September 14 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Memphis Redbirds
September 14, 2022 – International League (IL) – Iowa Cubs News Release
IOWA CUBS (61-75) vs. MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (67-69)
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 – 12:08 PM – Principal Park – Des Moines, IA
RHP Matt Swarmer (3-3, 3.34) vs. LHP Connor Thomas (6-9, 5.04)
TODAY’S GAME: Iowa and Memphis will play game two of their six-game series today, with Memphis currently leading the series one game to zero after their victory last night. Matt Swarmer is scheduled to pitch in his 19th game for Iowa, going 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA through his first 18 games. The righty has allowed 26 earned runs on 56 hits over 70.0 innings pitched, walking 26 batters compared to 76 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .213 against Swarmer entering today’s game. Memphis will send out lefty Connor Thomas for his 26th game and 23rd start of the year for Memphis. Entering today’s game, Thomas is 6-9 with a 5.04 ERA, allowing 68 earned runs on 149 hits over 121.1 innings pitched. The southpaw has walked 31 batters compared to 100 strikeouts over that span, allowing opponents to hit .298 against him. Thomas is one of just four pitchers on the Redbirds’ roster that has faced the I-Cubs this year, allowing five earned runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings of work back on May 26.
HOLD THE LINE: Jonathan Holder spun two scoreless outings of relief last night, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out two batters. It marked his first scoreless outing of the month and his first since August 25 against St. Paul. Since then, in three outings prior to last night, the righty had allowing 12 earned runs one 10 hits and five walks, allowing opponents to hit .588 against him in 2.2 innings over three games. The scoreless outing last night brought his ERA with Iowa to 13.50 in 10 games.
SNAP THE STREAK: Iowa enters today’s game against the Redbirds on a five-game losing streak, just one loss away from tying their season long. It is their fourth losing streak of five or more games this year, with the first coming back on May 26-31 with four games against this Memphis team and one against St. Paul. Their next five-game streak was from June 5 to 10 with one game against St. Paul and four against Toledo. The longest losing streak of the year was a six-game streak done back on June 29 to July 4, dropping five games to Columbus and one to Indianapolis.
SETTLE BACK IN: Matt Swarmer has been one of Iowa’s more consistent pitchers this year, holding a 3-3 record with a 3.34 ERA in 18 games so far. The righty has hit a rough patch in his last two starts, however, allowing four earned runs in each outing. Starting back on September 2 against Columbus, he allowed four earned runs in five-plus innings, surrendering seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters. It marked his first time allowed more than three earned runs all year for Iowa and up to that point, he had allowed three earned runs in a single outing just twice. His last time out went almost the exact same, as he again allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four, this time it was over four innings against Jacksonville on Thursday. Swarmer will look to settle back into his groove and get back on track in his first outing of the year against the Redbirds.
LOCKED IN: The last month has been a rollercoaster for Kervin Castro, getting claimed off waivers by Chicago from the San Francisco Giants back on August 2. He was assigned to Iowa that day and then recalled to Chicago the next day, pitching in six games with the Cubs before being optioned again on August 23. He did not throw for the I-Cubs and was recalled the next day, pitching in two more games with Chicago before getting optioned on August 26. He then threw in two games with Iowa and was designated for assignment on September 5, clearing waivers and getting sent outright back to Iowa on September 9. Since being back with the I-Cubs, he has thrown in two games, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four batters over 2.1 innings. Despite all of the transactions and moving back and forth, Castro has yet to allow a single earned run with Iowa, surrendering just three hits and three walks while striking out six batters in 4.2 innings over four games. He has one win over that span, holding opponents to a batting average of .200 against him.
TURNING A CORNER: Esteban Quiroz has not had the year he imagined, getting traded to Chicago from the Tampa Bay Rays back on March 25. He was assigned to Iowa that day and started the year with the I-Cubs, hitting just .163 (8-for-49) in his first 16 games from April 5 to May 4. He landed on the injured list on May 21 and wasn’t activated off the 60-day injured list until August 7. In his first three games back with Iowa he went hitless, but since then has started to see a little bit more success. He is hitting .226 (12-for-53) with two doubles, three runs batted in and 11 walks in those 18 games. Quiroz has had hitting streaks of four games and three games over that span, while also recording two multi-hit efforts, including last night. The 30-year-old was responsible for two of Iowa’s three total hits last night, going 2-for-3 with a double out of the nine-hole.
AGAINST MEMPHIS: Iowa and Memphis are set to play the second of six games here at Principal Park, with Memphis currently holding a 1-0 series lead after their 5-1 victory last night. In the first meeting between the two teams at AutoZone Park back in May, Memphis took five out of six from Iowa, including the final four games. With their loss last night, Iowa has now dropped five straight games to the Redbirds, with their last win against Memphis coming on May 25. The I-Cubs are now 1-6 this year against Memphis, putting them at 145-180 overall all-time against the Redbirds, including going 90-71 here at Principal Park all-time. After losing by four runs in game one last night, Memphis has now outscored Iowa by 22 runs in their first seven games this year, at 47-25.
SHORT HOPS: Last night marked the 50th loss for Iowa in night games (41-50), games in which they trail after seven innings (8-50) and games in which they are out-hit by their opponent (7-50)…today marks Matt Swarmer’s 99th career Minor League start…Iowa’s relievers have exactly 700 combined strikeouts entering today’s game.
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