May 10 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

IOWA CUBS (19-12) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (18-15)

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 • 12:08 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Ben Brown (0-0, 1.59) vs. RHP Ashton Goudeau (1-2, 6.66)

TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and Toledo will play game number two of their six-game series today, with Ben Brown set to make his Principal Park debut for Iowa. The righty started the year with Double-A Tennessee where he went 2-0 with a 0.45 ERA in four starts, allowing just one earned run on 13 hits and six walks while striking out 30. Those numbers earned him a promotion to Triple-A on April 29, where he made his first start last week against the Columbus Clippers. The No. 7 overall prospect in the Cubs’ system showed he belonged, tossing 5.2 innings allowing just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven. Opposite of Brown will be Ashton Goudeau getting the start for the Mud Hens. Goudeau is 1-2 with a 6.66 ERA in six games (five starts) with Toledo so far this year, allowing 19 earned runs on 33 hits including seven home runs. In 25.2 innings with the Mud Hens, he has walked seven batters while striking out 21.

READY FOR RÍOS: Edwin Ríos made his Iowa Cubs debut in last night’s contest after he was optioned by Chicago on May 5. Ríos started the season with Chicago and appeared in 12 games hitting at a clip of .100 with one home run, two RBI and nine strikeouts compared to five walks, but is sure to add even more fire power to an already powerful I-Cubs lineup. Hitting in the five-hole versus Toledo last night, Ríos went 1-for-4 with a double that was a shot down the right field line.

GOT CAUGHT: Entering last night’s game, Iowa was 36-of-39 in stolen bases this year, successful in 92% of their attempts. Against Toledo last night, Jake Slaughter was caught stealing in both of his attempts, going 0-for-2, putting him at 5-for-7 on the year. His two caught stealing last night nearly matched Iowa’s team total of three throughout their first 30 games this year.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU: Ben Brown made his Triple-A debut with the I-Cubs last Friday on the road against Columbus and his start was nothing short of impressive. The number seven ranked prospect in the Cubs’ system tossed 5.2 scoreless innings to start the game. In that stretch, he allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out seven. The righty allowed the first two batters he faced to reach with a single, but then retired 17 of the next 18 batters he faced including 13 straight. With two outs in the sixth inning, he allowed one runner on with a walk. The following hitter doubled and knocked in a run. Those two hitters were the only thing between Brown and a 6.0 inning shutout and a quality start. Brown exited the game, thus ending his day in a no-decision. With him earning a no-decision in his Triple-A debut, the 23-year-old continues his undefeated streak as he has not suffered a loss over the course of his last 16 outings. The last time Brown was credited with a loss came on June 25, 2022, when he was a member of the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.

REHABBING RIGHT: The I-Cubs currently have a pair of pitchers that are on Major League Rehab assignments in Kyle Hendricks and Codi Heuer and the duo made an impact in last nights series opening victory over Toledo. Hendricks, who had not lasted longer than 2.2 innings through his first two rehab outings, had his stuff working against the Toledo bats on Tuesday night. The 2016 World Series Champion earned his first win of 2023 after tossing five scoreless innings and only allowing two hits to the Mud Hens to go along with four strikeouts and no walks allowed against 17 batters faced. Hendricks came into Tuesday night’s contest with an ERA of 20.77 and slashed it by over half to 9.64 with his best outing so far in his rehab stint. Heuer, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, made his second appearance for Iowa as he followed Hendricks and although it was a brief appearance, just two-thirds of an inning, he flashed signs of effectiveness striking out two of the three batters he faced and reaching into the upper-90’s with his fastball.

A FIFTH OF THE WAY THROUGH: With the 6-1 victory over Toledo last night, Iowa improved its overall record to 19-12 on the season and with 31 games down, the season is officially just over a fifth of the way done. The I-Cubs aren’t all that far off from their best start through 31 games which came in the 1993 season when they posted a mark of 23-8. Iowa also has made an improvement from last year as it was just one game above .500 at 16-15 through the first 31 games in 2022. With their current record of 19-12, the I-Cubs find themselves in second place in the International League West standings and are just a half-game back of the Memphis Redbirds, who own a record of 21-13.

AGAINST TOLEDO: Iowa and Toledo played game one of their current six-game series last night, game one of 12 here at Principal Park against the Mud Hens and the first of 18 total matchups between the two teams. With their five-run victory last night, Iowa moved to 1-0 against Toledo this year, putting their all-time total at 13-21 against the Mud Hens. The victory moved their all-time record at Principal Park to 10-12, just two games short of the .500 mark. Dating back to last year, Iowa has now won two straight games against Toledo, winning the final game of the 2022 season against the Mud Hens on a walk-off home run.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa snapped their season-long three game losing streak with last night’s victory…Iowa moved to 5-1 at home when scoring first…after driving in six last night, Iowa has at least one RBI in all 31 games they have played…the I-Cubs are now 3-0 when Darius Hill hits out of the leadoff spot after last night’s victory… Dom Nuñez was the only I-Cubs hitter not to record a hit last night, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts out of the nine-hole.