April 2 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Columbus Clippers

IOWA CUBS (2-0) vs. COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (0-2)

Sunday, April 2, 2023 • 1:08 PM • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Caleb Kilian (0-0, -.--) vs. LHP Adam Scott (0-0, -.--)

TODAY’S GAME: With victories in each of the first two games, Iowa will look for the sweep in today’s series finale. They will send righty Caleb Kilian to the mound set to make his first start of the 2023 season for Iowa. Kilian started 26 games for Iowa last year, going 5-4 with a 4.22 ERA. He will look to build off 2022, a season in which he led the I-Cubs in innings pitched (106.2), strikeouts (125) and games started (26). Opposite of Kilian will be lefty Adam Scott, the third straight left-hander Columbus has started against Iowa. Scott faced the I-Cubs four times last year with the Clippers, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. In those four appearances, one of which was a start, the southpaw allowed 10 hits in 10.0 innings pitched, five earned runs, two home runs and walked five while striking out eight.

DIDN’T TAKE LONG: Marty Pevey entered the 2023 campaign – his 11th consecutive season as Iowa’s Manager – with a 598-669 record as Iowa’s skipper, just two wins shy of 600. With victories in each of their first two games, Iowa’s longest tenured and winningest manager in franchise history reached the milestone of 600 victories with the I-Cubs. Two games into his 21st season overall as a Minor League Manager, Pevey holds a 1,244-1,286 record, just 42 games below the .500 mark.

BRING THEM IN: Despite scoring 15 runs on 22 hits in their first two games, Iowa’s offense still has room for improvement. After striking out 15 times in yesterday’s victory, the I-Cubs have now struck out 28 times in their first two games. Their 28 strikeouts are the most in the International League. They have also combined to strand 28 runners on base, hitting .296 (8-for-27) with runners in scoring position.

STAY HOT: In 19 games with Chicago in Spring Training, David Bote hit .323 (10-for-31) with two doubles, a triple, a home run and five runs batted in. He also stole two bases and took five walks, raising his on-base percentage to .447. He hasn’t cooled off in his first two games with Iowa this year, starting on Friday by clubbing the team’s first home run of the 2023 season in the season-opener. Bote played an even bigger role in yesterday’s 4-3 extra-inning victory over Columbus, going 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and three walks. His RBI double came when Iowa was down by one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, tying the game and sending it to extra innings. Through his first two games this year, the infielder is hitting .429 with an on-base percentage of .600.

KEEP IT ROLLING: Iowa’s bullpen has been lights out this Opening Weekend. After four pitchers combined for 5.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits on Friday, five arms combined for 7.0 innings where they allowed just one run on five hits while striking out 11 in yesterday’s contest. Brendon Little recorded four of those 11 punchouts and now leads the team. Closer Tyler Duffey earned the win after his 1.0 scoreless, hitless inning.

WALK DOWN THE LINE: Iowa’s pitching staff has held Columbus to just five earned runs and eight runs overall so far through two games. Their five earned runs allowed in their first 19.0 innings pitched has led to a team ERA of 2.37, good for second among all Triple-A teams. The I-Cubs staff has kept the Clippers off the board but have had to work around some self-induced traffic along the way. They have combined to walk 15 batters in their first two games with nine free passes on Friday and six more in yesterday’s win. Their 15 walks allowed is tied for the second-most among Triple-A teams.

AGAINST COLUMBUS: With their extra-inning win yesterday, Iowa officially won the shortened three-game series against Columbus and will look for the series sweep today. They moved to 2-0 on the year against the Clippers, improving their all-time record against Columbus to 13-19 in the three years they’ve played.

FLIP THE SCRIPT: Saturday games have not been kind to Iowa the last two years, going 11-32 including just 3-18 in Saturday home games. They went 1-8 at home in 2021 and 2-10 at Principal Park on Saturday’s in 2022. With their win yesterday, Iowa not only collected their second win of the season, but also earned 1/3 of the wins as they had on Saturday home games in the past two years combined.

SHORT HOPS: Iowa’s pitching staff struck out 14 batters yesterday, just three away from their season-high 17 in 2022…the I-Cubs recorded their first walk-off win of 2023 yesterday and their second comeback win; in 2022 they had seven walk-offs and 35 comeback victories…Iowa was 2-5 both at home and on the road in extra-inning games last year, going 4-10 overall; with their win yesterday, they are now 1-0 in extras in 2023…the last time the I-Cubs started the season 2-0 was in 2017; through the last 15 seasons Iowa has gone 2-0 twice, 1-1 eight times and 0-2 five times.