IL Iowa Cubs

April 30 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Louisville Bats

Published on April 30, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (15-8) vs. LOUISVILLE BATS (9-16)

Sunday - 1:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Javier Assad (0-1, 6.00) vs. RHP Levi Stoudt (1-1, 3.38)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa will go for their fourth series victory of the year today, sending Javier Assad to the mound in today's series finale. Assad is set to make his second start of the series against Louisville after suffering the loss in game one. The righty allowed just two earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two over his 3.1 innings pitched. The loss put his record at 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA through two starts with Iowa. Louisville will also repeat with their starting pitcher, with Levi Stoudt set to start for the second time this series. Stoudt earned his first win of the season in game one on Tuesday, allowing just one run on four hits over 5.0 innings. The righty walked one while striking out four, throwing 59% (45-of-76) of his pitches for strikes.

LEADING THE PACK: Not only does Christopher Morel lead the Iowa Cub's offense in nearly every category, he does the same for the International League. Morel ranks first in the league in six categories: HR (11), RBI (28), SLG (.835), OPS (1.298), runs (27) and extra base hits (20). In addition, he ranks third in hits (33), fourth in average (.363) and seventh in on-base percentage (.463). Morel has appeared in all 23 of Iowa's games this season, starting 22 of them and pinch-hitting in one. In those 23 games, he has reached base at least once in 22 of them. Through the first 18 games, he recorded an 18-game on-base streak which ranks as the third longest in the International League this season. Morel has also recorded a hit in all but four games this season. One of those games included a pinch-hit appearance, where he did not record an at-bat. So, he has a hit in 19-of-22 games when he records an at-bat. In yesterday's game, he came just one RBI short of tying the I-Cubs record of eight in one game. In his five games this series, Morel has gone 10-for-22 (.455) with 8 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB and 2 SB. Morel is now on a four-game hitting streak.

RUN, FORREST, RUN: The Iowa Cubs have now scored a season-high 18 runs in two games this season. Both instances have come this week against Louisville. 18 runs is the most Iowa has scored since they put up 19 on April 28, 2019, in game two of a double-header against Nashville. The last time Iowa scored 18 came on April 12, 2017, against New Orleans. In 2022, the most runs the I-Cubs scored was 13. The 2023 I-Cubs have already passed that mark in three games so far.

PART OF THE ACTION: Iowa scored eight runs in the first inning last night, the most runs in a single inning for the I-Cubs or their opponents this year. A big part of the eight-run first was back-to-back home runs from Jake Slaughter and David Bote. First, Slaughter hit his first grand slam of the year to put Iowa up 4-0. Bote immediately followed that with a solo home run to put the I-Cubs up by five. It marked the second time Iowa has had back-to-back home runs this year and the first since Opening Night. Bote was a part of that fun as well, as back on March 31 against Columbus he and Matt Mervis each went deep.

A SNEAKY GOOD START: In a game where a team scores 18 runs, eyes are not typically on the pitching staff for either side. Nick Neidert dealt 5.2 innings where he allowed just two runs on seven hits. Neidert was the first pitcher to shut down the Bats' hot offense in three games. They scored 37 runs in the first four games of the series and Neidert was the first starter to hold them to less than five. Not only did he limit runs, the righty recorded a season-high six strikeouts. He was just one out away from recording a quality start. Iowa has recorded just one quality start this season, coming back on April 20 in game one of a doubleheader against Buffalo. After his 5.2 innings yesterday, Neidert now lead's the active roster with 20.0 innings pitched.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE: Iowa and Louisville are set to play the sixth and final game of the series today, with Iowa currently leading the series three games to two. They enter today's game with a chance for their fourth series win of the year, currently with three series wins and a split. After their 18-2 victory last night, Iowa is now 25-22 against Louisville all-time, going 16-10 at home and 9-12 on the road. Entering today's game, the I-Cubs have outscored the Bats by 11 runs, at 50-39.

SHORT HOPS: After an 18-2 win by Iowa and Memphis losing their third consecutive game last night, the I-Cubs are now just a half-game out of first place in the International League West Division...with their win yesterday, Iowa moved to 15-8, putting them seven games above the .500 mark for the fourth time this year; Iowa has a chance to get to eight games above .500 with a win today, something they have yet to do this year...Iowa has scored 186 runs in 23 games this year, averaging just over eight runs per game despite playing four seven-inning games.

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