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August 30 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Toledo Mud Hens

August 30, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (70-54) @ TOLEDO MUD HENS (60-66)

Wednesday, August 30 - 5:35 PM CT - Fifth Third Field - Toledo, OH

LHP Stephen Gonsalves (0-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Rony Garcia (1-0, 7.58)

TONIGHT'S GAME: With Iowa trailing the series 1-0, they give Stephen Gonsalves the starting nod for game two tonight. Gonsalves is set for his first start of the season and just his fifth appearance with the I-Cubs in 2023. Through 4.0 innings this season, he has allowed three runs while striking out six compared to five walks. Tonight will be the lefty's first start since July 16, 2021. Gonsalves has spent much of his career as a starter, making 167 total appearances with 124 starts. Gonsalves has faced the Mud Hens three times in his career, going 1-0 with an 8.00 ERA in those games. Opposite Gonsalves will be Rony Garcia for Toledo. Garcia is set for just his second start of the year. He is 1-0 with a 7.58 ERA through 22 appearances with Toledo. His last start came on July 27. The righty made three relief appearances against the I-Cubs earlier this season, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four across 3.2 innings combined. Those three outings out of the pen are the only times Garcia has faced Iowa in his career.

WALKING WOES: In last night's series opening loss to the Mud Hens, the I-Cubs pitching staff totaled 11 walks in the game. That number was equal to the number of runs scored and hits tallied by Toledo. Iowa used five different pitchers in the contest and Tyler Duffey, who only tossed a third of an inning, was the only one not to record a walk. Cam Sanders tallied the most walks on the night out of all the Iowa pitchers with five. Walks have been an issue for Sanders this season, as he has racked up a total of 63 free passes in 2023. Sanders leads all Iowa pitchers in walks allowed with his 63 and the next closest walk total on the squad is Riley Thompson's 43. In terms of where Sanders ranks in the International League with walks, that would be second. In 124 games played this season, the I-Cubs have issued 634 walks, which averages out to just over five walks a game and ranks as the fifth most walks allowed in the league. Iowa also owns three of the top-10 games with the most walks allowed in a single game this season. Iowa's high for walks in a game is set at 16, which it has done twice. The first time occurred on June 2 versus Columbus and the second time happened on August 3 versus Toledo. These rank first in the International League for walks in a single game. On July 9, Iowa walked 13 versus St. Paul, which is tied for the sixth most walks allowed in a game.

UP AND DOWN: With the loss last night to Toledo, Iowa is currently on a 3-7 skid over its last 10 games. Not exactly the record the I-Cubs hoped for with just about one month remaining in the season. The current 3-7 mark isn't the worst stretch of play Iowa has gone through this season, however. That happened between July 27 and August 6, when the I-Cubs went 2-8 against Memphis and Toledo. To find a silver lining in this is that after going 2-8 against the Red Birds and Mud Hens, Iowa immediately rattled off seven consecutive wins over August 8-16, taking five in-a-row over Omaha and then winning the first two games of the series versus Louisville. The seven-game win streak is the longest by the I-Cubs this season and marked the longest winning stretch since the 2019 season when they won eight games from May 1-7. Hopefully Iowa can rekindle its winning ways from a couple weeks ago and put an end to their current slump.

A PERFECT PAIR: Two of the standouts from Iowa's effort in last night's game were Jake Slaughter and Yonathan Perlaza. Slaughter managed to go 1-for-3 at the plate with a home run and three RBI. Perlaza also went 1-for-3 on the night with a double and one RBI. For Slaughter, he has been on a tear lately and over his last eight games has been an offensive leader for the I-Cubs. Over that time frame, Slaughter has slashed numbers of .321/.406/.750 with four home runs and nine RBI. Meanwhile, Perlaza broke his four-game hitless streak, which was his longest drought of the season, with his double last night. The Venezuelan has had a knack for collecting two-baggers in 2023 as he currently is tied for first in the International League with 35 doubles on the year.

BACK ON THE HILL: In tonight's contest, Iowa will send left-hander Stephen Gonsalves to take the mound first. Gonsalves has been working his way back from injury this season, as he was placed on the 60-day injured list to start the year. The 29-year-old was assigned to Iowa at the beginning of the month, on August 4, and has appeared in four games out of the bullpen for the I-Cubs. In just 4.0 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year, Gonsalves has tallied an ERA of 6.75 on two hits allowed, three earned runs, five walks, six strikeouts, and has held opponents to a hitting clip of .154. When including his time spent with South Bend and Myrtle Beach this season, Gonsalves owns a record of 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. The San Diego, CA, native has made 13 total appearances over three different levels in the minor leagues and over 13.1 innings, he has allowed 10 earned runs off 10 hits to go along with eight walks and 21 strikeouts. Tonight marks the first time since July 16, 2021, in which Gonsalves will be used in a starting role. The last time the lefty started a game he was a member of the Worcester Red Sox and in that outing he suffered the loss against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after 6.0 innings pitched, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, three home runs, two walks, and nine strikeouts.

AGAINST TOLEDO: With last night's loss, Iowa has now lost three in a row to the Mud Hens dating back to August 5. The I-Cubs lost five in a row to Toledo earlier this season from May 13 to August 3. Iowa is 5-8 against Toledo this season. The Mud Hens are the only team the I-Cubs have a losing record against in 2023. Iowa is at least two games over .500 against six teams and at an even .500 against two teams. While they have a losing record overall, the I-Cubs are 1-1 in series this year versus Toledo.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa did not commit an error for the first time in five games, they made eight errors in that five game stretch against Indianapolis last week...Iowa is a perfect 50/50 split in errors this year, they have recorded one or more errors in 62 games this year while being errorless in 62...the I-Cubs have been outscored 95-60 in the eighth inning this year, it is only one of two innings with a negative run differential, the fourth inning is the other as they've been outscored 81-74...Yonathan Perlaza slugged his 35th double of the season in the seventh yesterday, he is tied for first in the International League, ranks second in Triple-A and 11th in all of baseball...last night marked Iowa's 13th loss in the month of August, the most in any month this year.

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