IL Iowa Cubs

April 9 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at St. Paul Saints

Published on April 9, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (5-2) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (4-3)

Sunday - 2:07 PM - CHS Field - St. Paul, MN

RHP Caleb Kilian (0-0, 30.86) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-0, -.--)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and St. Paul will meet for the fifth and final game of their weather-shortened series this afternoon, with Caleb Kilian facing off against Simeon Woods Richardson. With the series on the line, Iowa will hand the ball to Kilian, set to make his second start of the year. He will look to bounce back from his first start in which he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits including four home runs over just 2.1 innings last Sunday. Woods Richardson will be making his first start of the year and his second against Iowa in as many seasons. In his lone start against Iowa last year, the righty earned a win, spinning 5.2 innings of two-run ball. He allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight, limiting the I-Cubs to a .190 average against him.

GET OUT OF THE FIRST: St. Paul's five-run first inning marked the fourth game out of seven that Iowa has surrendered first inning runs, and the third time they have given up three or more runs. They allowed one on Opening Night last Friday against Columbus, followed by five in Sunday's victory over the Clippers. Iowa gave up three runs in the first here against St. Paul on Thursday and then allowed a five-run first in game two yesterday afternoon. Add that all up and it marked 14 first-inning runs for Iowa's opponents this year, the most of any single inning.

SEEING RED: Iowa will wear their Sunday red jerseys this afternoon, a jersey that has not been friendly to Caleb Kilian. In his career with Iowa, the righty has pitched in the red jerseys five times including three on the road. He has been much better on the road in the alternates, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched. That lone victory came against these St. Paul Saints back on May 8 last year, when he spun five scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five in his first time pitching in the red uniform. Over the righty's two home starts in the Sunday jersey including his season opener last Sunday, Kilian has allowed 14 earned runs on 14 hits including four home runs while fanning just three. He has logged just 5.2 total innings over those two outings, good for an ERA of 22.24.

COSTLY ERRORS: Seeing only one error in the box score typically wouldn't raise many red flags, but the mark can often be detrimental. In Iowa's lost yesterday, David Bote's fielding error in the bottom of the first cost the I-Cubs a potential double play to end the inning and allowed the Saints to rally for five runs. On Friday night, a similar error by Sergio Alcántara also cost a potential two outs and allowed for a three-run rally. The five-run rally yesterday came in a three-run loss for Iowa and the three-run rally ended with Iowa losing by four on Friday night.

JUST A BIT OUTSIDE: Iowa's pitchers have been on a wild ride this series, combining as a staff to walk 24 batters through the first four games. To go along with their 24 free passes, they have also hit two batters and thrown four wild pitches. The I-Cubs have thrown 601 pitches with 354 of them being strikes, making it 59% of pitches thrown hitting the zone. Their 43 total walks on the season are the second most among International League teams and their 6.67 walks per nine innings is the most. Adrian Sampson's 10 walks leads both Iowa and the IL, accounting for over half (10-of-19) of walks from Iowa's starting pitchers this year. That number rose significantly after his six walks in game one of yesterday's double header.

HE GETS ON BASE: Christopher Morel has been on a tear so far in 2023, usually finding his way on with hits. In two games yesterday, he combined to go 2-for-5 while drawing three walks in the double header. He walked more than any other I-Cub or Saint in that stretch. The righty now leads Iowa in walks with seven on the season, accounting for 17.5 (7-of-40) of the team's free passes. Not only did he get on base yesterday, but made it all the way around the horn, scoring two runs as well. His season on-base percentage of .500 leads Iowa and is tied for 10th in the International League.

WHO'S IN THE LEAD?: In just the 14 innings of yesterday's double header between Iowa and St. Paul, there were seven lead changes. There were another seven in the first two games of the series, making it 14 total lead changes through four games. Two games this week have had five lead changes, both resulting in an Iowa victory. The team who scores first is 3-1, but lost the lead at some point during each win. The longest either team has held a lead is 4.1 innings, when St. Paul went up 2-1 with two outs in the fifth inning on Friday night and finished the game with the lead.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: After splitting the double header yesterday, Iowa and St. Paul will play the fifth and final game of the series today. With the series currently tied at two games apiece, today will be the rubber match and decide the series. With a win and loss yesterday, Iowa is 25-38 all-time against the Saints and 16-23 here at CHS Field since 2021.

SHORT HOPS: Nelson Velazquez extended his hitting streak to a team-leading seven games with hits in each game of the double header yesterday...game two yesterday marked Iowa's first loss in a game day this season and oddly enough, their first loss when their opponent scores first - a category in which they went 26-55 last season.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from April 9, 2023


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.

OurSports Central