August 12 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs @ Omaha Storm Chasers

IOWA CUBS (37-47) @ OMAHA STORM CHASERS (47-37)

Thursday, August 12, 2021 • 7:05 PM • Werner Park • Papillion, NE

RHP Mike Hauschild (0-5, 6.63) vs. LHP Jake Kalish (1-3, 8.05)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The I-Cubs and Storm Chasers matchup for game three of the six-game set tonight at Werner Park. Iowa has taken each of the first two games and will send righty Mike Hauschild to the mound to try and make it three in a row. Hauschild is 0-5 with a 6.63 ERA in nine starts this year with the I-Cubs. He made one start against Omaha on June 24, allowing eight runs (three earned) on seven hits and two home runs in just 3.2 innings. He walked four and struck out one in that game. Opposite of Hauschild will be Jake Kalish, set to make his second start and seventh appearance against Iowa. On the season, Kalish is 1-3 with an 8.05 ERA. His one win came against Iowa, as the lefty is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA (8ER/10.2IP) in six games against the I-Cubs. He has walked two and struck out 15 in those games. With their victory last night, Iowa improved to 7-15 against left-handed pitchers this year and will look to improve on that number again tonight against the lefty Kalish.

WELCOME BACK: Since July 23, Iowa has been missing a key piece of their offensive production. Out with a lower body injury, Michael Hermosillo missed about three weeks before being re-activated for Tuesday night’s game. Hermosillo didn’t waste any time showing how important he is to the offense, reaching in all four of his plate appearances on Tuesday. In his first at-bat, the outfielder doubled to left field, putting runners on second and third with nobody out to start their five-run frame. He led off the third inning with a solo home run, extending Iowa’s lead to six, raising his average to .324 in 39 games with the club. He took a walk and got hit by a pitch in his next two at-bats, raising his on-base percentage to .450. Despite missing nearly three weeks, Hermosillo is tied for fourth on the team with 14 multi-hit games and is third on the team with nine home runs.

MARATHON GAME: Last night’s game featured 19 total runs on 22 hits, with Iowa coming out on top 12-7. Four players had multi-hit games for the I-Cubs joined by two for Omaha, with 11 total pitchers entering the contest. So many pitching changes combined with a lot of offense made the game run four hours and three minutes, Iowa’s longest game of the season. Previously, their longest nine inning game was 3:33, also against Omaha, and their longest overall game was a 12 inning game against Indianapolis that lasted three hours and 56 minutes. Looking into Iowa’s history, this was their longest nine inning game since August 6, 2002, when they played a four hour and 25 minute game resulting in a 9-10 loss to Sacramento. They did play a four hour game against Omaha back on July 12, 2012.

TWO FOR THREE: Ethan Roberts picked up his second career win at Triple-A last night in just the third outing he’s made for Iowa. After collecting just one win with Double-A Tennessee in the first three months of the season, Roberts was credited for his first win with the I-Cubs in his first appearance with them on August 4 against Indianapolis. He followed it up with a less impressive outing on August 7, allowing three runs in two innings against the Indians, but got back on track in last night’s game. Roberts entered in the fifth in relief of Cory Abbott and shut the Storm Chasers down for the next inning and two thirds. He limited the lineup to just one hit and struck out two batters, preserving the Iowa lead and earning his second win as an I-Cub. He now holds a 5.40 ERA (3ER/5.0IP) and a 2-0 record through his first three outings with Iowa.

GOOD LUCK STOPPING HIM: Outfielder Nick Martini is riding a hot streak right now that cannot be slowed down. The lefty hitter is on his third five-game hitting streak since July 15, tying his season high mark. On his current five-game streak, Martini is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with seven runs scored, six extra-base hits and 10 RBI. He has walked five times compared to just two strikeouts, raising his on-base percentage to .667. Four of the five games have been multi-hit games, including a three-hit effort on August 6 to start the streak. He has hit home runs in back-to-back games, and with last night’s four-RBI night, became the only player to have three four-RBI games this season for the I-Cubs. In 24 games since July 15, Martini is hitting .390 (32-for-82) with 18 runs, three doubles, two triples, six home runs and 20 RBI. He has taken 14 walks, gotten hit by three pitches and struck out just 13 times over that stretch. He has recorded at least one hit in 18 of the 24 games, including 11 of his 17 multi-hit efforts this season.

ROUND TWO: Dillon Maples returned to the Iowa Cubs last night for the first outing of his second Major League rehab assignment this season. The righty joined Iowa’s roster for the first time on June 26 to rehab a tricep strain which had landed him on the injured list ten days prior. During that assignment, Maples spent three weeks with the I-Cubs and appeared in seven games, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 total innings. He returned to Chicago’s active roster on July 19, but spent just ten days there before returning to the injured list with a separate injury. Maples began his second rehab assignment yesterday and tossed a scoreless seventh inning in his first night back on Iowa’s roster, limiting the Storm Chasers to two hits and striking out one.

IN THE BIG INNING: While Iowa’s offense finished off the month of July relatively quietly, they’ve definitely started to make some noise in the new month. After scoring just 14 runs in six games against Louisville, Iowa scored 27 runs in seven games against Indianapolis, and they’ve scored 22 runs through just two games in Omaha so far. As they did earlier in the season, many of Iowa’s runs have come in bunches over the last week. Against Indianapolis, they were boosted to the doubleheader sweep on Wednesday by a five-run sixth inning in game two, and they lost Sunday’s finale despite a four-run fourth. So far in Omaha, the I-Cubs have put together four innings of four or more runs. With a five-run second and a four-run eighth on Tuesday and a six-run fourth and a four-run ninth yesterday, Iowa has scored 19 of their 22 runs in just four innings out of the 18 they’ve played at Werner Park so far.

PRODUCTION AT THE TOP: Iowa’s top three hitters last night went 7-for-15 with five runs scored. All three had multi-hit games, including three hits from their three hitter, Alfonso Rivas. Zach Davis and Abiatal Avelino added two-hit games from the top two spots in the lineup. The only other hitter to record two hits last night was Nick Martini, hitting out of the five-hole for the I-Cubs. The top three batters combined to drive in six of the team’s 12 total runs, adding three free passes to their stat line.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa and Omaha move into game three of their six-game series tonight, with Iowa taking each of the first two games so far. Iowa has scored 22 runs in the first two games of this series, one more than they scored in the entire six-game set last time they played at Werner Park. Iowa is now 9-10 this year against the Storm Chasers, including three straight wins. Omaha is outscoring Iowa by just eight runs now in the season series, 117-109.

SECOND TIME THROUGH: In each of his last two starts, Cory Abbott has been great in the early innings, but stalled trying to get through five. On August 4 against Indianapolis, the righty spun four scoreless innings, but was taken out after recording just two outs in the fifth, allowing four runs that inning. Last night was a similar result, getting through three scoreless, and struggling in the fourth and fifth.

SHORT HOPS: In nine games against Omaha, Michael Hermosillo is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with eight runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and five RBI. He has an on-base percentage of .471 and is slugging .667 against the Storm Chasers...last night’s win marked Iowa’s first victory on the road on a Wednesday this season...with 10 runs on Tuesday and 12 last night, Iowa has scored double-digit runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season.