IL Iowa Cubs

June 1 Game Notes: Iowa vs. St. Paul

Published on June 1, 2022 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (23-25) VS. ST. PAUL SAINTS (21-27)

Wednesday - 12:08 - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Alec Mills (0-2, 6.00) vs. RHP Daniel Gossett (1-1, 8.72)

TODAY'S GAME: In game two of their six-game series, Iowa will hand the ball to Alec Mills set to make his fourth Major League rehab start. His last start was his longest, going 3.2 innings on Friday against Memphis. He got tagged for two runs, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The righty spun three scoreless frames and recorded two outs in the fourth, but two runners reached and he was taken out of the game. Those runs each scored, putting two runs on his line and giving him the loss, moving to 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA through his first three starts. Opposite of Mills will be right-hander Daniel Gossett. Gossett is 1-1 with an 8.72 ERA through his first eight appearances with St. Paul, the last five of which have come out of the bullpen. He has allowed 21 runs on 28 hits and 14 walks over his 21.2 innings this season. In his three starts, the last of which came on April 24, he went 0-1 and surrendered nine runs in 9.1 innings. Gossett made one appearance against the I-Cubs in St. Paul, tossing three innings of hitless, scoreless relief. He walked one man but struck out four in that outing, which came on May 5.

TURN IT AROUND: Iowa has now lost five straight games, their longest losing streak of the season. With their five straight losses, they have fallen to two games under .500, at 23-25. The last time the I-Cubs were two games under .500 was all the way back on May 7, when they were playing the St. Paul Saints and their record was 13-15. Since that date, they have played 20 games and are an even .500 over that span, going 10-10. Since then, they went on a season-long five-game winning streak and are now on a season-long five-game losing streak, losing eight of their last nine games.

LEFT THEM OUT THERE: The I-Cubs' 13-3 loss last night marked their biggest loss of the year, and the most runs they have allowed all season. Before last night, Iowa's biggest loss was seven runs and they had done so four times, on April 29 vs. Indianapolis 8-1, May 4 at St. Paul 8-1, May 7 at St. Paul 9-2 and May 27 at Memphis 7-0. The most runs they had allowed was 10, just last week on May 28 in a 10-5 loss at Memphis. In their 10-run loss last night, Iowa had multiple chances to make their early lead bigger and cut into the deficit once they were trailing. They loaded the bases with no outs in the first and scored just one run, while also loading the bases in the second frame. In all, the I-Cubs were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 total men on-base.

LIGHTS OUT: St. Paul's bullpen shut down Iowa's offense last night, combining to throw 5.2 scoreless frames. After Iowa scored three runs on five hits and took four walks over the first 3.1 innings against starter Jordan Balazovic, they registered just two hits the rest of the night. Four relievers for the Saints allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out seven batters, keeping Iowa off the board and taking a 1-0 lead over Iowa in the series.

NO RELIEF: Prior to last series, the I-Cubs' bullpen had gone 14-8 while pitching to an ERA of 3.57 (76ER/191.2IP) through their first 41 games. In the time since, however, they've faltered. The bullpen allowed a season-high 23 earned runs in the six-game series in Memphis and was credited with three of the team's five losses. They allowed five home runs, which was also a season high, and walked 21 batters. All said, the bullpen departed Memphis with a 7.31 ERA for the series, and their woes continued in game one against St. Paul last night. After Matt Dermody's three-inning start, three bullpen arms combined to allow ten runs (five earned) on eight hits and eight walks, which tied a season high. Combined with their numbers from the road trip, the bullpen is now 1-4 with a 7.34 ERA (28ER/34.1IP) over their last seven games.

KING OF THE HILL: Darius Hill started his Triple-A career off with a bang last night, sending the first pitch he saw out of the yard for a solo home run. It was Hill's seventh of the year overall, which is already a career high. It also served as the outfielder's first hit with the I-Cubs, making him the first player this season to hit a home run for his first Iowa hit and also the first to homer in his first Triple-A at-bat. He is the first player to accomplish those feats since Brennen Davis did it on September 14 of last season in his own I-Cubs debut. Hill was batting first in the lineup, meaning his homer was also the I-Cubs' first leadoff home run since August 27 of last season, as well as the first home run Iowa has received from a player hitting out of the one spot this season. After his dramatic open, Hill followed it up with a single, and he finished his Triple-A debut 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: Iowa and St. Paul are set to meet for game two of the series today after St. Paul dominated in the first game, winning by a score of 13-3. In their first six-game set at CHS Field, the two teams split the series, while the Saints outscored Iowa 31-29. Although it was an even split, no game was closer than three runs, with three of the six games being decided by seven runs. Through their first seven games played this year, St. Paul is now outscoring Iowa 44-32. After losing yesterday, Iowa is now just 3-10 when playing at Principal Park, while going 12-17 at CHS Field, good for a 15-27 overall all-time record against the Saints in the two seasons the two teams have played.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa is 4-0 at home on Wednesday's entering today's game... David Banuelos has hit a home run in two consecutive games against Iowa dating back to May 8, marking the third player this year to do so...St. Paul had 51 plate appearances last night, the most any opponent has had this year, topping the previous high of 47 on April 9 against Indianapolis...Iowa's ERA as a team was almost an entire run higher in May than it was in April, sitting at 4.22 in May compared to a 3.42 team ERA in April.

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