May 5 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Omaha Storm Chasers

TODAY’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Omaha Storm Chasers play the finale of their six game series today at Principal Park...Omaha has won four of the first five games...right-hander Dan Straily is scheduled to make his second start of the season since he signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on April 27...the Storm Chasers are scheduled to pitch right-hander Alec Marsh on Major League rehab assignment...Marsh has gone 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA (8 ER in 26.2 IP) with 17 strikeouts in five starts with Kansas City this season.

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The I-Cubs dropped their fourth straight game to Omaha yesterday by a 10-3 score...Iowa tallied just four hits which matches a season-low initially set on April 11 at St. Paul...it marked the first time this season Iowa has lost four straight games and first time since they dropped the last four games of the 2023 season from Sept. 22- 24 at Louisville.

WELCOME, CADE: Cubs’ No. 2 prospect and No. 23 prospect in all of baseball (MLB.com) Cade Horton made his first Triple-A start yesterday vs. Omaha and suffered the loss...he pitched 4.0 innings and allowed two runs (all in the second frame) on two hits with four walks and six strikeouts...he recorded his first Triple-A strikeout in the first inning, punching out Drew Waters, the second batter he faced...in four starts with Tennessee this season, Cade went 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA (2 ER in 16.1 IP) and 18 strikeouts...Horton was one of two pitchers in the Southern League to have thrown at least 15.0 innings and have an ERA under 1.15, along with Brendan McKay (1.00 ERA).

WORKING DOWNHILL: Iowa outfielder Darius Hill had his nine-game hit streak snapped yesterday as he went 0-for-4... during the streak, Darius hit .429 (15-for- 35) with five runs scored, four doubles and five RBI...entering play yesterday, it was tied for the second-longest active streak in the International League and is the longest such streak by an I-Cub since Bryce Windham hit safely in 10 consecutive games from Aug. 30-Sept. 20, 2023.

THE BIG O: Owen Caissie snapped his hit streak at six games Friday night during which he batted .467 (7-for-16)...it marked Owen’s longest such streak since he hit safely in eight consecutive games from July 25-Aug. 4, 2023 with Double-A Tennessee, batting .484 (15-for-31)... additionally, he snapped his on-base streak at 15 games from April 16-May 2 which is tied for the ninth-longest in the International League this season and longest by an I-Cub since Bryce Windham reached in 28 straight games from July 26-Sept. 24, 2023...this season, the 21-year-old is slashing .288/.435/.442 (30-for-104) and his 25 walks rank fifth- most in the IL and are third-most among farmhands aged 21-or-younger, trailing Wichita’s Emmanuel Rodriguez and Brooklyn’s Ryan Clifford (27).

IN THE STANDINGS: After losing four straight games, Iowa sits in fifth place in the International League West Division standings, 3.5 games behind division leader and today’s opponent, Omaha...from April 18-26, the I-Cubs held at least a share of first place in the International League West Division.

CINCO de MAYO: The Iowa Cubs will be wearing their Demonios jerseys today as part of the COPA de la Diversión initiative...the Demonios are a tip of the hat to Iowa’s old moniker of Demons, it does so in a uniquely Des Moines fashion with the moniker’s spelling being only a few letters off from its team’s hometown...Iowa is 1-1 in specialty uniforms during the 2024 season and went 5-10 in such uniforms last season.

STORM CHASIN’: The I-Cubs and Omaha have played eight games this season with Omaha winning six of the contests, outscoring Iowa 48-32 (-16)... the two clubs faced off 21 times in 2023, with Iowa going 13-8 and outscoring Omaha 160-117 (+43) including a 20-1 win at Werner Park on Aug. 9 in which Iowa outhit Omaha 17-4 and hit seven home runs, four of which came in the first inning...the I-Cubs tallied a seven-game winning streak against the Storm Chasers last year from July 2 (G2)-Aug. 12.