IL Iowa Cubs

May 22 Game Notes: Iowa vs. Columbus

Published on May 22, 2022 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (22-18) vs. COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (26-15)

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

RHP Alec Mills (0-1, 9.00) vs. RHP Peyton Battenfield (3-2, 2.64)

TODAY'S GAME: For the second consecutive game, Iowa will go for the series victory today after being handed a 3-2 loss last night. Getting the start for the I-Cubs will be Major League rehabber Alec Mills, making his first start since April 23 against Louisville. In that game, the righty allowed three earned runs on eight hits over 3.0 innings pitched, taking the loss. He did not walk a batter and struck out five in the outing. Opposite of Mills will be Peyton Battenfield making his second start of the series. The righty earned his third win of the season in game one against Iowa, throwing 5.1 innings of two-run ball. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out two along the way. Today, he will try to earn a second straight victory for the Clippers to take a series split.

BACK-TO-BACK: With a win today, Iowa could win back-to-back series for the first time this season. In fact, it would mark the first time Iowa has won back-to-back series since 2019, when they took three-of-five games from San Antonio June 29-July 3 and three-of-four from Memphis July 4-7. After taking five-of-six from Omaha last series, they enter today's series finale with a 3-2 series lead over Columbus.

JUST SHORT OF PERFECTION: Wyatt Short was assigned to Iowa on May 19 from Double-A Tennessee and made his first outing with the I-Cubs last night. He spun two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit while striking out two. The lefty tossed seven innings over three relief outings for the Smokies before his promotion, allowing just one run on seven hits while walking five and striking out four. He was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his fourth season at Double-A. The 27-year-old has been with Iowa before, getting assigned to Iowa on August 11, 2019, pitching to a 10.80 ERA over seven relief appearances. He allowed 10 earned runs on 10 hits including two home runs.

LEAVE NO DOUBT: Nelson Velazquez was responsible for all of Iowa's offense yesterday, clubbing a two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth inning. The home run marked the second of his Triple-A career and 11th of the season. The outfielder hit nine in 22 games with Double-A Tennessee to start the year after hitting eight in 34 games with the Smokies last season. Velazquez' home run got out in a hurry, coming off the bat at 111 miles per hour and traveling a distance of 438 feet.

FIRST FOR EVERYTHING: Entering last night's contest, Matt Swarmer was a perfect 3-0 on the season, tied for the team lead in wins. Unfortunately for Swarmer, he got tagged with his first loss of the season last night after allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and two walks over five innings. It marked his first loss since September 23, 2021, against the St. Paul Saints. Despite suffering the loss, the 28-year-old is still fourth in the International League in ERA with a 2.08, second in opponent average with opponents hitting just .167 against him and fourth in WHIP at 0.95.

STUCK ON FIVE: Robel Garcia had his five-game hitting streak snapped last night after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The infielder has been on a tear lately, hitting eight home runs in his last 11 games including four straight games with a home run last week against Omaha. From his last game against St. Paul on May 8 to May 13 against Omaha, Garcia hit .400 (8-for-20) with a double, a triple, five home runs and nine runs batted in. That was his longest hitting streak of the year at five games, beating his previous long of four to start the year from April 5-8. On May 14, he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, ending his five-game streak. However, the next night, he collected two hits including a home run to start a new hitting streak. Over his last five-game streak from May 15-May 20, the switch-hitter hit .556 (10-for-18) with two doubles, three home runs and seven runs batted in. With each streak getting snapped at five games, Garcia will look to start a new streak today.

KEEP IT GOING: On Tuesday, Iowa suffered a 9-3 loss, going down in the series one game to zero. In that loss, their bullpen allowed six earned runs on six hits and eight walks while striking out three batters over their 4.1 innings pitched. Their eight walks in a single game tied for the most they have surrendered all year, doing it on both April 29 against Indianapolis and May 7 at St. Paul. Since then, they have completely shut down the Clippers offense, throwing 16.1 scoreless innings over the last four games. On Wednesday, three pitchers combined to allow just two hits and walk three while striking out five. They followed that with just two pitchers on Thursday combining to strike out eight batters over 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk. On Friday, Iowa's relievers threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five. Last night, they kept the scoreless streak alive, throwing four innings of two-hit ball. They allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six over their four innings. All told, the bullpen has struck out 24 batters compared to just seven walks in the last four games.

AGAINST COLUMBUS: Iowa and Columbus will meet for the series finale today, as Iowa enters the game with a 3-2 series lead. The I-Cubs are looking for their second consecutive series victory, while the Clippers will try for the series split. Through the first five games of the series, Iowa holds a 10-run advantage over Columbus, outscoring them 28-18 this series. With the loss yesterday, the I-Cubs dropped to 7-10 against Columbus all-time and 4-7 at Principal Park.

SHORT HOPS: Alec Mills enters today's game going 0-3 in his last four Major League rehab starts with Iowa, allowing 10 earned runs over 14.2 innings over that span...Iowa's three hits last night were the least amount of hits in a game since May 1 against Indianapolis when they also had just three; this series, entering last night's game, they were averaging just under 10 hits per game this series.

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