IL Iowa Cubs

September 7 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Omaha Storm Chasers

Published on September 7, 2023 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (72-59) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (60-69)

Thursday, September 7 - 6:38 PM - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Nick Neidert (5-6, 5.70) vs. RHP Andrew Hoffmann (1-2, 7.50)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and Omaha Storm Chasers will take the diamond for game three of its scheduled six-game series from Principal Park. With Omaha currently leading the series 2-0, the I-Cubs will send right-hander Nick Neidert to the mound. Neidert comes into tonight's contest with a record of 5-6 and 5.70 ERA over 22 starts, which is the most on Iowa's pitching staff. In 101.0 innings of work the 26-year-old has allowed 64 earned runs off 117 hits to go along with 80 strikeouts and 39 walks. Neidert has posted an opponents batting average of .287 this season, which is the highest mark among Iowa's active starting pitchers. Neidert has fared well versus the Storm Chasers in 2023 going 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA in three previous matchups this season. In his career, Neidert has a record of 2-2 with a 4.78 ERA in six games versus Omaha. The Storm Chasers will have right-hander Andrew Hoffman on the hill to face the I-Cubs lineup. Hoffman is a relative newcomer to the Storm Chasers as he was promoted to the Triple-A level on August 12. Hoffman has made just four starts with Omaha and owns a record of 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA. The 23-year-old has tallied 18.0 innings with the Storm Chasers and has allowed 15 earned runs off 25 hits with 29 strikeouts compared to 10 walks. Tonight will be the first career matchup for the 2021 12th round draft pick against Iowa.

ON THE SCHNEID: With the loss versus Omaha in yesterday's contest, the I-Cubs officially tied their longest losing streak of the season at five games. The other instance in which Iowa lost five games in-a-row happened June 2-7 against the Columbus Clippers and St. Paul Saints. This current losing streak has come against the Toledo Mud Hens and Omaha Storm Chasers. During this time frame, Iowa has been outscored by its opponents 40-31, but three of its five losses have come in one-run games. In terms of where Iowa is in the playoff race amid this losing stretch, it is 4.0 games back of St. Paul in the International League West and 7.5 games back of Durham in the second half standings to secure a playoff spot. The I-Cubs still have a long way to go in order to match the franchise record for consecutive losses of 12, which was set during the 2000 season over April 12-23. They are, however, just one more loss away from tying last seasons longest losing streak of six games between June 29 and July 4.

DIDN'T HAVE IT: Yesterday's starter for Iowa, Caleb Kilian, didn't have his best stuff yesterday as he finished with a final line of 1.0 inning, five hits, six earned runs, and two walks. It marked the right-handers shortest outing of the season at the Triple-A level and the shortest start of his career since he was playing for Double-A Tennessee in 2021 when he tossed just two-thirds of an inning on August 4 versus Montgomery. It was also just the second time this season at the Triple-A level in which Kilian did not record a strikeout. The only other time in which he did not strikeout an opposing batter happened on June 15 versus Indianapolis. Kilian has no doubt been one of the best pitchers for the I-Cubs this season, he owns a record of 7-2 and an ERA of 4.66, but the numbers over his last two starts have been not great. In his last two outings, Kilian is 0-1 with a 21.94 ERA in just 5.1 innings of work. Over that span he has allowed 13 earned runs off 13 hits, five of which have been home runs. He also has walked three and struck out four in that time.

QUICK HOOK: Another pitcher who faced some struggles in yesterdays game was Ben Brown. The 23-year-old has been a starter most of the season but is currently being used out of the bullpen as he builds his way back coming off the injured list. Brown was fourth pitcher used in relief versus Omaha yesterday and tossed just one-third of an inning with three earned runs allowed off two hits and three walks. The third of an inning pitched not only was his shortest outing of the season, but the shortest outing of his young professional career. It was just Brown's second appearance since coming back from injury and he did have a positive outing in his first appearance back, which came this past Sunday against Toledo. In that performance the No.5 ranked prospect in the Cubs' system spun a scoreless inning with only one hit allowed and a pair of strikeouts.

A CAREER YEAR: One of the top offensive performers for the I-Cubs yesterday was infielder Luis Vazquez. Hitting out of the seven-spot in the lineup, Vazquez went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, a home run, and three RBI. Vázquez was just one of two players to record a multi-hit game for Iowa and it marked his 13th multi-hit game with Iowa this season. This season at the Triple-A level the 23-year-old is hitting at a clip of .270 (47-for-174) with 28 runs scored, eight doubles, nine home runs, 38 RBI, and four stolen bases to go along with an on-base percentage of .399 and a .471 slugging percentage. When looking at his season overall, there is no doubt that the Puerto Rico native is having a career season. Over the course of 110 games split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Vázquez has career highs in nearly every hitting category. Two areas that stick out, however, are his home run and RBI numbers. Vázquez has crushed 20 total home runs this season and has recorded 78 RBI. Both of those totals nearly double his production from a season ago when he hit nine homers and had 43 RBI in 113 games played.

AGAINST OMAHA: The I-Cubs and Storm Chasers are set for game three of their six-game, with Iowa trailing in the series 2-0 after dropping yesterday's contest by a score of 11-7. The loss marked the fifth straight overall for Iowa and moved its record on the year to 11-6 against the Storm Chasers. Despite leading the season series by five games, Iowa has not fared well versus the Storm Chasers at Principal Park this season with a losing record against Omaha at 2-4. Comparatively, the I-Cubs went 9-2 on the road against the Storm Chasers in 11 games. In their 16 games played this year, Iowa is outscoring Omaha by 43 runs, at 130-87. They enter tonight's game 334-301 all-time against Omaha, going 179-139 at home all-time.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa has given up five or more runs in an inning six times over its last 14 games with Omaha scoring six runs in the first inning yesterday... Jared Young blasted another home run in yesterday's game, his third in two games and his fifth over his last seven...With a three strikeout performance yesterday, Pete Crow-Armstrong has racked up 12 strikeouts over his past five games...Despite hitting a pair of three-run home runs yesterday Iowa still lost to Omaha, which moved its record to 60-40 on the year when it hits at least one homer in a game.

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