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April 27 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Indianapolis

April 27, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (9-9) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (10-8)

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 - 12:08 - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Caleb Kilian (0-0, 1.54) vs. LHP Trey McGough (0-0, 0.00)

TODAY'S GAME: After dropping the series opener yesterday, Caleb Kilian will take the ball for Iowa looking to even the series at one game apiece. Kilian is 0-0 on the year with a 1.54 ERA. He went five innings and allowed just one run in his last outing against Louisville, good for his longest start of the year. Toeing the rubber trying to earn Indianapolis their second win of the series will be Trey McGough, set to make his first start of the year. McGough started 19 games last year, including all 18 games he pitched with Double-A Altoona. The lefty has two holds this year, throwing two hitless innings. He has allowed just one walk while striking out two in his first action at the Triple-A level.

KEEP IT ROLLIN': Today's starter Caleb Kilian has worked further into every game he has pitched this year, going from 2.2 innings in his first start to 4.0 and 5.0 in his last outing. In that game against Louisville his last time out, the righty spun five innings of one-run ball, allowing the Bats to reach base just four times. He surrendered three hits and one walk compared to four strikeouts. In his three games this year, the Cubs' top pitching prospect has tossed 11.2 total innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and four walks while punching out 13. He left his last outing with a 5-1 lead in line for the victory, but Iowa ended up losing the lead, taking his first win of the season off the board.

PERFECTION: Conner Menez delivered 2.1 perfect innings of relief last night, fanning four of the seven batters he faced. With the scoreless outing, Menez lowered his ERA on the year to 1.69, allowing just two earned runs over his 10.2 innings pitched for Iowa this season. It marked his third straight outing not allowing a run, throwing 5.2 innings over those three games. Over that span, he has allowed just two total hits and no walks while striking out six . The southpaw has started one game and come out of relief in each of his four outings since, throwing two or more innings in four of his five games this year.

WALK THIS WAY: Despite recording just one hit last night, Iowa did have 10 men reach base, taking nine total walks as a team. Indianapolis' starter Osvaldo Bido walked five batters through his 3.2 innings, marking the most any single opposing pitcher has walked in a game this year. Entering last night's game, the I-Cubs ranked last in the International League in walks, with 54 on the season. Three players took multiple walks last night, including Dixon Machado, who took three out of the leadoff spot. It is Iowa's second game this year with nine walks as a team, the first coming on April 6th in their first win of the year, an 8-4 victory over the Buffalo Bisons. Machado also walked three times out of the leadoff spot in that game. The infielder has now walked three times in a single game three times, something no I-Cubs hitter did all of last season. 29% (18-of-63) of the team's walks this year have come in the two games on April 6 and last night.

THE LONE HIT: Indianapolis was just two outs away from no-hitting Iowa for their second no-hitter of the year. It would have marked the first time they had two no-hitters in the same year since 2012 and the first time Iowa had been no-hit since April 14, 2017, against New Orleans. The I-Cubs got a single in the bottom of the ninth inning for their only hit of the game, marking the first time they have been one-hit since May 28 last year against St. Paul at Principal Park.

GET PAST NINE: With their loss last night to Indianapolis, the I-Cubs fell to an even 9-9 on the year. Last year, Iowa's ninth win of the year came in their 14th game of the season, beating Omaha to go 9-5 and move to just a half-game out of first place in the Triple-A East Midwest division. After that win, the I-Cubs lost nine games in a row before getting their 10th win and after their 10th win, they lost seven more games in a row. After losing 16 out of 17 games over the stretch, Iowa was 10-21 in last place, 12.5 games out of first. Last night marked Iowa's first loss this year since getting their ninth win and hope to end the streak today against Indianapolis.

DIALING IT IN: Catcher P.J. Higgins started the year without a hit through his first four games, going 0-for-13 with two walks and six strikeouts. In his fifth game of the year he recorded three hits, and through six games was hitting .150. Since then, Higgins has recorded a hit in each of his last six games. With his six-game hitting streak, Higgins has tied the season long for any I-Cubs hitter, tying Donnie Dewees and Ildemaro Vargas, who each had their streaks snapped last night. Higgins recorded the only hit of the game last night for Iowa, singling in the ninth inning to break up Indianapolis' combined no-hitter. He also walked two times, bringing his on-base percentage to .458 on the season. His 1-for-2 night raised his average to .333 this year, good for the team lead. In six games since April 14, he is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with two doubles, a home run and seven runs batted in. Over that stretch, he has more walks (6) than strikeouts (3).

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa and Indianapolis will match up for game two of their six-game series today, with Indy leading the series 1-0. It is also the second game of 18 that the I-Cubs will take on Indianapolis this year. The two teams met 24 times last year, with Iowa holding a 13-11 advantage. In the four years (1995-97, 2021) Iowa and Indy have played, last year marked the first year that the I-Cubs were above .500 in the matchup. They went 6-6 at home last year and are now 17-23 overall at home against Indianapolis, while holding an all-time record of 31-48 against the Indians.

SHORT HOPS: Last night marked Iowa's first loss of the season in their white uniforms...with his start last night, Adrian Sampson became the first pitcher to make four starts for Iowa this season.

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