IL Iowa Cubs

April 13 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Omaha Storm Chasers

Published on April 13, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (7-3) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (6-5)

Thursday - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Nick Neidert (0-1, 8.44) vs. RHP Jonathan Heasley (1-0, 4.50)

TONIGHT'S GAME: With the series tied at one game apiece, Iowa will send righty Nick Neidert to the mound set to make his third start of the year. Neidert will look for better fortune tonight, as he is 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA through his first two starts for the I-Cubs. The 26-year-old allowed eight runs on 11 hits in 2.1 innings in his most recent start at St. Paul after walking four in three innings in his season debut back on April 1 against Columbus. On the other side, Jonathan Heasley is set to take the ball for the Storm Chasers in his third start of the year. Heasley enters tonight's game with a 1-0 record and a 4.50 ERA, allowing five earned runs on 11 hits including two home runs in his first two starts. In his 10.0 innings, he has walked five batters and struck out nine, allowing his opponents to hit .275 against him. The righty made one start against Iowa last year and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings.

BOUNCE BACK: Iowa enters tonight's game with a 7-3 record, taking each of their first two series this year. They swept the Columbus Clippers in a three-game series here at Principal Park to start the year and took a shortened five-game series against St. Paul 3-2. After each of their losses to the Saints, Iowa came back to win the next game, scoring nine runs after their first loss and 11 runs after their second loss. With their third loss of the season yesterday to Omaha, Iowa will try to keep the trend going with a victory tonight.

LIGHTS OUT: Jeremiah Estrada spun a scoreless seventh inning for Iowa in yesterday's loss, striking out the side along the way. He was the only pitcher for Iowa in yesterday's game to now allow a run, pitching in one of just two innings Iowa kept the Storm Chasers off the board. With his scoreless inning, the righty has not allowed a run in 5.0 innings over four games now for Iowa. He has surrendered just two hits, while walking none and striking out seven. Opponents are hitting just .118 against Estrada through his four games.

KEEP IT 100: With his starting nod tonight, Nick Neidert will be making his 100th career start in the minor leagues. The Atlanta, Georgia native was drafted in the second round back in 2015 by the Seattle Mariners and has bounced around between a few different organizations before signing a minor league contract with Chicago on January 5, 2023. The right hander has had success over the course of his minor league career amassing a record of 41-26 with an ERA of 3.21. Neidert is also close to checking off another minor league career milestone as he is just 24 strikeouts away from reaching 500.

M&M: Matt Mervis and Christopher Morel are leading the I-Cubs in multiple different categories including hits (Morel, 13), doubles (Morel, 5), home runs (Mervis, 3), RBI (Mervis, 12), walks (Mervis, 10) and stolen bases (Morel, 2). Not only are they leading Iowa's active roster in these categories, they are also tops in the International League. Morel ranks 10th in batting average (.371), fifth in on-base percentage (.511), fourth in on-base plus slugging (1.254), tied for eighth in walks (9) and tied for fourth in extra-base hits (8). Mervis is tied for fourth in RBI (12), tied for third in walks (10) and tied for third with 11 runs scored.

DOUBLE DEBUTS: Infielder Levi Jordan and catcher Jake Washer both made their 2023 season debuts after being activated from the developmental list yesterday and took advantage of the opportunity. Jordan, who hit eighth in the lineup and played second base, went 2-for-4 at the dish with a 2-RBI triple. Meanwhile, Washer, who also was making his Triple-A debut, hit ninth in the lineup and went 1-for-4 with an RBI double. The extra base hit contributions by Jordan and Washer added to the I-Cubs total of 37 on the season, which ranks fifth in the International League.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa and Omaha will play game three of their six-game series tonight, with the series currently tied at one game apiece. The Storm Chasers are outscoring Iowa by one run this series, 16-15. With the loss last night, the I-Cubs dropped to 1-1 on the season, 178-136 all-time at home and 324-296 all-time overall against Omaha.

SHORT HOPS: Yesterday was Iowa's first game played on a Wednesday this year and is now the only day of the week in which Iowa has a record under the .500 mark; they were 10-4 on Wednesday's at home last year, going 16-9 overall...yesterday's loss marked the first home loss of the season (4-1) and the first loss against a left-handed starting pitcher (3-1) this year for Iowa.

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