August 14 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Louisville Bats

IOWA CUBS (49-61) vs. LOUISVILLE BATS (46-64)

Sunday, August 14, 2022 • 1:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Matt Swarmer (3-1, 2.55) vs. RHP Levi Stoudt (0-1, 7.20)

TODAY’S GAME: Iowa will look to bounce back and even the series with a victory in the series finale today, sending Matt Swarmer to the mound. Swarmer is set to make his second start of the series today after throwing four scoreless innings in game one on Tuesday. In that game, the righty allowed just two hits while striking out six. So far this year with Iowa, Swarmer is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA through 13 games (seven starts), allowing 14 earned runs on 35 hits over 49.1 innings pitched. He has walked 18 compared to 55 strikeouts while holding his opponents to a batting average of just .194. Opposite of Swarmer will be Levi Stoudt making his second start against Iowa and the second outing of his Triple-A career. In his Triple-A debut against the I-Cubs in game one of the series on Tuesday, Stoudt suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out four, but Iowa hit .364 against the right-hander.

BUILDING BACK: After trying his hand at relief in the big leagues, Matt Swarmer has been transitioning back to a starting role with Iowa over the past few weeks. He made his first start in over two months on August 5 against Toledo and made it 2.2 innings, then stretched out to four frames in his most recent start on Tuesday. That outing was his longest since June 21, when he last started for Chicago, and his longest for Iowa since May 21, his last start before his call-up. His start in the series opener was also his most effective outing in some time, as he held the Bats scoreless, limiting them to just two hits. It was his first scoreless appearance since July 12, when he threw one inning against Baltimore, and his first scoreless start since May 15 against Omaha. Starting still seems to suit Swarmer; with Tuesday’s stats in the books, he holds a 2-1 record and a 2.81 ERA (10ER/32.0IP) out of Iowa’s rotation this year, while the team has played to a 6-1 record in games he has started.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The I-Cubs have been racking up the doubles this week, and will come into today’s game with a season-high 21 two-baggers in this series already. After tying their previous season high with six doubles in the opener, the I-Cubs set a new season high with seven on Friday. Nine players have contributed to that total, eight of them have knocked more than one, and four have hit three. As a team, Iowa surpassed their previous season high of 17 - which they set May 10 to 15 against Omaha - in Friday’s game. The extra-base pop has been paying off, as 12 of Iowa’s 24 runs this series have been driven in on doubles.

WALK ON BY: Yesterday, for the first time in two weeks, the I-Cubs’ pitching staff moved out of last place in the International League in walks allowed. Iowa had gone back-to-back series with 30 or more walks issued in St. Paul (36) and against Toledo (34), but have walked just nine batters through the first five games against Louisville this week. It’s the third time this season that the I-Cubs have walked less than four batters for five straight games and the third time that they’ve walked one or fewer batters in a game twice in the same series. Iowa has yet to go a full six-game series this year without walking four or more batters in at least one game, but they’ll enter today’s game with the opportunity to make that happen.

PROFESSIONAL HITTER: Alfonso Rivas went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk last night, bringing his average through 17 games with Iowa to .375, good for the team lead. Last night marked his second three-hit game of the series against the Bats, a series in which he is hitting .571 (8-for-14) with at least one hit in all four games he has played. He has also scored five runs, knocked three doubles, driven in one and taken four walks compared to striking out just three times. This is Rivas’ third stint with Iowa this year and the longest of the three, playing in just three games in each of the first two. Over his most recent 11-game stretch, the 25-year-old is hitting .395 (15-for-38) with five walks, boosting his on-base percentage to .465.

BETTER THAN IT LOOKS: Hayden Wesneski made his second start in an I-Cubs uniform last night and threw much better than his final line showed. The righty allowed four earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out six over four innings of work. The first two batters he faced reached base, but after that he retired 12 straight, not allowing a single run through four innings. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, Louisville started the fifth inning with two singles, a walk and a double to drive in two runs and knock Wesneski out of the game. The two men he left on also came around to score and that is how he got tabbed with four earned runs. The Houston native spun 68% of his pitches for strikes, but suffered his second loss with Iowa and ninth of the year.

PERFECTION: Since joining Iowa’s roster on July 22, Nicholas Padilla has been one of Iowa’s better relievers. In five games, the righty is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA, allowing just one earned run on five hits over nine innings pitched. He has walked five batters while striking out 10, holding his opponents to a .161 batting average against him. The one run he has allowed came in his Triple-A debut back on July 26 against St. Paul. Since then, he has thrown eight scoreless innings, striking out two or more batters in each outing. Last night was no different for Padilla, as he threw two perfect innings, using three groundouts, two strikeouts and a fly out to retire all six batters he faced.

AGAINST LOUISVILLE: Iowa and Louisville will meet for the sixth and final game of their series today at Principal Park, also marking the 18th and final meeting between the two teams this year. With their loss last night, the I-Cubs are now trailing in the current series three games to two and overall are down nine games to eight against Louisville this year. With a win today, Iowa could earn a series split and end the 18 games this year against the Bats at an even .500. Despite being down through the first 17 games, Iowa is still outscoring Louisville by 12 runs in the season scoring, at 81-69. The I-Cubs enter today’s contest at 21-20 all-time against the Bats including going 12-8 here at Principal Park all-time.

SHORT HOPS: Last night marked just the fifth time Iowa has lost a game at Principal Park when they score first…Jared Young’s RBI double and RBI fielder’s choice last night gave him 10 multi-RBI games this year, becoming just the second player to have double-digit multi-RBI games on Iowa’s active roster…Iowa’s Sunday red jerseys are the only uniforms in which they have a winning record this year, going 9-7 when they wear their red jerseys.