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May 24 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Memphis Redbirds

May 24, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (22-19) @ MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (22-20)

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - 12:05 - AutoZone Park - Memphis, TN

RHP Mark Leiter Jr. (0-2, 7.04) vs. RHP Jake Woodford (0-0, 6.00)

TODAY'S GAME: With both team's looking to take a series lead in the opener today, Mark Leiter Jr. will take the ball for Iowa against Jake Woodford for Memphis. Leiter Jr. is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in two starts for the I-Cubs, with his last start coming on May 4 against St. Paul. Around two starts with Iowa, the righty has also made three starts and two relief appearances for Chicago this season, going 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA over that span. Woodford is set to make just his second start for Memphis, after starting the year with St. Louis and making seven relief appearances for the Cardinals. He was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in seven games with St. Louis, allowing three earned on 11 hits over 13.0 innings pitched. In his first start with the Redbirds on Wednesday, the righty spun three innings of two-run ball, surrendering the two runs on four hits and two walks.

BACK TO THE BULLPEN: Matt Dermody was originally slated to start on Sunday, but had to adjust after Alec Mills was handed the ball instead as he resumed his Major League rehab assignment. The lefty didn't seem bothered by the change, and took over for Mills in the third inning to toss 3.2 innings of relief. The outing was Dermody's fourth out of the bullpen this season, but his first since April 23. Prior to Sunday's game, he had made four straight starts. Despite the switch, Dermody held the Clippers to one run on five hits and a walk, which lowered his ERA to 4.11 (16ER/35.0IP) on the season overall, and 2.38 (3ER/11.1IP) when pitching out of the bullpen.

SHORT WORK: Alec Mills took the mound for the first time in nearly a month on Sunday for the second start of his Major League rehab assignment. Mills, who had not pitched since April 23 in Louisville, was limited to 2.1 innings in the outing. That effort marked the shortest start Iowa had received since May 7, when James Bourque went 1.2 frames in a spot start. Though Mills allowed only one run and ended up with no decision, the I-Cubs' eventual loss continued a trend of trouble after short starts. So far this season, when Iowa's starter has pitched at least four innings, the team has gone on to a 19-9 record. When their starter has completed less than four innings, however, they've ended up with a 3-10 mark. The I-Cubs have received just three starts longer than five innings, and none longer than 5.2.

A CHUNK OF THE OFFENSE: Catcher P.J. Higgins got his contract selected by Chicago on Sunday, going 1-for-3 with a three-RBI triple in his first game of the year with the Cubs. Prior to his contract getting selected, the catcher was raking for Iowa. In his last five games with the I-Cubs, Higgins was hitting .750 (12-for-16) with four doubles, eight runs batted in and one walk compared to one strikeout. His last game was on Friday, a 7-3 victory for Iowa. In his last three games with the team, they won 8-1, 8-2 and 7-3, with Higgins driving in 30% (7-of-23) of their runs scored. Since Higgins left the lineup, Iowa has produced just four runs over their last two games. They scored two runs on three hits on Saturday followed by two runs on seven hits in their 5-2 loss on Sunday.

QUITE THE RIVALRY: Iowa and Memphis will meet for the first time since 2019, when the I-Cubs went 9-7 against the Redbirds. They were 6-2 at home while going 3-5 here at AutoZone Park. The two teams install the Triple-A version of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals rivalry, having playing 318 total games against each other from 1998 to 2019.

NELSON FOR TWO: Nelson Maldonado and Nelson Velazquez are the only two players with hitting streaks of two or more games on Iowa's active roster, each with hits in two straight games. Maldonado has been on a cold streak entering the series against the Redbirds, hitting .133 (2-for-15) over his last four games. However, he is 1-for-4 in each of his last two games, looking to turn a corner against Memphis. In all, the first basemen is hitting .241 (20-for-83) with seven doubles, a home run and 14 runs batted in over 21 games with the I-Cubs. Velazquez was responsible for all of Iowa's offense on Saturday, 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. On Sunday, he again went 1-for-4, extending his hitting streak to two games, tied for his longest streak with Iowa.

IT'S BEEN A MINUTE: Mark Leiter Jr. will take the ball for Iowa today, marking his first start since May 4 against the St. Paul Saints. In that outing, the righty allowed five earned runs on four hits and two walks over 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out seven batters, but surrendered two home runs to give him his second loss with the I-Cubs. Since that start, he pitched two innings of scoreless relief for Chicago on May 17 against Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old will be making his third separate stint with Iowa already after starting the year here before getting his contract selected on April 16 after just one start for Iowa. He was optioned on April 30 and recalled on May 11 before being optioned on May 18.

AGAINST MEMPHIS: Iowa and Memphis are set to square-off for the first time since 2019, playing the first of 12 games between the two teams. This will be the only six-game series the two teams play at AutoZone Park this year and they will also meet for six at Principal Park from September 13-18. Iowa enters today's game exactly 30 games below .500 all-time against Memphis, at 144-174. They are 90-70 all-time at home against the Redbirds while going just 50-104 on the road. In 2019, they went 3-5 here at AutoZone Park.

SHORT HOPS: Carlos Sepulveda started at shortstop for Iowa on Sunday, marking the fourth different player to start at shortstop for the I-Cubs this season... Tyler Payne notched his first multi-RBI game of the season on Sunday, driving in both of Iowa's runs...three extra-base hits occurred in Iowa's game against Columbus on Sunday, including one triple from each team and a double from Columbus, neither team hit a long ball in the 5-2 game.

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