IL Iowa Cubs

May 6 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Columbus Clippers

Published on May 6, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (18-9) @ COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (13-16)

Saturday - 4:05 PM CT (G1) - Huntington Park - Columbus, OH

GAME ONE: RHP Nick Neidert (2-1, 4.05) vs. RHP Zach Plesac (0-0, -.--)

GAME TWO: RHP Chris Clarke (0-1, 3.00) vs. TBD (0-0, -.--)

TONIGHT'S GAMES: Iowa and Columbus will play games four and five of their six-game series tonight after Tuesday's game got postponed due to wet grounds. Game one will see Nick Neidert toe the rubber for Iowa, marking his sixth start of the year. Through his first five starts, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.05 ERA, allowing nine earned runs in 20.0 innings pitched. On the other side, Zach Plesac will get the start for Columbus, set to make his first start of the year with the Clippers. Plesac started five games for the Guardians this year, going 1-1 with a 7.59 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs on 37 hits and five walks in 21.1 innings. He struck out 14 batters over that span, allowing opponents to hit .374 against him. In game two, Chris Clarke will get the call for the I-Cubs, set to make his third start of the year. Clarke enters tonight's game looking for his first win of the year, with a record of 0-1 and a 3.00 ERA. The righty has allowed two earned runs on three hits including one home run, walking two batters and striking out 10. Columbus' starter for game two is to be determined, with it likely being a bullpen game for the Clippers.

BACK AT THE TOP: After their win last night, Iowa jumped back up to a tie at the top-spot in the International League West Division. They are tied at the top with the Memphis Redbirds who have lost their last two games and gone an even 5-5 in their last 10. Iowa started the year in first place and stayed there through their first 11 games of the year. After a loss and three straight postponed games, the I-Cubs dropped to second place for a day before going back to first for two games. Since April 21, Iowa has not gotten back to first place until last night's victory. Entering tonight's doubleheader they are tied with the Redbirds and up 1.5 games on the next closest opponent, the Toledo Mud Hens.

ANSWER THE CALL: Nick Neidert is set to make his team-leading sixth start of the year tonight in game one, in search of his third victory. Not only does the 26-year-old lead the team in starts, he also leads the I-Cubs in innings pitched, with an even 20.0. Neidert struggled in his first two starts, allowing 10 runs on 15 hits in 5.1 innings pitched, but has since allowed just four runs over his last 14.2 innings. He has struck out 12 batters compared to four walks in those last three games, earning wins in two of the three. In his first game of the year against these Clippers, Neidert went 3.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three.

STAY HOT: Iowa got on the board in a familiar fashion last night, an RBI double off the bat of Jake Slaughter. The 26-year-old currently has the hottest bat in Iowa's lineup, in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak, just two off Iowa's season-high 11 game hitting streak set by Christopher Morel. In those nine games, Slaughter is hitting .438 (14-for-32) with four doubles, four home runs and 17 runs batted in. Eight of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, hitting all of his four home runs this year in his last seven games. Two of those have come now in back-to-back games, hitting a solo home run on Thursday and a three-run shot in last night's victory. Through the first three games this series against Columbus, Slaughter has driven in six of the team's 11 total runs scored.

BOUNCED BACK: After a rough start with Chicago in which he allowed seven runs on 10 hits, two hit batters and two walks in 3.1 innings, Caleb Kilian bounced back in a big way last night. The righty spun 5.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and two walks, striking out five batters along the way. Kilian walked two of the first three batters he faced, but would not walk another batter over the rest of his outing, tossing 61% (35-of-57) of his pitches for strikes. The win put Kilian's record at 2-0 with a 4.96 ERA through four starts this year, marking back-to-back wins at the Triple-A level. In those two games, he has not given up an earned run, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out nine in 10.0 innings.

ALWAYS GETTING ON: Mike Tauchman went 2-for-4 with a run scored, a home run and two runs batted in in Iowa's 9-5 victory last night. The home run marked his third in 17 games for Iowa this year and his two hits moved his on-base percentage to .453 on the young season. The veteran outfielder leads the team among qualified players and is fourth in the International League with that on-base percentage. He is getting on-base with a balanced attack, knocking 18 hits while taking 15 walks. His 15 free passes are second on the team, just one behind Christopher Morel, who has played in nine more games and has 47 more plate appearances than Tauchman.

GETTING USED TO IT: Tonight will mark Iowa's third doubleheader of the season already, just 27 games into their season. So far, Iowa has swept a doubleheader and split a doubleheader, with both coming on the road. In their first doubleheader of the season on April 8 at St. Paul, Iowa won game one by a score of 9-7 and lost game two 8-5. Most recently, they played two against Buffalo on April 20, winning both games. The I-Cubs took the first game 10-2 and followed that with a 3-2 win in game two. Iowa has already had six games postponed this year.

AGAINST COLUMBUS: With their win last night, Iowa moves to 2-1 in their current series and 5-1 overall against Columbus this year. Despite holding four games over the Clippers so far this year, the matchup has been very balanced, with Iowa outscoring Columbus by just five runs, at 40-35. Iowa's 5-1 start this year has moved them within four games of the .500 mark all-time against the Clippers, at 16-20. Their 2-1 lead here on the road has put them a game over .500 all-time here at Huntington Park, at 8-7.

SHORT HOPS: For the first time all year, Iowa enters tonight's games nine games above the .500 mark, at 18-9; they were eight games above .500 twice this year, but hadn't been nine games above even until last night's win...last night, Iowa and Columbus played in front of 7,353 fans at Huntington Park, the largest crowd Iowa has played in front of either at home or on the road...after Jake Slaughter's three-run home run last night, he now has one of each home run (solo, two-run, three-run, grand-slam), the only I-Cubs hitter to have one of each so far this year...Miles Mastrobuoni knocked his second triple of the year last night, bumping his team-leading average to .340 on the year...after scoring just four runs on seven hits through the first two games of the series, Iowa's offense came back to life last night, with nine runs on nine hits including five extra-base hits.

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