Sports stats

IL Iowa Cubs

July 26 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Memphis Redbirds

July 26, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (57-38) @ MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (49-48)

Wednesday - 7:05 PM - AutoZone Park - Memphis, TN

RHP Caleb Kilian (6-1, 4.34) vs. RHP Casey Lawrence (0-0, -.--)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Memphis are set to play game two of their six-game series tonight, with Iowa currently leading the series after last night's victory. Caleb Kilian will get the ball for Iowa looking to keep their winning streak alive, set to make his team-leading 16th start of the year. Kilian enters tonight's game with a 6-1 record and a 4.34 ERA, allowing 37 earned runs on 75 hits and 25 walks while striking out 59 batters over 76.2 innings pitched. The No. 17 ranked prospect in the Cubs system faced Memphis once already this year, in what was arguably his best start of the year. Back on June 21, the righty spun 6.0 scoreless frames, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out four. Opposite of Kilian will be Casey Lawrence set to make his St. Louis Cardinals organizational debut. Lawrence started the year with the Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, making 18 starts before getting released on July 16. He was signed by St. Louis on July 19 and assigned to Memphis that same day, set to make his first start with the Redbirds. In 18 starts with Buffalo, Lawrence went 3-7 with a 4.67 ERA, allowing 47 earned runs on 97 hits and 29 walks in 90.2 innings pitched. He struck out 81 batters over that span, allowing opponents to hit .267 against him. In one start against Iowa this year, Lawrence spun 6.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing just five hits and one walk while striking out 10.KEEGAN'S BACK TO WORK: After being placed on the Injured List on June 19, it's been 37 days since Keegan Thompson has appeared in a live-action game. He was reinstated to the I-Cubs active roster prior to tonight's game. The righty started the season with Chicago where he made 15 relief appearances, going 2-2 with a 4.22 ERA. He struck out 16 hitters while walking 14 in the big leagues. Thompson was optioned to Iowa on May 19 where he remained before suffering an injury. For the I-Cubs, Thompson went 2-0 with a 13.09 ERA in eight outings out of the bullpen. In his last outing before being placed on the IL, Thompson earned his second Triple-A win of the year. He spun 2.0 innings, allowing just one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out three of his eight hitters faced. In his last three outings prior to his injury, Thompson gave up only two runs across five innings combined. He struck out nine batters in those appearances.

HITS FOR HIGGINS: Since being traded to Chicago's organization, P.J. Higgins has made his presence known in Iowa. Through five games, Higgins is 6-for-13 (.462) with three runs, a home run and 3 RBI. In his short stint so far with the I-Cubs, the catcher has already recorded two multi-hit games. One came last night where Higgins went 3-for-4. He launched his first home run in the blue and red this season in the top of the 4th inning. It carried 390 feet, scoring two runs that extended Iowa's lead to five at the time. The long ball was not the first in his Iowa career, however. In three previous seasons with Iowa, Higgins recorded seven homers in 69 games.

BROWN IS IN GOOD COMPANY: With his performance last night, Ben Brown earned his sixth win of the season. In a stretch from May 16 to June 25, Brown suffered a loss in five of his eight starts. Since his June 25 loss, the righty has gone 3-1 in the month of July. With his victory last night and one on July 19, Brown has won back-to-back starts for the first time in his Triple-A career. His six wins lead the I-Cubs, but he shares the top spot with three other pitchers. Bailey Horn, Caleb Kilian and Cam Sanders each have six wins of their own this season. The four-pack rank ninth in wins in the International League this season. Horn was the first I-Cub to six wins this season, reaching the mark on June 18. Kilian came next earning his sixth on July 4. Then Sanders got win number six just last week on July 22. The team lead has now sat at six wins for 38 days. Kilian has a chance to take the sole-lead if he can earn a win in his start tonight.

MAKING A CHANGE: Tonight's starter had a good year with Iowa last season, leading the team in starts (26), innings pitched (106.2) and strikeouts (125) despite also making his major league debut and pitching in three games with Chicago. Caleb Kilian finished the year going 5-4 with a 4.22 ERA with Iowa, heading into the off-season ranked as the Cubs No. 14 prospect. Entering 2023 with Iowa, Kilian went 1-0 with a 7.15 ERA in his first three starts with Iowa before getting another chance with Chicago. The opportunity didn't go as he'd hoped, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits to the Miami Marlins in 3.1 innings pitched, walking two batters and hitting two batters while striking out four. Since that game on April 29, Kilian has been a different pitcher, going 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 13 games. He enters tonight's game with more wins (6) than he had all of last year (5), tied for the team lead in that category. The No. 17 ranked prospect in the Cubs system is also tied for the team lead in starts (15), while leading the team in innings pitched (76.2) and is third in strikeouts. Kilian is among International League leaders in ERA (4.34, 7th), wins (6, T-9th), batting average against (.260, 7th), WHIP (1.30, 4th) and winning percentage (.857, 1st). The righty won three straight games from June 21-July 4, with his lone loss of the season coming back on June 3 against Columbus.

DOUBLE THE FUN: It's no question the Iowa Cubs have had a knack for hitting doubles this season. Their 204 doubles lead the International League and rank third in all of Triple-A. One player in particular has helped Iowa with their extra-base hit success. Yonathan Perlaza leads the I-Cubs with 27 doubles this season, ranking second in the International League in that category. He extended his total with a big performance last night. The switch hitter went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. It marks the second straight game Perlaza has recorded two doubles. It's the fourth time this season Perlaza has hit two or more doubles. His season-high three came on June 1 against Columbus. Earlier this season, from May 18-23 and June 15-18, Perlaza went on four-game streaks of hitting a double. His many doubles have helped him to 43 extra-base hits this season, which is tied for third in the IL. Perlaza's success doesn't just lead the I-Cubs to a high extra-base hit total this year, it leads them to wins. When the Venezuelan hits a double, Iowa is 16-7 this season. In the last 10 games Perlaza has doubled, Iowa has emerged victorious in all 10. With his 27 doubles this season, the outfielder is on pace to hit 43 doubles this season. If he does finish at that mark, he would rank second in doubles in a single season in I-Cubs franchise history. Steve Hammond currently holds the record with 45 in 1986 with Jason Maxwell in second with 40 doubles in the 1998 season.

AGAINST MEMPHIS: The I-Cubs and Redbirds continue their six-game set tonight, with Iowa currently in a 1-0 lead after last night's 7-6 victory. Iowa's win last night moved them to 1-0 at AutoZone Park and pushed their overall record on the season to 5-2 against the Redbirds. Their five wins against Memphis is the most since they won nine games in 2019, when the two teams played 16 games. In their all-time history against the Redbirds, the I-Cubs are now 110-152 on the road, going 153-184 all-time overall against Memphis.

SHORT HOPS: In three career starts against Iowa (all with Buffalo), Casey Lawrence has dominated the I-Cubs; the righty is 1-1 with just two earned runs allowed on nine hits and one walk, striking out 19 batters in 16.0 innings pitched...with their one-run win last night, the I-Cubs moved to 21-3 in one-run games this year; they are 10-0 at home while going 11-3 on the road in such contests...Iowa's victory last night moved them to 19 games over the .500 mark, at 57-38; it is their best mark of the year and the first time an I-Cubs team has been 19 games over .500 since the 2015 I-Cubs were 77-58 after a victory against Sacramento on August 30.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from July 26, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Iowa Cubs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central