IL Iowa Cubs

April 3 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

Published on April 3, 2024 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (2-2) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (2-2)

Wednesday, April 3 - 12:08 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Chris Kachmar (0-0 -.--) vs. RHP Austin Bergner (0-0, -.--)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and Toledo will play game number two of their six-game series today, with Chris Kachmar set to make his Principal Park and Triple-A debut for Iowa. This will be the first outing of the season for the righty as he was promoted to Iowa just a couple of days ago on March 31. Kachmar spent the 2023 season with Double-A Tennessee and made 25 appearances with 11 starts. He tallied a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 4.84 over 67.0 innings of work with 75 strikeouts compared to 21 walks. The 27-year-old was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 28th round of the 2019 draft out of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee and spent his first two seasons (2021 and 2022) with South Bend. Opposite of Kachmar will be Austin Bergner getting the start for the Mud Hens. Bergner is making his season debut with Toledo today after being added to the roster yesterday. The right- hander appeared in nine games for Toledo last season and made four starts with a record of 1-3 and an 8.34 ERA. Bergner faced the I-Cubs once in 2023 on May 13 and was credited with the win after tossing four scoreless with eight strikeouts.

WHAT A WALK-OFF: The I-Cubs certainly had a flare for the drama in their home opener last night versus the Toledo Mud Hens. Facing a 4-1 deficit heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Iowa put on its rally hat and plated three runs to tie the game. Outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong started the rally by slicing a triple into the right field corner, which scored Curt Casali who reached first on a walk. Alexander Canario immediately followed up with an extra-base hit of his own on a hard hit ball into the gap in left center. The tying run came courtesy of Matt Mervis as he missed a home run by mere inches off the top of the center field wall for a double. After a scoreless ninth frame, it didn't take long for the I-Cubs to close out the game in the 10th. With runners on second and third, Casali came through with a base knock to right field securing the 5-4 win for Iowa. The victory marked the first come from behind victory and the first extra innings win for Iowa in the 2024 season. It also marked the first walk-off win in franchise history during a home opener.

WATCH ON MARQUEE: Today's matinee versus the Toledo Mud Hens is a special broadcast as it will be aired on Marquee Sports Network. This will be the fourth season the Iowa Cubs have had their games showcased on Marquee Sports Network and for the 2024 season the I-Cubs will have 17 games featured on Marquee Sports Network. Longtime Play-by-Play Broadcaster Alex Cohen will be the lead voice for all 17 games that the I-Cubs will be on Marquee Sports Network this year. Along with 17 games being showcased on Marquee, Iowa will also be featured on Road to Wrigley, airing on eight days throughout the season. Road to Wrigley showcases all four Cubs minor league affiliates in a Red Zone-style format, including live look- ins during at-bats and moments from Cubs' top prospects, as well as game highlights an analysis from Marquee analysts. Iowa Cubs fans can watch Marquee Sports Network through their participating cable provider, including Mediacom or DirecTV, or by subscribing directly to Marquee Sports Network at WatchMarquee.com.

CALL TO THE PEN: The I-Cubs pitching staff had quite the performance from its bullpen in last night's victory over the Mud Hens. Iowa used four pitchers in relief last night and the quartet of arms combined to hold Toledo scoreless in 8.0 innings of work with just one hit allowed and 11 strikeouts compared to three walks. Keegan Thompson highlighted the group striking out four of the eight batters he faced. Last night was a bounce back outing for Thompson from his season debut in Omaha last week. In the appearance versus the Storm Chasers the right-hander went 1.0 inning and gave up a three-run home run.

KACHMAR CALLED UP: Right handed pitcher Chris Kachmar gets the starting nod on the mound for today's game in what will be his Triple-A debut. The 27-year-old was promoted to Iowa on March 31 from Double-A Tennessee to fill the spot of Ben Brown who was called up to Chicago. The Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania native was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 28th round of the 2019 draft out of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee and has moved his way up the Cubs organization. Last season Kachmar spent the entire year with the Tennessee Smokies and made 25 appearances with 11 starts. He tallied a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 4.84 over 67.0 innings of work with 75 strikeouts compared to 21 walks. Kachmar spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Sound Bend.

EXTRAS, EXTRAS: The Iowa Cubs have already played their fair share of extra inning baseball in 2024. Out of the four games that Iowa has played it has gone into extras in three of those contests. Iowa and Omaha went to extras in two of three games last weekend and opened the series versus Toledo with another extra inning affair last night. Fortunately, the I-Cubs were able to come out on top in last night's ballgame giving them their first extra innings win of the season. Iowa dropped both extra inning contests to Omaha last weekend. In comparison to last season, Iowa played just 10 extra inning games and managed to go 4-6 in those contests.

AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa and Toledo played game one of their current six-game series last night, game one of 12 here at Principal Park against the Mud Hens and the first of 18 total matchups between the two teams. With their comeback victory last night, Iowa moved to 1-0 against Toledo this year, putting their all-time total at 20-32 against the Mud Hens. The victory moved their all-time record at Principal Park to 15-19. Dating back to last year, Iowa ended a three-game losing streak versus the Mud Hens with the victory last night.

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