IOWA CUBS (12-11, 42-53) at GWINNETT STRIPERS (11-11, 49-47)
July 23 • 6:05 PM CT • Gwinnett Field • Lawrenceville, GA
RHP Jaxon Wiggins (0-0, 9.00) vs. RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 2.70)
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Gwinnett Stripers are set to play the third of a six-game series tonight at Gwinnett Field...right hander Jaxon Wiggins is set to make his fifth appearance this season with Iowa...right-handed pitcher A.J. Smith-Shawver is set to start for Gwinnett.
JUST SHORT: The Iowa Cubs fell to the Gwinnett Stripers 7-5 on Wednesday night in the second game of the series...Owen Ayers led the offense with two hits and one RBI...after trailing 5-0 through five innings, Iowa scored four runs in the sixth inning to pull within one run before tying the game in the seventh inning...Gwinnett retook the lead on a two out, two-run single that proved to be the game winner...Corbin Martin and Ethan Roberts combined to pitch two scoreless innings of relief.
AYE-RS!: Chicago Cubs’ No. 8 overall prospect Owen Ayers made his Triple-A debut Friday night at Memphis, going 3-for-4 with a walk...Ayers played in 65 games in Knoxville, batting .304 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI...since being promoted to Iowa last Friday, Owen is batting at .316 (6-for-19) with four RBI...at the time of his promotion, Ayers ranked first in the Southern League in on-base percentage (.417), slugging percentage (.591), and OPS (1.008), second in batting average, third in extra-base hits (33), fifth in total bases (136), and sixth in home runs.
MILLER TIME: I-Cubs infielder Owen Miller drove in three RBI for the second consecutive game Tuesday night, the second time this season he has had at least three RBI in back-to-back games, also doing so on June 23 (3 RBI) and June 24 (4 RBI) against Buffalo...his season-high hitting 14 game streak ended on Saturday night...it was the joint longest active streak in Triple-A, longest active streak in the International League, and longest by an I-Cub during the 2026 campaign, matching James Triantos’ 14-game stretch from June 14-30...during the streak, Owen was batting .443 (27-for-61) with eight doubles, two triples, and 13 RBI...Owen also had six consecutive multi-hit games, which is the second-longest streak in the IL this season and the longest by an I-Cub this season, surpassing Jonathon Long’s five game streak from April 3-8...this is the first time an Iowa player has had six straight multi-hit games since Kevin Alcántara from June 27-July 3, 2025.
TRI: Chicago Cubs’ No. 7 prospect and infielder/outfielder James Triantos currently ranks among International League leaders in doubles (T-3rd, 24), hits (2nd, 107) and batting average (8th, .306)...since June 2, Triantos is batting .340 (53-for-156) with 14 doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI...James is one of four players in all of minor league baseball with at least 107 hits and 18 stolen bases, along with Josue De Paula (LAD), Andy Perez (COL) and Roldy Brito (COL)...he is the only farmhand in Triple-A with such numbers.
BATEMAN: Brett Bateman extended his hitting streak to 10 games last night and is slashing .404/.472/.596 (19-for-47) with four doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 RBI during the stretch...on Sunday, Brett hit his third home run of the season, which is a career best...Bateman entered the 2026 season with four career home runs in professional baseball...he ranks among International League leaders in on-base percentage (3rd, .428), walks (T-4th, 56) and batting average (9th, .306)...the I-Cubs have had just on player lead the league in on-base percentage as Terrell Lowery tied for the lead in 1997 with a .401 mark...Brett is one of three players in the International League with at least 75 hits and 55 walks, along with Lehigh Valley’s Christian Cairo and former Iowa Cub and current Rochester Red Wing Christian Franklin.
HE GETS ON BASE: Iowa’s BJ Murray extended his on-base streak to 30 last night batting .355 (39-for-110) with 26 walks during that span...it is tied for third-longest streak in the International League this season, trailing Cubs’ outfielder Kevin Alcántara who had a a 35-game run from April 24-June 28.
WICKS FLICKS: Iowa left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Wicks pitched five innings Saturday night, the first time he has done so since June 21 versus Indianapolis...it marked Jordan’s fourth appearance of five or more innings during the 2026 campaign across his 14 appearances...he posted six strikeouts, matching his season high from May 15 at Nashville.
GWINNETT CONNECTIONS: The Iowa Cubs and Gwinnett Stripers are meeting for the first time down in Lawrenceville...Iowa Cubs Media Relations Manager, Peter Brooks started his career in professional baseball as a intern in 2019 under the guidance of current Senior Manager of PR and Broadcasting Dave Lezotte...I-Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf and Lezotte are both Wisconsin natives...Stripers’ Assistant General Manager Nick Bernabe is the son of current I-Cubs President and longtime General Manager Sam Bernabe.
BIG WILLIE STYLE: Starting pitcher Will Sanders picked up his sixth win of the season on Sunday...in his last seven appearances (six starts) since returning from injury on June 12, Sanders has gone 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA (11 ER in 33.0 IP) with 33 strikeouts...during that span, Sanders ranks among International League leaders in wins (1st), innings pitched (2nd), opponents’ average (3rd, .174), WHIP (3rd, 0.85), strikeouts (4th) and ERA (7th).
JONNY LONG: Jonathon Long went 2-for-4 with two runs to give him third consecutive multi-hit game Tuesday night...it is tied for the fifth-longest such streak of the season, behind leader Owen Miller who had a six-game run from July 8-17...Long is batting .393 (24-for-61) with 16 runs, eight doubles, home runs and 12 RBI in 14 July games this year.