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May 7 Game Notes: Iowa at St. Paul

May 7, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (13-14) @ ST. PAUL SAINTS (14-12)

Saturday - 2:07 - CHS Field - Saint Paul, MN

RHP James Bourque (0-0, 2.70) vs. RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-0, -.--)

TODAY'S GAME: With their six-game series even at two games apiece, Iowa and St. Paul will play game five today at CHS Field. Getting the nod for the I-Cubs will be righty James Bourque, he will face off against Jordan Balazovic for the Saints. Bourque is set to make his first start this year for Iowa, and first start overall since 2017. The righty has made 44 starts and pitched in 146 games entering today, coming in with a 0-0 record and a 2.70 ERA on the year. He has allowed just two earned runs on three hits over 6.2 innings for the I-Cubs, walking six batters compared to 13 strikeouts. Balazovic will be making his Triple-A debut today, having only thrown 2.0 innings in the Florida State League so far this year. In those two innings for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels he allowed four earned runs on four hits, two walks, a hit batter and a home run. He did strike out one batter in the outing. The 23-year-old started 20 games last year for Double-A Wichita, going 5-4 with a 3.62 ERA over that span. In those 20 games for the Wind Surge, the right-hander recorded 9.5 strikeouts per-nine innings, striking out 102 batters over 97.0 innings.

ROSTER ROTATION: Two new faces will be in Iowa's lineup today, with Nelson Velazquez and Andrelton Simmons joining the roster over the last two days. Velazquez, the No. 16 overall prospect in the Chicago Cubs' system, hit .288 (23-for-80) in 22 games with Double-A Tennessee this year before getting assigned to Iowa yesterday. He played in 69 games for Single-A South Bend and 34 games for the Smokies last year before hitting .385 (40-for-104) in 26 games with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. He was added to the 40-man roster as protection from the Rule-5 Draft and is set to make his Triple-A debut with Iowa today, batting sixth and playing centerfield. Simmons was signed by Chicago on March 15 this year, but played in just one Spring Training game before being placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. The former second round selection is set to begin his rehab assignment and make his Chicago Cubs' organizational debut today, batting second and playing shortstop.

HE'S A HITTER: After hitting .465 (20-for-43) with seven doubles, three home runs and 10 runs batted in in 12 games with Double-A Tennessee this year, Nelson Maldonado got assigned to Triple-A Iowa on April 27. The infielder had a tough start, going 0-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts in his first two games. Since those two games, Maldonado has really showed off his hitting ability, recording at least one hit in each of his last six games. The 25-year-old has now tied the longest hitting streak of the year with any Iowa hitter, sitting at six games entering tonight. Three of those six games have been multi-hit efforts, including two three-hit games. Last night, he went 3-for-5 with a double hitting out of the cleanup spot, bringing his average on the year with Iowa up to .333 (11-for-33).

ON THE JOB: Matt Dermody was the pitcher of record in Iowa's win last night, as he picked up his second victory of the season and his first as a starter. Dermody has bounced in and out of the rotation throughout the first month of the season, making three starts in six appearances. That's new territory for the lefty, who has worked almost exclusively as a reliever during his professional career. The last time Dermody made more than one start in the same season was 2014, when he started 12 games for Single-A Lansing. Since then, Dermody had started just two games in 159 outings. The new role hasn't seemed to bother him, however; Dermody has gone 1-1 as a starter this season with a 3.77 ERA (6ER/14.1IP) and ten strikeouts. Last night's victory gave him just the third win by an Iowa starter this season and the first since Robert Gsellman's win on April 24. The five innings Dermody pitched also qualified him for International League leaderboards, where he now ranks tenth in ERA.

IT PLAYS: Reliever Brandon Hughes started the season with Double-A Tennessee, holding a 0.00 ERA in 6.1 innings over five appearances with the Smokies. He was assigned to Iowa on April 24, making his third Triple-A appearance of the season last night. He threw two scoreless innings against the Saints last night, giving him six scoreless frames for the I-Cubs this year, and 12.1 combined scoreless innings to start his 2022 campaign. The lefty allowed two hits, but struck out four, throwing 68% (26-of-38) of his pitches for strikes.

WALKING ON BY: On top of his home run in last night's game, Robel Garcia also took three walks, which ties for most by an I-Cubs hitter in a single game this season. The feat had been accomplished three times before last night, all three times by Dixon Machado. Garcia's three free passes also tied him with Machado for the team lead this season, at 14 apiece. The walks have helped Garcia to a .403 on-base percentage, which is second on the team behind P.J. Higgins. If he continued at his current pace, Garcia would finish the Triple-A season with 78 walks, which would be his career high for a single season by far, beating out his 50-walk season in 2012.

LEADING THE WAY: Jared Young went deep for his team-leading seventh home run of the season in the first inning last night, but that was only the start of his evening. Young struck out in the third inning, but then singled in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to complete his first four-hit game of the season. Though it was his first of 2022, the accomplishment is nothing new for the infielder, who has collected at least one four-hit night in each year of his professional career. He had three in 2017 with Low-A Eugene, one in 2018 with Single-A South Bend, then one in 2019 and two in 2021 with Double-A Tennessee. Four hits is the most an I-Cub has notched in a game this season, and Young is the third player to do it so far, but the first to homer for one of the hits. The long ball checked Young in at tenth on the International League leaderboards in home runs.

CLEAN FRAMES: Reliever Ben Leeper made his name known last year, after combining to go 4-3 with a 1.29 ERA in 27 games with Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. The righty started the year with the Smokies, posting a 1.26 ERA in 10 games, getting assigned to Iowa on June 8. He didn't allow a hit over his first 13.1 innings with Iowa, finishing the season with a 3-1 record, two saves and a 1.31 ERA over 17 games (20.2 innings) with the I-Cubs. With what he did in 2021, he entered the 2022 season ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the Cubs system. The start of this year was a struggle for Leeper, allowing runs in four of his first five games, to the tune of an 0-2 record with a 7.50 ERA. Since then, Leeper has came on strong, throwing five consecutive scoreless frames over his last three games. Over those games from April 28 to last night, he has allowed just two hits and one walk compared to six strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .125 against him over his last three games.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: Iowa answered their difficult loss on Thursday with a resounding 6-2 victory in last night's game to tie the series at two games apiece. With the victory in game four of the six-game series last night, Iowa moved to 14-25 all-time against St. Paul, holding an 11-16 mark at CHS Field.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa's bullpen did their part last night, combining to throw four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out eight... Dixon Machado (4) and Nelson Maldonado (6) are each on their longest hitting streaks of the year; Ildemaro Vargas (5) is just one game away from tying his longest streak.

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