IL Iowa Cubs

August 19 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Louisville Bats

August 19, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (67-48) vs. LOUISVILLE BATS (62-54)

Saturday, August 19 - 6:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Caleb Kilian (7-1, 3.97) vs. RHP Connor Phillips (1-1, 3.16)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Louisville are set to play game five of their series tonight, with the series now even at two games apiece. The I-Cubs will send righty Caleb Kilian to the mound, set to make his first start since August 1 against Toledo. Since then, he was recalled by Chicago and pitched two total innings of relief over a two-week span. The righty enters tonight's game with a 7-1 record and a 3.97 ERA, allowing 39 earned runs on 85 hits and 28 walks while striking out 67 batters in 88.1 innings pitched. The right-hander has tossed five or more innings in 11 of his last 15 games with Iowa dating back to May 5. Opposite of Kilian will be Connor Phillips taking the ball for the Bats. Phillips is 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA in eight games (seven starts) with Louisville, allowing 11 earned runs on 23 hits and 24 walks in 31.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 36 batters over that span, limiting opponents to a .207 batting average against him.

TWELVE DAYS OF HITTING: With a single in the bottom of the third inning last night, Pete Crow-Armstrong extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He surpassed Christopher Morel for the longest hit streak for an I-Cub this season. Morel hit safely in 11 straight games from April 8 to April 22. In Crow-Armstrong's 12-game stretch, he has gone 17-for-51 (.333) with 17 runs scored, three doubles, four home runs, nine runs batted in and nine walks compared to 12 strikeouts. The hit streak is the longest for Iowa since Dixon Machado hit safely in 14 straight games from May 29 to June 15, 2022. While Crow-Armstrong's streak is impressive, it is far from the longest in franchise history. Mike Squires and Steve Staggs hold the record for longest hitting streak with 33 games. Those streaks came in the 1978 and 1977 seasons, respectively. Crow-Armstrong's hitting streak is creeping up on his career long 15-game streak which came from April 22 to May 10, 2022, when he played with Single-A Myrtle Beach. His 12-gamer is his longest this season across any level. The 21-year-old not only has a substantial hitting streak building, but he has also reached base in each of his 14 games at Triple-A. While the outfielder did not record his first Iowa hit until his fourth game, he was walked twice and hit by a pitch in his first three. The on-base streak is tied for the seventh longest for any I-Cub this season.

HE'S MILES AWAY: Miles Mastrobuoni was recalled to the Chicago Cubs this morning. It is the fourth time this season he has been recalled and will be his fifth stint overall with Chicago. Mastrobuoni leaves Iowa on a hot hitting streak. The utility man hit safely in each of his last seven games with the I-Cubs. In that stretch, he went 10-for-29 (.345) with eight runs scored, a double, a triple, a home run, four runs batted in and five walks. The hitting streak was a season long for Mastrobuoni. He previously had a six-game streak from July 2 to August 1. Before his departure today, Mastrobuoni ranked first in on-base percentage (.448) and fourth in average (.295) on Iowa's roster.

BACK IN I-CUBS BLUE: Caleb Kilian will make his first start since returning to the I-Cubs earlier this week at Principal Park tonight. He was recalled to Chicago on August 6, his second promotion to the big leagues this year. He made two relief appearances with the Cubs, combining for 2.0 innings where he allowed three runs. Kilian was optioned to Iowa on August 15 and rejoined the active roster on August 18. Tonight will be the righty's 18th start of the year as an I-Cub. Prior to being recalled to Chicago, Kilian was Iowa's leading pitcher and ranked in the top 10 in multiple categories in the International League. In the IL, he was fourth in ERA (3.97), tied for third in wins (7), sixth in batting average against (.256), third in WHIP (1.28) and first in win percentage (.875). As of now, Kilian is not a qualified player, so he is unranked in all categories. Among Iowa's active roster, Kilian leads the team in wins (7), ranks second in starts (17) and innings pitched (88.1) and third in strikeouts (67). He looks for his first win since July 26 in his start tonight.

BLOWN SAVES AND LATE LOSSES: The I-Cubs have now lost back-to-back games in the ninth inning or later. Last night, Louisville put together a three-run ninth inning to get the win and on Thursday night, they scored a run in the 10th to win. Chris Clarke took the loss for Iowa last night, moving his record to 3-5 on the year. He entered the game with a two-run lead and went on to allow three runs on four hits. Clarke blew the save in his second opportunity this season. On Thursday, Richard Bleier blew the save as he gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning. The run tied the game at five and sent it into extras. Tyler Duffey ultimately suffered the loss in extra innings. The two blown saves bring Iowa's season total to 23, they are 27-for-50 in save opportunities this year. This week is the third time this season Iowa has blown saves in back-to-back days. It previously happened on August 5 and 6 and July 21 and 22. It's just the second time that both games resulted in a loss as Iowa won on July 22. The late losses have been uncommon for Iowa this year, as they are 51-3 when leading after seven innings and 49-2 when leading after eight.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE: The I-Cubs have now lost two in a row versus the Bats. It's the longest losing streak for Iowa since they lost back-to-back games on August 10 and August 11, 2022. The I-Cubs have only lost more than two games in a row to the Bats once all-time, when they dropped three straight between May 1 and May 31, 1996. Iowa's loss tied this week's series at two. The I-Cubs still hold the season series lead at 6-4 and the all-time lead a 28-24.

SHORT HOPS: Matt Mervis recorded his seventh three-RBI game of the season last night which leads Iowa's season roster; he has 17 multi-RBI games this year which is tied for third ... After their loss last night, Iowa is now 18-19 in night games at Principal Park, in night games on the road they are much better, at 25-15.

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