IL Iowa Cubs

August 8 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Omaha Storm Chasers

August 8, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (60-46) @ OMAHA STORM CHASERS (50-54)

Tuesday, August 8 - 7:05 PM - Werner Park - Papillion, NE

RHP Nick Neidert (5-5, 5.47) vs. RHP Max Castillo (3-6, 5.12)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Omaha are set to play in game one of a scheduled six-game series tonight, with first pitch between two teams set for 7:05 pm. For Iowa, Nick Neidert is set to make his team-leading 18th start of the season, entering tonight's game with a 5-5 record and a 5.47 ERA. The righty has allowed 49 earned runs on 94 hits and 30 walks while striking out 63 in his 80.2 innings pitched. In two starts against Omaha this year, Neidert is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and no walks. He has struck out four over his 10.0 innings pitched, limiting the Storm Chasers to a .243 batting average against him. On the other side, Max Castillo will toe the rubber for the Storm Chasers. Castillo enters tonight's game with a 3-6 record and a 5.12 ERA in 15 games (14 starts), allowing 44 earned runs on 79 hits in 77.1 innings pitched. He has walked just 16 batters compared to 53 strikeouts, allowing opponents to hit .260 against him over that span. In one start against Iowa this year, Castillo allowed three earned runs on three hits including two home runs. He walked three and struck out two in his six innings pitched.

CAN'T WIN THEM ALL: For the first time this season, relief pitcher Cam Sanders suffered a loss on his record after Iowa fell in the series finale versus Toledo this past Sunday by a score of 6-4 in 10 innings. In the game, Sanders pitched relatively well but was credited with the loss as he was on the mound when the Mud Hens scored two runs in the top of the 10th. His final line read of 2.1 innings pitched, one hit, two runs (one earned), one walk, and three strikeouts. Sanders' record now moves to 6-1 on the year with his six wins being tied for the team lead on Iowa's active roster. The right-hander has an ERA of 5.40 over 46.2 innings pitched with 49 walks allowed and 74 strikeouts. The 26-year-old leads the I-Cubs active roster in both walks and strikeouts but is also holding opponents to a hitting clip of just .167, which is the second-best mark on the squad.

COUNT ON CLARKE: One of the most consistent arms on Iowa's pitching staff has been Chris Clarke this season and the right-hander delivered another solid performance in his most recent outing. Clarke was the first pitcher out of the bullpen in Sunday's series finale versus Toledo following starter Shane Greene in what was a bullpen day for the I-Cubs and held the Mud Hens' bats in-check spinning 3.0 innings with no hits or runs allowed, one walk, and a pair of strikeouts. Over the course of the season, Clarke has been used as both a starter and a reliever and has appeared in 21 games for Iowa with 11 of those in a starting capacity. Despite a record of 1-4, he has tallied an ERA of 3.57, which is the lowest mark by a pitcher on Iowa's active roster with 10 or more appearances. In 53.0 innings of work, Clarke has allowed just 19 walks compared to 44 strikeouts, has an opponent's average of .254, and has one save to his credit.

GOING THE WRONG DIRECTION: It has been a rough go for infielder Luis Vazquez recently at the plate. Over his last two series he has recorded just a total of four hits, two in six games played versus Toledo and two in five games played at Memphis. During this span he has an average of .114 (4-for-35) with four RBI, nine walks, and nine strikeouts. This is quite the heel turn from what Vazquez had been previously doing at the plate for the I-Cubs. Prior to the last two series Vazquez was hitting at a clip of .328 (21-for-64) with seven multi-hit performances, three home runs, six doubles, and 10 RBI. During his recent struggles, Vazquez also went on a six-game hitless streak from July 27 through August 3. It marked his longest streak without a hit since his promotion to Iowa this season and over that span he had gone 0-for-17.

AUGUST WOES: It's safe to say the I-Cubs started off the month of August on the wrong foot having its worst series of the year versus the Toledo Mud Hens. Iowa lost five out of the six games versus Toledo and only averaged 4.83 runs per game while allowing an average of nine runs per game to the Mud Hens. Since the series versus Toledo occurred August 1-6, the numbers for this month are not looking too great for Iowa. So far this month the I-Cubs are hitting at a clip of .217 (40-for-184) with eight doubles, nine home runs, and 28 RBI. Iowa's batting average of .217 this month is the third-lowest mark in the International League, while the lowest mark in the league belongs to current series foe, Omaha, at .184. On the pitching side, Iowa has racked up an ERA of 8.82, the highest in the International League, 46 walks, also the highest mark in the league, and opponents are hitting at a clip of .312, the second-highest mark in the league. With five losses already occurring at home this past week, Iowa has tied the total amount of home losses it had in the month of July and is just one loss shy of the most home losses in month this year, which occurred in June with six. Iowa only has six more home games this month, so it will have to make them count if it doesn't want to set a new season-high for home losses in a month. But it will be no easy task as those games are against the Louisville Bats, who are currently in first place in the International League West standings for the second half of the season.

HELLO, OLD FRIEND: Iowa will see Nelson Velazquez for the first time since he was traded to Kansas City on July 31 for right-handed relief pitcher Jose Cuas. Velázquez, 24, played in 74 games for Iowa this year prior to the trade, hitting .253 with 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 44 runs batted in. He also played in 34 games with Iowa in 2022, hitting .211 with seven doubles, six home runs and 15 RBI. The outfielder spent the majority of the 2022 season with Chicago, where he played in 77 games. He spent some time with the Cubs this year as well, playing in 13 games in which he hit .241.

AGAINST OMAHA: Iowa and Omaha will meet for the third time this year and the second at Werner Park. The last time the two teams met at Werner Park in late June/early July, Iowa took four of the six games from Omaha. They split a rain-shortened series at Principal Park in April 2-2, putting Iowa's overall record this year against Omaha at 6-4. The I-Cubs enter tonight's game with a 30-game lead in the all-time series against the Storm Chasers, at 329-299, while going 150-162 all-time on the road against Omaha. Iowa is currently on a two-game winning streak against Omaha dating back to July 2-3.

SHORT HOPS: August has been a struggle for both Iowa and Omaha, as Iowa is 1-5 and holds the worst ERA (8.82) in the entire International League and the third-lowest batting average (.217), while Omaha is 0-6 with a 6.39 ERA (fourth in IL) and the worst batting average in the league, at .184...Iowa is set to play their first road game in the month of August, they are 28-23 in road games this year entering tonight's game...just three players have remained on Iowa's active roster since Opening Day on March 31, pitcher Brendon Little, infielder David Bote and outfielder Yonathan Perlaza...Iowa has gone 2-8 in their last 10 games, their worst mark of the year; the last time they won back-to-back games was July 25-26 against Memphis, capping off four straight wins.

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