IL Iowa Cubs

June 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Indianapolis Indians

Published on June 18, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (38-28) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (29-37)

Sunday - 1:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Nick Neidert (3-3, 5.40) vs. RHP Quinn Priester (7-3, 4.29)

TODAY'S GAME: The I-Cubs and Indians are set for a starting pitching rematch from Tuesday night's contest. Iowa sends Nick Neidert to the mound as they look for their fifth straight win. The righty suffered a loss to Indianapolis earlier this series on Tuesday night. It was Neidert's first loss since May 6. He matched his season-high five earned runs allowed and four walks in the loss. The Atlanta native ranks second among Iowa's active roster in innings pitch (48.1) and strikeouts (38). Opposite of Neidert will be Quinn Priester for Indianapolis. In his last outing on Tuesday night, Priester spun a quality start and a win. The righty allowed just one earned run on four hits and four walks. Today will mark his fourth start of the year versus Iowa. The Pirates' No. 3 overall prospect has allowed just two runs across 18.2 innings through his first three starts. He ranks first in the International League in wins (7), sixth in strikeouts (62), sixth in ERA (4.29) and tenth in opponents' average (.256).

TWO FOR PALENCIA: Daniel Palencia reached an important career mark just a few days ago and he repeated the same feat again last night, earning his first two career saves in three days. The righty has played in parts of five seasons of minor league baseball, making 48 appearances combined. Palencia has spent nearly all his career as a starting pitcher and made his first career relief appearance for Iowa on May 25. So, while his opportunities for saves have been limited, he's risen to the occasion this week. Palencia entered last night's contest with one out in the eighth inning. With Iowa's 6-3 lead, all Palencia needed was five outs to get the save. He did just that facing the minimum, striking out three of five. With his two saves, Palencia moves into second on the team in that category behind only Manuel Rodríguez who has a league-leading nine.

BOTE BOMBS: For the first time this season, David Bote has hit a home run in back-to-back games. Both long balls have been a huge part of the I-Cubs' success. They came in the form of a solo shot in Iowa's 2-1 victory on Friday night and a three-run bomb in yesterday's 6-3 win. Bote surged his season home run total up to seven and now ranks fourth among Iowa's active roster. Beyond the long ball, Bote has had a successful series. He's gone 5-for-14 (.357) with five runs, one double, two home runs, four RBI and two walks. After his homer last night, Bote joins Jared Young as the only I-Cubs with multiple home runs this series.

YOU GET ON BASE, WE WIN: Yonathan Perlaza has done nothing but get on base. He's done it now for 26 straight games. His streak is tied for the fifth longest in the International League this season and second longest active streak. Perlaza's 26-game streak is also the longest for any I-Cub this year. In the stretch, the switch hitter is slashing .333/.426/.610 with 17 doubles, four homers, 20 RBI and 16 walks. Perlaza kicked off his on-base streak with a season-long nine game hitting streak from May 18 to May 26. While he broke the hit streak, his on-base streak stayed alive with a walk. There have been just three games within the 26-game streak that Perlaza didn't record a hit. In each of those, he worked at least one walk to keep it alive. Last night, Perlaza extended his streak with a double in the second inning. He enters today with the 26-game on-base streak and a four-game hitting streak.

KEEP IT ROLLING: Iowa's victory last night gave four straight wins, tying their season-long winning streak. It is the third time this year in which Iowa has won four straight games, but have yet to get to five. With a win today, the I-Cubs would not only set their season-long winning streak at five, they would also tie their season-best 11 games over the .500 mark. A win would put their overall record at 39-28, matching their best mark this season back on June 1 after a victory against Columbus when they moved to 31-20.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: With their 6-3 win last night, Iowa clinched the series victory, their first of the year versus the Indians. Iowa's all-time longest win streak versus the Indians came in 2019 when they won six in a row. With Iowa now on a four-game win streak, they can come within one of the record with a victory today. The I-Cubs improved to 7-4 over Indianapolis overall this season and continue to comeback in their 45-62 all-time deficit.

SHORT HOPS: The top four hitters in Iowa's lineup last night combined to go 7-for-16 with two runs scored, two doubles and two runs batted in; the four combined for 70% (7-of-10) of Iowa's total hits as a team, with three of the four recording two-hit performances...Iowa's win last night put them at an even .500 in the month of June, at 8-8...With Keegan Thompson getting his second victory of the year last night, a pitcher with the last name Thompson has now won each of the last two games for Iowa, with Riley Thompson earning the win Friday night.

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