Sports stats

IL Iowa Cubs

April 6 Game Notes: Iowa at Buffalo

April 6, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (0-1) @ BUFFALO BISONS (1-0)

Wednesday - 6:05 PM ET - Sahlen Field - Buffalo, NY

LHP Conner Menez (0-0, -.--) vs. LHP Anthony Kay (0-0, -.--)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Down one game to zero in the series, Conner Menez will get the start in his first game in an Iowa Cubs uniform. Menez has been primarily a starter his whole career before starting just five of 26 games last season. Opposite of the southpaw will be lefty Anthony Kay getting the nod for the Bisons. Kay started eight games last year for Buffalo, going 0-4 with an 8.89 ERA.

NOT ANOTHER ONE: Last season, Iowa struggled to the tune of a 10-29 record when they faced left-handed pitching, hitting just .233 as a team when facing a lefty. In their 129 games, the team had 267 hits and 333 strikeouts when facing a left-handed starter. After striking out six times while registering just two base runners (one walk, one hit) through six innings yesterday against lefty Nick Allgeyer, the I-Cubs need to turn it around facing another southpaw tonight.

NEW YEAR, SAME RESULT: Yesterday's Opening Day loss very closely mirrored the I-Cubs 2021 Opening Day performance against Indianapolis. Similar to last year, Indy hit a home run and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Their starter (Chase De Jong) also threw five hitless innings just like Nick Allgeyer did yesterday. The I-Cubs registered their first hit in the sixth inning in both games. In 2021, they recorded no runs on just two hits, two walk and 15 strikeouts while yesterday they scored two runs on three hits, three walks and 11 strikeouts. Iowa can only hope they follow their 2021 footsteps in game two of the series, as they won last year 8-3, exploding for eight runs on 11 hits including four home runs.

BACK TO THE START: Conner Menez will take the ball today for his first start as an I-Cub and his first appearance outside of the Giants' organization, where he has pitched since his selection in the 2016 draft. Menez, who has seen time in the big leagues in each of the last three seasons, was claimed by the Cubs off waivers from San Francisco on December 8. The lefty began his professional career as a starter but transitioned to primarily bullpen duty in 2020. From 2016 through 2019, he started 83 out of 97 games he pitched in. During the past two seasons, however, he made just six starts in 41 appearances - all six of which lasted three innings or less. The last time Menez pitched more than three innings was August 27, 2019, when he made a five-inning start for Triple-A Sacramento. Coming into tonight's game, Menez holds a 25-24 career record with a 4.34 ERA (209ER/433.1IP) as a starter and a 5-2 mark with a 4.88 ERA (41ER/75.2IP) out of the bullpen.

DOING IT ALL: From 2018-2019, Matt Swarmer started 49 of his 51 games with Myrtle Beach, Tennessee and Iowa. Last season, Swarmer was still primarily a starter, starting 20 of his 24 games, but showed he could come out of the bullpen with success. Out of the bullpen last year, the righty allowed five earned runs over 13.2 innings pitched. He started with another great effort out of the bullpen yesterday, tossing four scoreless innings to keep the I-Cubs in the game. He allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out three of the 15 batters he faced.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: There wasn't much offense to be had yesterday in the season opener, with the two teams combining for five runs on just eight hits. Surprisingly, six of those eight hits went for extra-base hits. Two of Iowa's three hits were doubles, while Buffalo had three doubles and a home run for four of their five hits.

FLASH BACK TO 2019: Robel Garcia was a big part of the 2019 Pacific Coast League American Northern Division Championship Iowa Cubs team, playing in 76 games for Iowa that year. He hit .281 (73-for-260) with 12 doubles, 21 home runs and 52 RBI. He struggled last year with Houston's Triple-A affiliate, hitting just .162 (19-for-117) in 32 games. Yesterday, back with Iowa in their first game of the season, he started just where he left off in 2019, getting the scoring started for Iowa in the seventh inning with an RBI double. He notched his first two doubles of the season yesterday, the only I-Cub with a multi-hit performance batting from the cleanup spot in the lineup.

LONG BALL PAIN: Despite recording the second-most strikeouts in the entire Triple-A last year, the deep fly killed Cory Abbott last season. In 2021, 21% (20-of-97) of his hits allowed left the yard, accounting for 44% (28-of-63) of his earned runs allowed last year. Abbott had five games with Iowa in which he allowed two or more home runs in one game. Yesterday it was more of the same, allowing a two-run blast in the first inning - the only two runs he allowed over his 2.2 innings pitched. The righty surrendered just two more hits the rest of his outing, but the damage had been done and he suffered the loss.

NICE TO SEE YOU: The Iowa Cubs' offense was stifled by Buffalo's starter yesterday, but immediately when a new pitcher came in, they jumped on him. They scored two runs in the seventh inning bringing them within a run of the Bisons. The pitcher they scored the two runs off of was righty Joe Biagini, former Iowa Cub. In 2021, Biagini started 19 of 22 games played for Iowa, including getting the nod as their Opening Day starter. The I-Cubs hit their old teammate well, pitching on an Iowa Cubs Opening Day for his second consecutive season.

AGAINST BUFFALO: Buffalo took a 1-0 series lead yesterday with their 3-2 Opening Day victory, the first game between the two teams since the Bisons swept the I-Cubs in the 1997 American Association Championship. Iowa is 108-101 all-time against Buffalo, holding a 60-43 mark at home while going 48-58 on the road against the Bisons.

SHORT HOPS: In 129 games last year, Iowa played just six games shorter than they played yesterday, with their fastest game coming on May 26 against St. Paul at 2:20...the I-Cubs were 16-19 in one-run games last year and 15-55 when their opponent scored first.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from April 6, 2022


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Iowa Cubs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central