April 13 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs @ St. Paul Saints

TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and St. Paul will play game five of their six-game series today at CHS Field...the I-Cubs will send right-hander Kohl Franklin to the mound and he will make his first start at the Triple-A level...Franklin made one start for Double-A Tennessee this season on April 6 vs. Rocket City and tossed 4.0 scoreless innings...he is the No. 29 prospect in the Cubs’ minor league system according to MLB.com...left-hander Aaron Rozek will be the starting pitcher for the Saints...today will mark the first start of the 2024 campaign for Rozek.

SHUT IT DOWN: The I-Cubs got back to their winning ways last night with a 6-0 shutout victory over St. Paul...Jameson Taillon (3.2 IP), Hayden Wesneski (4.1 IP) and Carl Edwards Jr. (1.0 IP) combined for the shutout and Iowa hit four home runs, including two off the batt of Matt Mervis... it marked the second shutout of the year for Iowa with the last coming on a 2-0 victory over Omaha on March 31...additionally, it was the I-Cubs first shutout of St. Paul since Sept. 17, 2023 in which they scored a 1-0 win at Principal Park.

LITTLE LEAGUE HOMER: Cubs’ No. 16 ranked prospect BJ Murray Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning last night, giving him his first homer of the season...it marked the first inside-the-park homer by an I-Cub since Taylor Davis turned the trick on Aug. 20, 2017 at Nashville.

AGAINST ST. PAUL: With last night’s shutout win, Iowa now has a 3-1 lead in the current series at St. Paul, outscoring them 21-13 (+8)...the I-Cubs and Saints will play game five of their current six-game series and the fifth of 24 total games between the two teams this season...after last night’s win for Iowa, the alltime series record between the two ballclubs sits at 40-47 in favor of St. Paul...in games that have been played at CHS Field, Iowa has a record of 23-28...the I-Cubs have won five of the last six games against the Saints.

MASHING MERVIS: Last night, infielder Matt Mervis tallied his first multi-homer game of the season and the third of his career, with his last one coming on May 10, 2022 vs. Beloit with Advanced-A South Bend...he became the second I-Cub this season to have a multi-homer game, following Luis Vazquez on Tuesday...Mervis is slashing .471/.500/1.118 (8-for-17) with four runs scored, three home runs and four RBI in four games this series.

NOTHING EASY: Iowa’s starting pitchers have posted a 2.74 ERA (14 ER in 46.0 IP) with 43 strikeouts through their first 13 games this season...their ERA leads all of Triple-A ahead of second-best Indianapolis (3.15)...overall, the I-Cubs pitching staff has posted a 3.25 ERA which also leads all of Triple-A and their 137 strikeouts rank second, just one shy of Norfolk (138).

IN THE STANDINGS: Last night’s win put Iowa back into a tie for first place in the International League West standings with Omaha...since the I-Cubs lost the first two games of the season at Omaha in extra innings, they have won eight of their last 11 games, including a four-game win streak from April 6-10, winning two games vs. Toledo and two at St. Paul.

WELCOME: Prior to today’s game, right-handed pitcher Porter Hodge was added to the I-Cubs roster...Hodge began the year with Double-A Tennessee and pitched 4.0 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and just one walk in two appearances...he is the Cubs’ No. 27 ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, and gives Iowa eight players that appear on the Cubs’ Top 30 prospects list.

STAY HOT: Iowa’s shortstop Luis Vázquez tallied his second three-hit game of the season last night (Last - 4/9 at St. Paul) and hit his third homer of the year...since April 5, Vázquez is batting .524 (11-for-21) with five runs scored, three home runs and five RBI...during that span, he ranks among International League leaders in batting average (2nd), OPS (2nd, 1.512), home runs (T-2nd), slugging percentage (3rd, .952), on-base percentage (4th, .560) and hits (T-4th).

THE BIG O: Cubs No. 3 prospect and No. 44 prospect (MLB.com) in all of baseball Owen Caissie has reached base in all 12 games he has played this season with an at-bat, totaling 12 hits and nine walks... the 12-game on-base streak is tied for the longest in the International League this season...Caissie began the year with a five-game hitting streak from March 29-April 3 in which he hit .450 (9-for-20) with three doubles and five RBI...in 2023, Caissie slashed .289/.398/.519 (127-for-439) in 120 games with Double-A Tennessee and added 22 home runs and 84 RBI...he was named a Minor League All-Star and Double-A All-Star by Baseball America along with AllMiLB Prospect First Team and MiLB.com Organization All-Star honors.