Sports stats



IL Iowa Cubs

July 29 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Memphis Redbirds

July 29, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (58-40) @ MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (51-49)

Saturday - 6:35 PM - AutoZone Park - Memphis, TN

LHP Brendon Little (2-2, 5.02) vs. RHP Kyle Leahy (3-3, 4.33)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Memphis are set to play game five of their six-game set tonight, with the series now even 2-2. Iowa will send lefty Brendon Little to the mound, set to make his first start of the season for Iowa. Little has appeared in 32 games this year for the I-Cubs, all coming in relief. He enters tonight's game with a 2-2 record and a 5.02 ERA in those 32 outings, allowing 24 earned runs on 43 hits and 26 walks. The southpaw has struck out 46 batters over his 43.0 innings pitched, allowing opponents to hit .270 against him. In three outings against the Redbirds this year, Little has allowed five earned runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out four batters in 3.1 innings. Opposite of Little will be Kyle Leahy taking the ball for Memphis, set to make his fourth start and 31st appearance of the season. Leahy is 3-3 with a 4.33 in his 30 games, allowing 26 earned runs on 62 hits and 24 walks, striking out 57 batters in his 54.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .284 against him, while Iowa is hitting .241 in their four games seeing him. In 7.0 innings against Iowa this year, the 26-year-old has allowed four earned runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out nine batters.

ON THE HILL: Tonight, Brendon Little will take the hill and be the starting pitcher for Iowa. It not only will be the first start of the season for Little, but it also marks the first start he will have at the Triple-A level. For the past couple of seasons, the left-hander has been used as a reliever and over the course of this season Little has amassed a record of 2-2 and an ERA of 5.02. He has appeared in 32 games for the I-Cubs and has spun a total of 43.0 innings with 43 hits allowed, 24 earned runs, 26 walks, and 46 strikeouts. His 46 strikeouts in 2023 rank seventh on the Iowa pitching staff and are the third most by a reliever. Little does have experience being used in a starting capacity, but it has been a couple of years since he last made a start. The last time he was used as a starter was on August 8, 2019, when he was playing for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. After being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft by the Chicago Cubs, Little was primarily a starter and spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons doing so before being moved to the bullpen in 2021. In 2018, he made 21 starts for the South Bend Cubs and tallied a record of 5-11 with a 5.15 ERA, 43 walks, and 90 strikeouts over 101.1 innings of work. In 2019, Little spilt time between Myrtle Beach and South Bend with a combined 10 starts. With Myrtle Beach, Little went 2-1 and had a 5.95 ERA to pair with 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 19.2 innings pitched. In South Bend, he had a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 1.91 with 13 walks and 25 strikeouts over 28.1 innings.

BEEN A WHILE: Last night, Bryce Windham launched his first home run of the season for his first-career home run at the Triple-A level. The home run was a two-run shot that came in the top of the seventh inning off Redbirds reliever Jacob Barnes. It was Windham's lone hit of the game as he went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI to be a bright spot in the Iowa lineup despite the loss. For Windham, it marked his first home run since August 17, 2022, when he was playing for the Tennessee Smokies in Double-A. In his entire minor league career, which began in 2019, the catcher has hit a total of eight long balls. While the power numbers may not necessarily pop, Windham has been having quite the productive season for Iowa in 2023. On the season he is slashing numbers of .301/.373/.430 with five doubles, two triples, and 21 RBI in 33 games played.

SANDERS' STRETCH: Relief pitcher Cam Sanders has been on quite the stretch over nearly the past two months and he continued his solid play with his outing in last night's contest against Memphis. Sanders was called into the game in the seventh inning and was effective against the Redbirds lineup with his final line reading 2.0 innings pitched, zero hits, zero runs, zero walks, and two strikeouts. During his past 15 outings, which dates to June 6, the right-hander has been impressive tallying a record of 4-0 and a 3.43 ERA. Over that span Sanders has racked up 21.0 innings of work with two saves, nine hits, eight earned runs, 13 walks, 32 strikeouts, and is holding opponents to a batting average of just .123. There's been no denying that Sanders has been one of the best options to come out of Iowa's bullpen this season as he is tied for second on the team in wins (6), second in saves (3), second in strikeouts (67), and first in opponents batting average (.151).

ROUGH NIGHT: After being promoted to Iowa from Tennessee this past Thursday, pitcher Danis Correa made his season debut in last night's ballgame. Correa was called into the game in the sixth inning with the I-Cubs down by a score of 2-1. Unfortunately for the Colombia native his debut didn't go the way he hoped. Over his one inning of relief, Correa struggled with his command and allowed three runs (two earned) off one hit, two walks, and a hit batter which put Memphis ahead 5-1. Last night was a different story from when Correa made his Triple-A debut with Iowa last season on August 12 versus the Louisville Bats when he was credited with the win after tossing 1.0 inning with two hits, one earned run, no walks, and three strikeouts.

AGAINST MEMPHIS: The I-Cubs and Redbirds continue their six-game set with game five tonight, currently tied 2-2 through the first four games. Iowa took each of the first two games, but Memphis has stormed back with consecutive wins of their own. With the current series tied 2-2, Iowa leads the season series 6-4 after going 4-2 in their six-game series at Principal Park. Back-to-back losses have pushed Iowa's all-time record against Memphis to 154-186, going 57-111 on the road against the Redbirds.

SHORT HOPS: Last night, Iowa suffered just their seventh loss when outhitting their opponent, they boast a .860 win percentage in that category ... Matt Mervis matched his season-long hit streak at six with his single in the top of the sixth ... The I-Cubs are 0-3 when a traditional reliever makes the start this season, the losses came when Tyler Duffey, Anthony Kay and Rowan Wick each made their only starts of the year.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from July 29, 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