May 9 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Columbus Clippers

TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and Columbus will take the field for the third game in their current six-game series. The I-Cubs will send left-handed pitcher Thomas Pannone. Opposite of Pannone will be lefty Randy Labaut for Columbus. Labaut will be making his first start of the season .

STREAK SNAPPED: The I-Cubs were able to snap their longest losing streak of the season at six games yesterday by defeating Columbus in an unconventional walk-off. Down two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Clippers pitcher Franco Aleman was removed from the game and 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. Yesterday’s game marked the fourth walk-off win of the season for Iowa and the sixth comeback win of the season. The I-Cubs also drew 12 walks in the game, which marked the most they have drawn in a game this season. It was also the second time this season that a position player came into pitch against Iowa this season. The other occurrence of a position player pitching against Iowa came on April 26 against Buffalo with Max McDowell on the mound for the Bisons.

SUP, SEIYA?: The Iowa Cubs added another Major League Rehab assignment to their roster yesterday in outfielder Seiya Suzuki. In his first outing since being placed on the injured list with a right oblique strain, Suzuki went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of singles, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base. The 29-year-old is slated to be in today’s lineup as the designated hitter hitting second. Before his injury Suzuki had appeared in 15 games for the Chicago Cubs and was slashing .305/.368/.525 with three home runs and 13 RBI. This also marks the third consecutive season in which Suzuki has done a rehab stint with Iowa as he also donned an I-Cub jersey during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, he played in three games with Iowa and hit .444/.545/1.000 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI. During the 2023 season Suzuki played in four games and batted .308/.333/.538 with a home run and two RBI.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT: Outfielder Alexander Canario has rejoined the Iowa roster after spending nearly a month up in the Major Leagues with Chicago. The 24-year-old was promoted on April 15 and during his time with the Cubs appeared in 13 games. Over that span he hit .273 (6- for-22) with a double, a home run, and two RBI. Canario rejoins Iowa after Chicago activated outfielder Cody Bellinger from the 10-day injured list. Canario came into the 2024 season as the Cubs’ No. 12 ranked prospect and played in 13 games for Iowa before his promotion. Over those 13 contests to start the season, the Dominican Republic native hit .269 (14-for-52) with five doubles, two homers, and seven RBI.

ROW THE BOTE: Leading the charge for the Iowa offense was infielder David Bote. The Cubs’ organization veteran had his best game of the season as he went 4-for-5 at the dish with two doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. It marked the third four-hit performance by an I-Cub this season with Matt Mervis and Jake Slaughter recording the other two. For Bote, it was the most hits he had recorded in a game since he was up in the big leagues with Chicago when he tallied four knocks on June 5, 2019, versus the Colorado Rockies. The 31-year-old infielder’s career-high for hits in a game is set at five which he did while with Iowa nearly six years ago on May 6, 2018, against Round Rock. Bote has just appeared in 11 games so far in 2024 after spending some time on the injured list, but after his four-hit outing yesterday he boosted his batting average to .310 (13- for-42) to go along with four doubles, a home run, four RBI.

VS. COLUMBUS: Iowa and Columbus are set to play their first series of the season and first since they played a three-game set from July 14-16, 2023 at Columbus in which the I-Cubs took two of the three games. The two teams played 20 games last season and they split the series 10-10. Today will mark the third game of the current six-game series and the series currently is split at 1-1 after Iowa’s victory yesterday. Iowa owns an all-time record versus Columbus of 21-29 and is 11-18 in games held at home.