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June 11 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at St. Paul Saints

June 11, 2023 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (34-26) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (35-26)

Sunday - 2:07 PM - CHS Field - St. Paul, MN

RHP Chris Clarke (0-2, 2.92) vs. RHP Jordan Balazovic (1-1, 4.26)

TODAY'S GAME: Iowa and St. Paul will play the seventh and final game of their series today, with a pitching rematch from game one set to take place. The I-Cubs will send right-hander Chris Clarke to the mound, set to make his seventh start of the year in his ninth game with Iowa. Clarke is still in search of his first win this year, entering today's game with an 0-2 record and a 2.92 ERA. The 25-year-old has allowed just eight earned runs on 22 hits and eight walks while striking out 20 in his 24.2 innings pitched, allowing opponents to hit .242 against him. In game one of the series on Tuesday, Clarke went 2.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, two hit batters and a walk while striking out two. Opposite of Clarke will be Kody Funderburk as an opener for Jordan Balazovic. Funderburk is 0-0 with a 3.93 ERA, set to make his first start of the year in what will be his 15th appearance of the year for the Saints. The southpaw enters today's game with eight earned runs allowed on 17 hits and nine walks, striking out 26 batters in his 18.1 innings pitched. He has pitched twice this series, allowing two earned runs on one hit and three walks while striking out four in 3.0 innings. Following Funderburk will be the actual starter for the Saints, Balazovic. He enters the game with a 1-1 record and a 4.26 ERA, allowing 15 earned runs on 29 hits and 16 walks in his 31.2 innings pitched. On Tuesday, the righty allowed just one earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out seven in his 3.1 innings.

ONE MORE FOR THE COMEBACK: Iowa was in a tough spot entering the series against St. Paul on a three-game losing streak and it only got worse. With two losses to St. Paul to kick it off, the I-Cubs found themselves on their longest losing streak of the season, at five games. They snapped the streak in game one of Thursday's doubleheader, but fell back into a hole with a game two loss. Thursday's 13-3 win was a flash of Iowa's typical high-scoring offense, but it really came into play Friday and Saturday. The Cubs scored a combined 16 runs in their two victories over the two games, getting seven runs on Friday night paired with nine runs in last night's win. Today's contest brings the opportunity for a comeback series victory in game seven. A win for Iowa would also put them in first place of the International League West, where St. Paul and Louisville both hold a half game lead over the I-Cubs.

DOM(INANT) NUÑEZ: It's just the first week back to live-game action for Dom Nuñez following a 24-day stint on the injured list. Last night, Nuñez went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two doubles and an RBI. The catcher has now recorded two doubles in a game twice this year, the first time coming on April 13. His three hits are a season high and the most for Nuñez since July 24, 2022. So far this series, Nuñez is 6-for-13 (.462) with four runs, two doubles, one RBI and four walks. Behind the plate, he has caught all three of Iowa's wins.

JENSEN FITS RIGHT IN: Following his promotion to Triple-A on June 6, Ryan Jensen is adjusting well to his new level of baseball. In his first outing on Wednesday, the righty allowed three runs on one hit and three walks. He struck out two, but the free bases were ultimately his downfall. Last night, Jensen did not allow a walk or a run in 1.2 innings. He added to his impressive performance by striking out four of the six hitters he faced, including the first two batters he saw. Jensen entered the game with two runners on and just one out, stranding both men on-base by fanning the two batters he faced.

STOPPING THE SLUMP: Sergio Alcántara continues to recover from a six-game hitless streak that began on May 28. For the second night in a row, the infielder recorded multiple hits. Last night, he was 2-for-5 with one run and one double. In his hitless streak, Alcántara was 0-for-21 with one run scored, one RBI and four walks compared to 11 strikeouts. His average dropped 40 points in that stretch, but he's trending back in the right direction. The switch hitter's .252 average on June 8 was his lowest of the season. With his multi-hit games in each of the last two nights, Alcántara has brought his average back up to .263.

TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET: Sometimes, runs pile on in unconventional ways. Iowa was the beneficiary of those odd runs last night. While they racked up 13 hits as a team, their nine runs were not all plated from hits. The I-Cubs scored on two bases loaded walks, a bases loaded hit-by-pitch and got some assistance from two St. Paul errors. It was important for Iowa to capitalize on these free runs with a bit of a struggling offense this week.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: With their second consecutive comeback victory last night, Iowa evened the series 3-3 and took a lead in the season series, at 6-5. Iowa has a chance to win their second straight series over the Saints here at CHS Field with a win today. They enter today's game outscoring St. Paul by six runs in their current seven-game series, at 45-39. Iowa's win last night marked their 20th win all-time here at CHS Field, moving to 20-26 on the road all-time against the Saints and 29-41 all-time overall against St. Paul.

SHORT HOPS: Chase Strumpf struck out four times last night, marking the first time an I-Cubs hitter has struck out four times in a single game; their previous high for strikeouts in a single game was three and they had done it 35 times this year...Iowa moved to 21-6 this year when Dom Nuñez starts behind the plate...Iowa's five-run fifth inning last night pushed their run total in the fifth inning to 41, giving them 40+ runs in seven of the nine innings; the only two innings in which Iowa has not scored 40+ runs are the seventh (25) and eighth (27)...with their victory last night, the I-Cubs moved to 19-0 when allowing three runs or less and 21-0 when scoring nine or more runs.

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