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September 15 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Memphis Redbirds

September 15, 2022 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (62-75) vs. MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (67-70)

Thursday - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

LHP Wyatt Short (3-2, 3.41) vs. LHP Garrett Williams (0-6, 6.51)

TONIGHT'S GAME: Iowa and Memphis will play game three of their six-game series today, with the series currently tied at one game apiece. Wyatt Short will take the ball for the I-Cubs, set to make his sixth start of the year and 23rd appearance for Iowa. The southpaw is 4-2 with a 3.41 ERA over those 23 games, allowing 22 earned runs on 50 hits and 29 walks while striking out 51 batters over 58.0 innings. Today will mark his third game of the year against Memphis and his fifth consecutive start. On the other side, Garrett Williams will get the start for the Redbirds in what will be his ninth start and 16th overall game. It has been a struggle for Williams this year, still looking for his first win with Memphis despite pitching in 15 games this year. The lefty Is 0-6 with a 6.51 ERA entering tonight's game, allowing 27 earned runs on 44 hits and 28 walks over 37.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 48 batters over that span, allowing opponents to hit .301 against him. Tonight will be his first career start against Iowa.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Scott McKeon didn't get off to the best start in his Triple-A debut, as he was added to the lineup late, then committed an error on his first chance of the game. He made up for it not long after, however. In his first Iowa at-bat, he knocked an RBI single to tie the game and erase the deficit his error had led to. McKeon collected another single in the fifth inning, giving him a 2-for-4 line at the end of his first game as an I-Cub.

IT'S OVER: With their 10-5 victory yesterday, Iowa took their first game against Memphis since May 25, ending a five-game losing streak to them, while also ending a five-game losing streak overall. Iowa took the first two games of their previous series against Jacksonville on September 6 and 7, but then lost the final four games of the series. Their loss in game one of their current series against Memphis gave them five straight losses, one short of their-season high six-game losing streak done back on June 29 to July 4 when they dropped five games to Columbus and one to Indianapolis.

CAM CAN: Cam Sanders was the only one of Iowa's four pitchers yesterday to complete his outing without allowing a run. He tossed 2.1 innings and limited Memphis to three hits and a walk during that span. The outing extended Sanders' streak to 10.1 innings without an earned run, which covers his last five appearances. He last allowed an earned run on August 24 against St. Paul, and has held opponents completely scoreless since September 1. Sanders has still struggled with control during the past few weeks, as he has walked six batters during the streak, but has allowed only five hits and struck out 11 during that same period. The blank frames have dropped Sanders' ERA nearly a whole run from 6.32 on August 24 to 5.35 entering play tonight.

LOST THE LEADER: Prior to yesterday's game against Memphis, Jared Young got scratched from the lineup, set to play in his 109th game with the I-Cubs. Instead, he got on a plane to New York because he got his contract selected by the Chicago Cubs and joined the team against the Mets. Young was Iowa's team leader in games played (108), doubles (21) and walks (40), while being second in hits, home runs and runs batted in. When he plays for Chicago it will be his Major League debut.

THE SHORT OF IT: Despite entering the season with just two career starts, tonight's starter, Wyatt Short, has been Iowa's most dominant starting pitcher over the past month. The lefty entered 2022 with 168 Minor League appearances, 166 of which had come out of the bullpen. Save for one spot start on June 24, he stayed a reliever for Iowa until August 24, when he was called on to change roles. That night against St. Paul, he completed five scoreless innings, earning his first career win as a starter, and he has hardly slowed down since. Short has taken four consecutive turns in the rotation, tripling his career starts, and has never allowed more than one run in a game in that role. He's completed at least four innings in all five of his starts for Iowa, including three five-inning starts, and has earned two wins along the way. The I-Cubs are 3-2 in games Short has started, and the man himself is 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA (3ER/23.0IP) out of the rotation. He has struck out 21 batters and limited opponents to 20 hits and seven walks. Two of the three runs he has allowed as a starter have come on solo home runs. His four wins on the year with the I-Cubs ties for second on the active roster and he ranks fourth in innings pitched with 58.0, which is also a single-season career high for the southpaw.

POWERING UP: Esteban Quiroz gave the I-Cubs some insurance yesterday with his home run in the fourth inning, just his second long ball this season. The homer is a change for the infielder, who - including yesterday's stats - has collected just five extra-base hits in 38 games with Iowa. His only other home run came on April 27 against Indianapolis, nearly five months ago. This season's numbers are a break from the rest of his career, however; Quiroz has historically hit for a little more power. His career high for home runs in a season is 19, set in 2019 with Triple-A El Paso, and his current single-season low for home runs is seven, set in 2018. This year's numbers have been impacted by Quiroz's three-month stay on the injured list, though, and he has been trending up recently. After hitting .174 in April and .161 in August, Quiroz is off to a .258 start in September, including two doubles, yesterday's home run, and seven walks in 39 plate appearances.

AGAINST MEMPHIS: The I-Cubs and Redbirds are set to play game three of six here at Principal Park, with the series currently tied at one game apiece. The first time the two teams played this year back in May, Memphis took five out of six games from Iowa, including the final four games of the series. Their 1-5 record in that series brought their record all-time at AutoZone Park to 55-109. Iowa's 10-5 victory last night put their record in the current series at Principal Park at 1-1, putting them 20 games above the .500 mark at 91-71 all-time here at Principal Park. It moved their overall all-time record to 146-180 against Memphis, while the Redbirds are outscoring the I-Cubs by 17 runs this year, at 52-35.

SHORT HOPS: Each of the top three hitters in Iowa's lineup yesterday recorded two-hit games, accounting for six of the team's 12 hits...with Jared Young getting called up to Chicago yesterday, there are now just three players that have been on Iowa's active roster all year...Cam Sanders allowed the first batter he faced to reach yesterday, marking just the third time all year he has not retired the first batter he has faced; he is now 22-of-25 in retiring the first batter he has faced this year.

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