IL Iowa Cubs

August 16 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Louisville Bats

Published on August 16, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (66-46) vs. LOUISVILLE BATS (60-53)

Wednesday, August 16 - 12:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Shane Greene (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Levi Stoudt (3-4, 5.55)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and Louisville are set to play game two of their six-game series today, with Shane Greene taking the ball for the I-Cubs. In two starts with Iowa, Greene is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out three in his 5.0 innings pitched. He has limited opponents to just a .071 batting average in his two games. Opposite of Greene will be Levi Stoudt getting the nod for Louisville. Stoudt is 3-4 with a 5.55 ERA in 16 starts with the Bats this year, allowing 36 earned runs on 59 hits and 35 walks. He has struck out 42 batters in his 58.1 innings pitched, while opponents are hitting .265 against him. The righty leads the team in starts and has made two against Iowa. In those starts, Stoudt has gone 1-1 with a 7.88 ERA, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits and seven walks while striking out six.

HIGHLY TOUTED FOR A REASON: The No.1 ranked prospect in the Cubs' system, Pete Crow-Armstrong, was the hero in last night's win over the Louisville Bats to open the series. In the bottom of the 10th inning, the 21-year-old turned on a fastball that was left over the heart of the plate from Louisville pitcher Silvino Bracho and sent it 422-feet over the right field fence for a two-run walk-off homer to give Iowa the 5-3 win. On the night Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI to go along with his walk-off winner. PCA is currently on a nine-game hitting streak and has recorded three consecutive two-hit performances. In just 11 games with the I-Cubs, the top prospect is just two games shy of tying the longest hitting streak by an I-Cub this season, which was set by Christopher Morel at 11 from April 8-22. He has also reached base in every game that he has played since his promotion to Iowa earlier this month. The power numbers have also been on display for the Sherman Oaks, California native as he has now hit 18 total homers in 2023, which is personal best for his young career. After last night, Crow-Armstrong is now hitting at a clip of .289 (13-for-45) for Iowa with three doubles, four home runs, and seven RBI to go along with three stolen bases.

CANARIO IN THE CLUTCH: Another key performance in the I-Cubs victory came from outfielder Alexander Canario. On the night, the No. 14 ranked prospect in the Cubs' system went just 1-for-4 at the dish, but his lone hit proved to be a big one. In the bottom of the eighth inning Canario delivered with a rocket through the left side of the infield off Tejay Antone, bringing in Yonathan Perlaza to tie the game up at 3-3. The 23-year-old has been on roll hitting as well. Over his last five games Carnario is hitting .348 (8-for-23) with a pair of doubles, one home run, and nine RBI to go along with an on-base percentage of .400 and a .565 slugging percentage. Since joining Iowa, the Dominican Republic native has slashed .255/.346/.404 with five doubles, three homers, 23 RBI, and two bag swipes.

RELIEVERS ROLLING: The I-Cubs got a huge boost from their bullpen last night as four different arms combined to throw six scoreless, hitless innings against the dangerous Louisville lineup. Stephen Gonsalves, Nick Burdi, Brendon Little, and Chris Clarke held the Bats off the scoreboard following Nick Neidert's start and tallied four walks allowed, five strikeouts, and produced two important double play opportunities for the defense. For Burdi, it marked the first outing of his Major League Rehab assignment. The hard-throwing right-hander started the year with Iowa and was promoted to Chicago on May 15 after tallying four saves, 19 strikeouts, five walks, and an ERA of 3.38 over 10.2 innings of work with the I-Cubs. He tossed a scoreless frame with one walk and one punchout in his return last night. For Clarke, who was brought in to start the ninth inning and proceeded to spin 2.0 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts, he was credited with the win, marking his third consecutive victory after starting out 0-4.

WINNING WAYS: With the victory over Louisville last night the I-Cubs set a new season-high for a winning streak at six games. Iowa had been stuck on winning five consecutive games as its longest win streak in 2023, which they had done so on three separate occasions. This current winning streak started last week as Iowa went a perfect five-for-five in games on the road against Omaha. In those five games against Omaha, the I-Cubs had an average winning margin of eight runs per game. With their current six-game winning streak Iowa surpassed its longest winning streaks of both the 2022 and 2021 seasons and is on its longest winning streak since the 2019 season when it won eight games from May 1-7.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE: The I-Cubs jumped to an early 1-0 series lead with their walk-off win last night. They have now won three straight against the Bats dating back to wins on April 29 and 30. Iowa continues to lead the season series 5-2 with all of those games coming at Principal Park. The win extended the I-Cubs all-time series lead to 27-22 and to 18-10 all-time at Principal Park. The longest win-streak against Louisville in franchise history is five games. Iowa swept a four game series from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, 1996 and won one on July 27, 2021 to make it five in a row. This season's three-game win streak is the longest since then.

SHORT HOPS: The Bats are 17-for-44 in save opportunities this season (.386), they blew their 27th save of the season last night...Four I-Cubs have an active hit streak of five or more games with David Bote, Alexander Canario and Miles Mastrobuoni at five and Pete Crow-Armstrong at nine...Iowa's win last night put them at an overall record of 66-46, it marks the second time this season they have been 20 games over .500, the first time came at 58-38.

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