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August 1 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

August 1, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (59-41) vs. TOLEDO MUDHENS (42-59)

Tuesday, August 1 - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Caleb Kilian (7-1, 4.15) vs. LHP Jack O'Loughlin (1-3, 5.84)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and Toledo Mud Hens kick off their six-game series tonight at Principal Park. Iowa sends Caleb Kilian to the mound for the series opener. Iowa's win-leader has found great success this season, suffering just one loss on the year while recording a 4.15 ERA. Kilian's efforts have led him to multiple top-10 rankings in the International League. His seven wins are tied for third in the IL, he ranks first in win percentage (.875), third in WHIP (1.30), tied for fourth in ERA (4.15) and sixth in batting average against (.258). Kilian made one start earlier this year against Toledo going 5.0 innings where he allowed four runs on six hits, three hit batters and one walk. In five career starts against the Mud Hens, Kilian is 1-0 with a 17.18 ERA and 23 strikeouts. For Toledo, Jake O'Loughlin will get the starting nod. The lefty has made eight starts for Toledo this season where he's allowed 29 runs in 44.2 innings for a 5.84 ERA. O'Loughlin has struck out 43 hitters compared to walking 18. He is in search of his first win since June 7, he was 0-2 in the month of July. Tonight marks O'Loughlin's first career start against the I-Cubs.

PCA IS HERE: The Chicago Cubs' top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is set to make his Triple-A debut tonight at Principal Park. As one of the most highly anticipated prospects in the Cubs system, PCA's call-up is an exciting one for all. The lefty entered the season as MLB's No. 28 overall prospect and quickly rose to No. 7 with his success with Double-A Tennessee. In 73 games with the Smokies, PCA slashed .289/.371/.527 with 68 runs, 19 doubles, five triples, 14 homers and 60 RBI. He ranked in the top 10 in the Southern League in nearly every offensive category: fifth in average, tied for 10th in home runs, fifth in RBI, sixth in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS (.898), fourth in hits (86), sixth in doubles, third in triples, fourth in extra-base hits (38), fourth in total bases (157) and third in runs scored. PCA's talent reached beyond his offensive ability. His 27 stolen bases led Tennessee and ranked sixth in the Southern League. He boasted a .970 fielding percentage, recording just 5 errors in 169 total chances. The outfielder's defensive efforts last season earned him an MiLB Gold Glove award. PCA's accolades extend to two Futures Game Selections in 2022 and 2023. At just 21 years old, PCA becomes the youngest player on Iowa's roster. Chicago acquired the California native in a trade with the New York Mets in exchange for Javier Baez, Trevor Williams and cash on July 30, 2021. PCA quickly was named the Cubs' No. 1 prospect and is now just one step away from Wrigley.

FIRST AND THE WORST: Entering tonight's game the Iowa Cubs hold the first-place spot of the International League West for the regular season (59-41) as well as the second half (16-11). The Toledo Mud Hens on the other hand rank last in both, 42-59 overall and 9-18 in the second half. With 17.5 games separating the I-Cubs from their opponent, there is a clear difference in performance this season. This difference reaches far beyond just win percentage. Iowa ranks fifth in batting average (.269) while Toledo has the worst in the league (.250). The I-Cubs have scored the fourth most runs in the IL this season (605) and the Mud Hens have scored the second least (480). On the pitching side of things, Iowa has allowed the least amount of hits this season (808) while Toledo has given up the third most (964).

SERIES REMATCH: The Mud Hens may rank lower than Iowa in many stat categories this season, but they were able to get the best of the I-Cubs twice earlier this season. In their six-game series back in May, the I-Cubs won the first four of the week 6-1, 3-2, 5-4 and 10-2. Toledo took games five and six of the series 4-1 and 6-2. Despite the two losses, the I-Cubs outscored the Mud Hens 27-19 over the six-game stretch. It's been 12 weeks since these two teams last faced off and lots has changed. Just 16 players remain on Iowa's active roster that played in that May series. For Toledo, only 14 players remain.

BYE NELLY: The Chicago Cubs have made multiple trades this week that have directly affected Iowa. Nelson Velazquez was traded to the Kansas City Royals on Monday afternoon for right-handed pitcher Jose Cuas. Velázquez played 74 games this year for Iowa, slashing .253/333/.469. His 16 home runs ranked second on Iowa's season-long roster behind only Jake Slaughter who has 17. The outfielder ranked in the top ten in multiple other categories for Iowa including second in runs (48), fifth in doubles (15) and sixth in RBI (44). Velázquez recorded 18 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games this season. He made 56 starts in center field, the most of any I-Cub this year. Darius Hill has the next most with just 14 as the outfield captain. The Puerto Rican started the year with Iowa and had three stints at Triple-A. He was promoted to Chicago on April 10, optioned to Iowa on April 15, recalled to Chicago on April 25 and then optioned again on May 8 where he remained.

CLOSER NO MORE: Earlier today, I-Cubs closer Manuel Rodriguez was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Adrian Sampson for minor-league pitcher Josh Roberson. The trade is a big hit to Iowa's bullpen. Rodríguez's 35 games led Iowa's pitching staff. His 13 saves not only led Iowa but ranked first in the International League. In all of Triple-A, the righty was second in saves. With Iowa's long-time saves leader off their roster, the new leader becomes Cam Sanders who has just three saves this year. No other I-Cub on the active roster has recorded multiple saves this year. Chris Clarke and Jeremiah Estrada are the only other active pitchers to record a save.

AGAINST TOLEDO: The I-Cubs and Mud Hens will play the seventh of 18 games scheduled this season and begin their second series of the year. Iowa earned a 4-2 series win back in May versus Toledo. The I-Cubs enter tonight on a two-game losing streak against their fellow IL West foe. Despite their four wins earlier this year, Iowa trails 16-23 all time against Toledo and 13-14 all-time at home.

SHORT HOPS: Sunday afternoon's 2-0 loss was Iowa first loss of the year when they allowed three runs or less, they had previously won 32 games under those circumstances ... Iowa is 11-7 in series openers this year, they have won five straight entering tonight dating back to June 28 against Omaha ... The I-Cubs are an even .500 in Tuesday games this year, 4-4 at Principal Park and 6-6 overall ... Matt Mervis extended his season-long hitting streak to eight games with a 1-4 performance on Sunday, his career long hitting streak is 13 games which came from April 20 to May 7, 2022 while he played with Advanced-A South Bend.

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