April 28 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Buffalo Bisons 

TODAY’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Buffalo Bisons play the finale of a six-game series today...Iowa’s scheduled starter will be right-hander Dan Straily, who joined the I-Cubs yesterday...he is slated to make his first start in affiliated baseball since July 26, 2022 with Triple-A Reno (Arizona)...right-hander Troy Watson is scheduled to make his first start this year as the opener for Buffalo.

BLANKED: Iowa suffered a shutout loss yesterday by a score of 2-0 at Buffalo...it marked the first time the I-Cubs have been shutout this season and the first time since July 30, 2023 at Memphis...Iowa went 25 game this season without being shutout...Darius Hill tallied the lone multi-hit game for the I-Cubs going 2-for-4 and Brad Wieck tossed a scoreless inning, lowering his ERA to 1.54 on the year.

VS. BUFFALO: Iowa and Buffalo play the finale of the six-game series today...Buffalo is ahead 3-2 on the series...Iowa won game one and game four and Buffalo swept the doubleheader on Thursday and won yesterday...Iowa took the last series played at Sahlen Field, winning four of the six games from April 18-23 in which the I-Cubs outscored the Bisons 33-24.

STAY HOT: After hitting just .167 (3-for-18) through his first five games this season, Iowa infielder, and Cubs No. 16 prospect (MLB. com), Luis Vázquez is batting .388 (26- for-67) in his last 18 games dating back to since April 5...his batting average ranks tied for second the International League during that span, trailing Lehigh Valley’s Jordan Luplow (.406)...Vázquez also ranks among International League leaders in hits (T-2nd), on-base percentage (T-7th, .455) and OPS (10th, 1.037) during that span...he went 0-for-4 yesterday, which snapped his hit streak at six games...entering play yesterday, the streak was tied for the fifth-longest active hit streak in the International League.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Iowa was swept by Buffalo in Thursday’s doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 10-3 and fell to 0-4 this season in twin bills...four of the I-Cubs 10 losses this season have come in doubleheaders, including being swept by Louisville on April 19 by scores of 9-6 and 4-1...the I-Cubs went .500 in doubleheaders last season, going 7-7 in such games...they won both games on two occasions, lost both on two more, and split the pair three other times.

IN THE STANDINGS: For the first time since April 16, the I-Cubs have fallen out of first place with yesterday’s loss...Iowa slots in tied for second in the International League West Division with Omaha, trailing Toledo by just 1.0 game...since dropping the first two games of the season at Omaha, Iowa is 15-9 in their last 24 games, including a four- game win streak from April 6-9 vs. Toledo and at St. Paul.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THOMAS: Iowa starting pitcher Thomas Pannone celebrates his 30th birthday today...he shares his birthday with Hall of Famer Barry Larkin and current Major Leaguers Matt Chapman, Anthony Volpe and Shane McClanahan ...he also shares this date of birth with actress Jessica Alba and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno...Thomas suffered the loss in yesterday’s game as he pitched 5.0 innings and allowed one run on eight hits with two strikeouts...he ranks among International League leaders in innings pitched (T-1st, 29.2), wins (T-2nd, 3), ERA (6th, 2.73) and strikeouts (9th, 28).

THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Iowa tallied a season-high-tying 15 hits and scored a season-high 12 runs in their 12-3 victory over Buffalo Friday night...the 12 runs was the most scored by the I-Cubs since the club scored 20 runs in a 20-1 win over Omaha on Aug. 9, 2023...Iowa starting pitcher Riley Thompson tossed 4.0 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts in a no decision.

STREAKING: Darius Hill went 2-for-4 yesterday to extend his hit streak to six- games, dating back to April 21...he is batting .435 (10-for-23) with two doubles and three RBI during that span and the streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the International League.

SLAUGHTER HOUSE: Iowa infielder Jake Slaughter hit his fourth home run of the season Friday night, a three-run shot in the sixth inning...it marked his third home run in his last five games after hitting just one longball in his first 13 games...he went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Wednesday night’s win...it marked his first four-hit game since Aug. 12, 2022 in which he went 4-for-6 with two home runs vs. Mississippi with Double-A Tennessee...Slaughter homered in back-to- back games for the eighth time in his career and first since he went deep in three straight games from Aug. 20-23, 2023 with Iowa.