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Game Notes for Tuesday, May 21

Principal Park - Des Moines, IA
By
May 21, 2013

TODAY'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and Las Vegas 51s play a double-header for the first two games of a four-game series. The 51s are the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the New York Mets. These are the fifth and sixth games of a 13-game home stand over 12 days for the Cubs. The Cubs split a four-game series with the Tucson Padres to begin this homestand and will host the Oklahoma City RedHawks for five games starting on Friday, including a double-header on Sunday, May 26.

LET'S PLAY TWO: The Cubs and 51s were rained out last night and will play a double-header today. Each game is scheduled for seven innings. Last night's game was the Cubs' sixth home game lost to weather this season. The team has one double-header scheduled with Oklahoma City on Sunday, a split double-header scheduled with Round Rock on Saturday, June 8, and a pair of double- headers set with Nashville for June 19 and 21. The Cubs lead the league with five openings lost to weather this year. This is the most openings lost for the Cubs since 2008.

DOUBLE DUTY: The Cubs split their only double- header so far this year against Oklahoma City on May 5. The Cubs and 51s have played previous double-headers at Principal Park: April 18, 1999 and May 12, 2002. The Cubs are 1-3 in those games.

FULL NELSON: 1B Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and set a team-high five RBI on Sunday, surpassing Ryan Sweeney's four-RBI game at Omaha on April 25. In his last 14 games, Nelson is batting .438 (21-for-48) with seven doubles, three home runs, 13 runs scored, and 17 RBI. He has raised his batting average from .183 to .286 during this stretch. Nelson and Donnie Murphy both went deep against Padres' starter Wilfredo Boscan in the fourth inning on Sunday. The Cubs have hit two homers in an inning twice this season and Nelson has been a part of that each time.

MURPHY'S LAW: SS Donnie Murphy finished 2-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday and has hit safely in eight straight starts. During this stretch, Murphy is batting .423 (11-for- 26) with two doubles, two home runs, four runs scored, six RBI, and two stolen bases. Murphy has hit safely in every start since coming off the disabled list on May 7 and has raised his average from .205 to .284 during this stretch.

VS. 51s: This is the only series scheduled between these two teams this season. Last year, the 51s took three of four from the Cubs at Cashman Field, August 10-13, in the 51s' final season as a Toronto Blue Jays' affiliate. The 51s also won three of four in their last visit to Principal Park, May 23-26, 2011. The all-time PCL series is tied 43-43 between these two clubs, including a 21-21 mark in Des Moines. The only other time the Mets have had an affiliate in the PCL was 2007-08 in New Orleans. The Cubs were 23-11 against the Zephyrs in those two seasons.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Padres scored a first-inning run on Sunday and a total of eight runs in the first inning in the final three games of the series. The Cubs had gone 14 straight games without allowing a first-inning run from April 30 to May 16 before the Padres broke through over the weekend. First-inning runs were a problem early in the season as the Cubs allowed at least one first inning run in seven of their first nine games of the year. Opponents have outscored the Cubs 34-18 in the first inning this season.

TURN TWO: The Cubs turned three double plays on defense on Sunday and have recorded 12 twin killings in their last eight games, including five on May 13 at Reno to tie a franchise record. Despite this recent hot streak on defense, the Cubs are last in the league with 30 double plays this season, two behind Tacoma and Tucson who each have 32. Albuquerque leads the league with 60.

SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR HIM: RH Yoanner Negrin finished the final three innings of Sunday's game to earn his first save of the season. It was Negrin's third career save and his second in the United States. He saved one game in the Mexican League last year and one with single-A Peoria on August 28, 2011.

HIGH FIVE: 3B Josh Vitters was 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored on Friday night. Vitters has hit safely in a season-high five straight games and is batting .389 (7-for-18) with five runs scored, two doubles, and two RBI in this stretch. Vitters had the club's longest streak last season, hitting in 16 straight games from June 29-July 17.