TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Syracuse Mets play the first of their six-game series tonight at NBT Bank Stadium...the I-Cubs will send right-hander Julio Teheran to the mound, who made one start with the New York Mets this season vs. left- handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi.
SUNDAY’S NEWS: The
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Syracuse Mets play the first of their six-game series tonight at NBT Bank Stadium...the I-Cubs will send right-hander Julio Teheran to the mound, who made one start with the New York Mets this season vs. left- handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi.
SUNDAY’S NEWS: The I-Cubs fell 9-6 to the Columbus Clippers in the series finale on Sunday...Iowa took a 6-5 lead with a four-run seventh inning but gave up four runs in the eighth inning and Columbus held on for the victory...Brennen Davis, Matt Mervis and Curt Casali all homered for Iowa in the loss.
MASH MERVIS: Iowa infielder Matt Mervis went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI on Sunday...he has hit three home runs in his last two games and is the second I-Cub this season to hit a home run in back-to-back days, following Jake Slaughter from April 21-24...Mervis led the offense on Saturday night as well as he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI...it marked his second multi-homer game of the season and his first April 12 at St. Paul...additionally, he tallied his most RBI since May 22, 2022 vs. Chattanooga with Double-A Tennessee in which he had five RBI...his first home run traveled 455 feet, which was the longest by an I-Cub since Edwin Rios hit a 480-foot shot on July 4, 2023 vs. St. Paul...Mervis has played in nine games with Chicago this season, batting .115 (3-for-26) but since being optioned on May 4, he is hitting .474 (9-for-19) with three home runs and 10 RBI.
WALK THIS WAY: Owen Caissie and Curt Casali each walked three times Friday night, which matched the most by an I-Cub this season...it marked the fifth multi-walk game of the season for Caissie and gave him 29 on the season, which ranks third- most in the International League and is tied for third most among minor leaguers aged 21-or-younger, trailing Ryan Clifford (32)...from April 25-May 2, Owen walked in eight consecutive games, which is the second-longest such streak in the International League this season and the longest by an I-Cub since Chase Strumpf also walked in eight straight games from Aug. 31-Sept 12, 2023.
VS. SYRACUSE: Iowa and Syracuse are playing their first ever series against each other...the I-Cubs have played a series against just one opponent from the International League East Division as they traveled to Buffalo and played a six-game set from April 23-28 in which they lost four of the six games.
McWILLIAMS IN RELIEF: Iowa pitcher Sam McWilliams earned his second win Friday night as he tossed 2.0 scoreless innings...McWilliams also pitched on Sunday and struck out the side in order in the only frame he pitched...Sam has made 11 outings for the I-Cubs and has gone 0-2 with a 12.96 ERA (12 ER in 8.1 IP) in three starts and 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA (5 ER in 17.2 IP) as a reliever...among pitchers with at least 10 appearances, his 41 strikeouts lead the International League and rank tied for eight overall.
I GOT FIVE ON IT: Brennen Davis’ five RBI on Friday was the most by an I-Cub this year and his most since July 21, 2021 at Rocket City with Double-A Tennessee...Davis also hit his second home run of 2024 and first since his first game back with Iowa this season on April 24 at Buffalo.
WORKING DOWNHILL: Iowa outfielder Darius Hill had his 13-game on-base streak snapped Friday night...it marked his longest such streak since he reached in 16 straight contests from June 5-25, 2021 with Double-A Tennessee...during his 13-game run, he batted .353 (18-for-51) with 10 walks...it is the second-longest on-base streak by an I-Cub this season trailing Owen Caissie’s 15-game streak from April 16-May 2.
STREAK SNAPPED: The I-Cubs snapped their longest losing streak of 2024 at six games on Wednesday by defeating Columbus in an unconventional walk-off...down two runs in the ninth, Clippers pitcher Franco Aleman was replaced by outfielder Lorenzo Cedrola was brought in to pitch...Cedrola proceeded to get one out, but then hit a batter and walked the next two...the last walk came with the bases loaded and pushed the winning run across the plate for Iowa...Wednesday’s game marked the fourth walk-off win of the season for Iowa.
