IL Iowa Cubs

May 1 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Indianapolis

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


IOWA CUBS (11-11) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (12-10)

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

RHP Adrian Sampson (0-2, 4.30) vs. RHP Osvaldo Bido (0-1, 3.00)

TODAY'S GAME: After their one-run victory last night, Indianapolis takes a 3-2 series lead into the sixth and final game of the series today. Adrian Sampson will square off against Osvaldo Bido for the second time this series, a rematch of game one on Tuesday. In that first game, Sampson suffered his second loss of the season, allowing two earned runs on six hits. He did strike out five batters compared to zero walks, but the offense couldn't give him enough support for the victory. Bido only threw 3.2 innings, keeping Iowa off the board in both the run and the hit column. He did walk five of the 15 batters he faced, but struck out four to work around those walks and keep the I-Cubs scoreless.

GOOD OR BAD: After losing yesterday's game by allowing two home runs in the ninth inning, Iowa is now 8-3 when leading after eight innings this year. Last year, when Iowa won just 51 of their 129 games (40%), they were rock solid when leading after eight, going 35-3. With last night's loss, Iowa tied the number of losses the 2021 club had when leading after eight innings in just the first month of the 2022 season. However, Iowa held a lead after eight innings in 11 games in their first month of the season this year, accounting for 29% (11-of-38) of the games Iowa carried a lead after eight innings in the entire 2021 season.

PART OF THE LEADERBOARD: With two more hits last night, P.J. Higgins brought his average on the year up to .340. He was the only I-Cubs batter to record a multi-hit game last night, with five other players notching one hit. It was also his second consecutive two-hit game and his fifth multi-hit game of the season. With the two hits, Higgins now ranks 5th in the International League in batting average (.340) and sixth in the International League in on-base percentage (.441).

NINTH INNING BLUNDERS: With two solo home runs allowed last night, the I-Cubs have now surrendered 17 runs in the ninth inning this year. The team ERA in the ninth inning is up to 10.20, allowing 17 runs over 15.0 ninth innings pitched. It marked back-to-back nights Iowa has allowed two runs in the ninth inning and the third time they have done it this year. The most runs they have given up in a single ninth inning is three, doing so twice back on April 12 and April 14 against Toledo.

SIT'EM DOWN: Iowa's pitching staff struck out 17 batters last night, setting the season high mark. Before last night, the season high was set at 16 combined strikeouts from Iowa's staff. They struck out 16 total batters twice, most recently on April 14, at Principal Park against Toledo. Every pitcher for Iowa had multiple strikeouts, with Conner Menez leading the way with eight. Menez struck out 57% (8-of-14) of the batters he faced last night, throwing 69% (35-of-51) of his pitches for strikes. The I-Cubs struck out a season-high 19 batters last year on May 30, against St. Paul.

TOUGH TIME FOR THE FIRST: Eric Stout entered last night's game with 10.1 scoreless innings this year, allowing just three total hits. He entered the game in the eighth inning and struck out the first batter he faced, sending the game to the bottom of the eighth with a 3-2 Iowa lead still intact. In the ninth, Stout allowed a solo home run to the first batter he faced, breaking his 10.2 scoreless innings streak, and tying the game 3-3. He retired the second batter for the first out of the inning, but the next man he faced also took the southpaw deep, giving Indy a 4-3 lead. With Iowa being held scoreless in the ninth, Stout took his first blown save and loss of the season, moving to 1-1 on the season and two-of-three on the year in save opportunities. He now holds a 1.54 ERA through his first six appearances this year.

SCORING LATE: Indianapolis scored first last night, getting two runs across in the third inning to break the scoreless tie. With those two runs, Indy has now scored first in all five of the games so far this series, with just one game left between the two teams. In the 10 games Iowa has played at Principal Park this year, they have allowed their opponent to score first in nine of them, going 6-3 over that span. They are 0-4 when their opponent scores first on the road, totaling 6-7 when allowing their opponent to get on the board first. Iowa is 0-1 when they score first at home, losing 8-6 to Toledo on April 14 when they opened the game with a 3-0 lead.

AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa and Indianapolis will play the sixth and final game of their series today, and the last game between the two teams this year at Principal Park. They will meet 12 more times this year, all at Victory Field. With their comeback victory last night, Indianapolis currently leads the series three games to two, with Iowa hoping to get a series split with a win today.

SHORT HOPS: Entering today's game, Iowa is exactly .500 all-time in the month of May, with 749 wins and 749 losses... Adrian Sampson enters today's game with exactly 600 career Minor League strikeouts... Dixon Machado stole his eighth base of the season last night, putting him second in the International League; it was his first stolen base since he had three in a single game on April 14 against Toledo...the I-Cubs went 11-11 in the month of April, batting .222 with a 3.42 ERA as a team over the month.

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