IL Iowa Cubs

May 13 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

Published on May 13, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (22-12) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (18-18)

Saturday - 6:08 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Chris Clarke (0-1, 3.60) vs. LHP Sam Clay (0-0, 0.00)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Toledo are set for a 6:08 first pitch in game five of their six-game series tonight, with Iowa having already won the series with victories in each of the first four games. Chris Clarke will get the ball for the I-Cubs, set to make his fourth start of the year and first since game two of their doubleheader on May 6 against Columbus. In that game, he worked up to 4.0 innings, his longest outing of the season so far. He allowed just two earned runs on four hits and a walk, but didn't strike out a single batter. He had struck out five batters in each of his first two starts of the season. The 25-year-old is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA through his first three starts, looking for his first win of the season tonight. Opposite of Clarke will be lefty Sam Clay, set to make his first start since 2019, when he started one game for Double-A Pensacola. Clay has pitched in just one game for Toledo this year, coming earlier this series, when he spun a scoreless inning in the first game against Iowa. He was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the year and was released on March 24, signed to a minor league contract with Detroit on April 30 and was assigned to the Mud Hens on May 9.

FOUR IN A ROW: With last night's victory, Iowa matched their season-long four game win streak. The I-Cubs entered this series on a three-game losing streak, losing each of their final three games in Columbus. They snapped that with a 6-1 victory on Tuesday night. Iowa went on to win 3-2 on Wednesday and 5-4 on Thursday, with their 10-2 win Friday night bringing them to four straight. Iowa's previous four game streak came from March 31-April 6. A win tonight would set a new season long streak of five. The I-Cubs secured their fifth series win of the season last night as well.

RÍOS HAS ARRIVED: Edwin Ríos joined Iowa on May 9 after being optioned from Chicago. He made his first start that day, recording his first hit as an I-Cub on a double in the bottom of the fourth. The infielder was hitless in his second appearance on Wednesday night. Ríos, however, put on a show on Friday night at Principal Park. The Puerto Rico native launched his first I-Cubs homerun 376 feet into the right field bleachers in his first at-bat. He went on to walk twice and score another run to help Iowa to their victory. Ríos was optioned down to Iowa in conjunction with Matt Mervis' promotion to Chicago. He has appeared in three games so far, once at third base, once a first base and once as the designated hitter.

STARTERS CONTINUE TO SHOVE: Nick Neidert dealt for Iowa last night to push them to their 10-2 victory. The righty spun 5.0 scoreless innings where he allowed just two hits and one walk. His performance earned him his third win of the season, the second most among Iowa's roster. Neidert leads Iowa with his 30.0 IP and ranks third with 22 strikeouts on the season. Neidert adds on to Iowa's starting pitching success this series. Through four games against Toledo, I-Cubs starters have allowed just four runs on 12 hits in 20.0 innings combined. Kyle Hendricks, Ben Brown, Caleb Kilian and Neidert have each tossed 5.0 innings in their respective starts. All four runs allowed this series came from Kilian, the others have made scoreless starts. Kilian is also the only starting pitcher to not record a win this series versus the Mud Hens.

EVERY DAY HE SLAUGHTERS: Infielder Jake Slaughter has been on an absolute tear for the I-Cubs as of late and continued his strong play in last night's win over Toledo. Slaughter crushed his team-leading eighth home run of the year and recorded his 34th and 35th RBI this season. In this series, Slaughter has gone 5-for-17 (.294) with two runs, a double, two home runs and six RBI. Slaughter's offensive surge started on April 23. In his 16 games in that stretch, Slaughter is hitting .350 (21-for-60) with 15 runs, five doubles, eight home runs, 27 RBI and seven walks. His recent success has vaulted him to the top of multiple hitting categories for Iowa. Out of the current players on the I-Cubs roster, the 26-year-old ranks first in doubles (8), home runs (8) and RBI (35) and is tied for first with his 29 hits. The Louisiana native isn't just a top performer for Iowa either. Among qualified players in the International League, Slaughter ranks second in RBI, seventh in SLG (.635) and eigth in OPS (1.013).

ALCÁNTARA IS AMAZING: It's a great feeling when a team can get production from the bottom of the lineup, and Sergio Alcántara has done that for Iowa this season. Mainly hitting out of the eight-hole, Alcántara leads the I-Cubs in hitting with a clip of .322 to go along with five home runs and 22 RBI, which both rank second out of players on the current I-Cubs roster. Through four games against Toledo in this series, Alcántara has gone 4-for-13 (.308) with five runs, two home runs, four RBI and a walk. The infielder's best game of the series came last night where he went 2-for-4 with two runs, a home run and two RBI. Alcántara hit back-to-back homers with Jared Young in the bottom of the sixth.

BULLPEN KEEPS BATTLING: The I-Cubs' bullpen has been dealing through four games against Toledo in this series. In total, Iowa's relievers have racked up 16.0 innings of work versus the Mud Hens and have allowed just 13 hits, five earned runs and eight walks while also striking out 19 hitters. Codi Heuer, Vinny Nittoli, Tyler Duffey and Jeremiah Estrada combined for 4.0 innings yesterday where they allowed just two runs on six hits and struck out seven hitters. Both runs scored came in the sixth inning off of Heuer.

AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa won their fourth straight game over the Mud Hens last night, moving them to 4-0 this season overall against Toledo. Their four wins also put their all-time record against Toledo at 16-21, improving to 13-12 all-time here at Principal Park. It marked just the second series Iowa has won all-time against Toledo, with the first coming last April when they took four-of-five games at home. Their eight-run victory last night gave Iowa a 15-run margin in the season series, outscoring the Mud Hens now 24-9.

SHORT HOPS: Chris Clarke turns 25 today and will be the first pitcher to make a start on his birthday for Iowa this season...the I-Cubs are on a season-high four-game errorless streak entering tonight's game...Iowa is now 10 games over .500, their best mark of the year...the I-Cubs are 4-0 at home on the weekend entering tonight's contest...the last time Iowa won five straight games was May 8-13 last year, winning the last game of the series against St. Paul and taking each of the first four against Omaha.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 13, 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.

OurSports Central