August 29 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs @ Toledo Mud Hens
IOWA CUBS (70-53) @ TOLEDO MUD HENS (59-66) Tuesday, August 29 • 5:35 PM CT • Fifth Third Field • Toledo, OH RHP Riley Thompson (2-6, 5.03) vs. RHP Keider Montero (1-1, 7.20)
IOWA CUBS (70-53) @ TOLEDO MUD HENS (59-66)
Tuesday, August 29 • 5:35 PM CT • Fifth Third Field • Toledo, OH
RHP Riley Thompson (2-6, 5.03) vs. RHP Keider Montero (1-1, 7.20)
TONIGHT’S GAME: Iowa and Toledo are set to play game one of their final six-game series this year, with
A TOUGH AUGUST: As it currently stands, the I-Cubs have tallied a record of 11-12 in the month of August. With just three games left in the month, Iowa will have to win two of those contests in order to not have a losing record. The I-Cubs have not posted a month with a losing record so far this season. When looking at the team numbers on the offensive side, Iowa has hit at a clip of .260, recorded an on-base percentage of .367, and has a .485 slugging percentage. Those numbers rank as the second lowest batting average, third lowest on-base percentage, and the third lowest slugging percentage in the month-by-month breakdown. On the pitching side, Iowa has accumulated an ERA of 5.12, 215 strikeouts, and 122 walks this month. The ERA and strikeouts numbers are not so bad, as they rank as the fourth lowest and third lowest marks in a single month by Iowa, but the 122 walks are the second most allowed over a month’s time. Their highest walk total in a single month came back in June, when Iowa’s staff combined to walk 151 batters in their 26 games played.
NOT SO LITTLE: Luke Little began the year with Advanced-A South Bend, allowing just one earned run on 12 hits and seven walks while striking out 21 over 17.1 innings. He pitched in five games including four starts with South Bend before getting promoted to Tennessee on May 7. With the Smokies, Little was only used out of the bullpen, coming out of relief for 23 games. Over those 23 games he went 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA, allowing 12 earned runs on 20 hits and 28 walks, striking out 63 batters in 34.2 innings pitched. Those numbers earned a second promotion, joining Iowa on August 5. He made his Triple-A debut that day, allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out all three outs he recorded in his 1.0 inning pitched. Since then, the 6-foot-8-inch left-hander has not allowed a single run. In his last five outings, Little is 1-0 with a save and a 0.00 ERA, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out 15 batters. Opponents are hitting just .161 against him in his 8.2 innings pitched. The southpaw has recorded three or more strikeouts in five of his six games pitched with Iowa.
ONE LAST TIME: The I-Cubs and Mud Hens will face each other for the final time this season with their six-game series this week. For the I-Cubs, they hope they can bounce back from the last time they faced Toledo, which was at the beginning of the month. In that series at Principal Park, Iowa dropped five of the six games, which ranks as the worst record by Iowa in a series this year. Over the course of the six games versus the Mud Hens, the I-Cubs were outscored at a pace of 54-29, equating to a run differential of 25. A glaring reason for such the large disparity in runs scored between the two squads can be found in the game on August 5, when Toledo defeated Iowa by a score of 19-8. The 19 runs scored by the Mud Hens that day rank as the second most runs scored by an opponent against Iowa this season. The most runs Iowa has allowed to an opponent in 2023 belongs to St. Paul, as the Saints put up a 20-spot on the I-Cubs at Principal Park back on July 9, the final game before the All-Star break.
BELOW THE MARK: For the first time since June 7,
ERRORS ON ERRORS: Last week in the series against Indianapolis, the I-Cubs defense was a little shaky. Over the course of the six games against the Indians, Iowa committed a total of eight errors. Iowa did not tally an error in the series opener against the Indians, but then proceeded to commit at least one in each of the following five contests. The eight errors committed by the I-Cubs rank as the most they have totaled in a series this season and averaged out to 1.333 errors per game. Iowa was credited with two errors in the games on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and was hit with one error on both Friday and Sunday. On the season, Iowa has recorded a total of 85 errors, which ranks 14th in the International League. Nearly 10% (8-of-85) of their errors on the season came in their last series against the Indians.
ON THE MEND: In Sunday’s finale against Indianapolis,
AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa and Toledo are set to play the third and final series between the two teams this week, with the Mud Hens currently leading the season series 7-5. Iowa held a 4-2 lead over Toledo after their first series in May, but then dropped five-of-six to the Mud Hens the last time they played in early August at Principal Park. This series will be the first of the year between the two teams at Toledo, where Iowa is just 3-9 all-time. After going 5-7 in their first 12 games of the year, Iowa moved to 17-28 all-time overall against Toledo and enter tonight’s game having lost the last two games against the Mud Hens dating back to August 5-6.
SHORT HOPS: Iowa turned their 100th double play of the season in the first inning on Sunday afternoon, as