The 19-run margin of victory also marked the second largest in franchise history. The largest margin of victory in franchise history for the I-Cubs was set at 21 on July 30, 2000, on the road against Fresno.

EASY BEING GREENE: Last night’s starter Shane Greene delivered another solid outing for the I-Cubs. The 34-year-old has just over seven years of service time up in the big leagues in his career and was recently acquired by the Cubs as he was signed to a minor league contract on June 25. After spending some time in the Arizona Complex League, Greene was promoted to Iowa last week on August 6 and thrust into the starting rotation, despite primarily being used as a reliever, as the I-Cubs have been dealing with some injuries to their pitching staff. In the victory over Omaha last night, the right-hander tossed 3.0 scoreless, hitless innings with one walk and three strikeouts. In his two appearances with Iowa, Greene has made a good impression with just one hit allowed, no runs, two walks, and three punch outs in 5.0 innings of work.

SLUMPS BUSTED: Leading the offensive charge for Iowa last night were the No. 8 and 9 hitters in the lineup, Luis Vazquez, and Chase Strumpf. Strumpf, the No. 23 ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system, went 3-for-4 at the dish with three runs scored, two home runs, one of which being a grand slam, and seven RBI. His grand slam marked the first hit by an I-Cub since Jake Slaughter did so on April 29 versus Louisville and his seven RBI tied the season high by a player in a game with Christopher Morel who knocked in seven in that April 29 game. Meanwhile, Vazquez went 3-for-5 at the plate with four runs scored, two home runs, and six RBI. Vazquez’s four runs scored tied the individual season high by player and it marked the fifth time an I-Cub has done so this season. Coming into last night, both Strumpf and Vazquez had been in hitting slumps as well. For the entire month of July, Strumpf hit at a clip of just .091 (4-for-44) in 14 games with only two RBI and 23 strikeouts. However, he is now on a four-game hitting streak, which is his second longest stretch at the Triple-A level this season. Vazquez’s struggles had been more recent as he was hitting .069 (2-for-18) with three RBI and five strikeouts over his past seven games.

PROSPECTS PERFORMING: Luis Vazquez and Chase Strumpf had themselves a night hitting out of the eight and nine holes. However, the other half of the bottom of the order in the No. 6 and 7 hitters, Alexander Canario and Pete Crow-Armstrong, also had productive nights. The combined numbers of the 6-9 hitters were outstanding as they went 11-for-18 (.611), 15 runs scored, one double, four home runs, and 14 RBI. Looking at Canario and Crow-Armstrong specifically, Canario went 3-for-5 at the dish, four runs scored, and a double, while Crow-Armstrong delivered with a 2-for-4 performance with four runs scored and an RBI. For Canario, who is the No. 10 ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system, it was his sixth multi-hit game since joining Iowa and his first three-hit performance. As for Crow-Armstrong, the No. 1 ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system, it marked his first multi-hit game at the Triple-A level.

AGAINST OMAHA: With back-to-back wins to start the series, Iowa will look to make it three in a row tonight at Werner Park. Their two wins to start the current series makes it four straight wins against the Storm Chasers dating back to July 2-3. The I-Cubs are now 8-4 this year against Omaha overall, going 6-2 in their eight games at Werner Park this year. Iowa is now 331-299 all-time overall against the Storm Chasers, going 152-162 all-time on the road.

SHORT HOPS: The last time Iowa scored 20 runs in a game came on August 30, 2010, on the road against the Albuquerque Isotopes…the 19-run margin of victory last night also marked the second largest in franchise history, with the largest margin of victory in franchise history for the I-Cubs set at 21 runs back on July 30, 2000, on the road against Fresno…the last four hitters in Iowa’s lineup last night combined to go 11-for-18 with 15 runs scored, a double, four home runs 14 runs batted in and six walks drawn.