IOWA CUBS (12-12, 42-54) at GWINNETT STRIPERS (12-11, 50-47)
July 25 • 2:05 PM CT • Gwinnett Field • Lawrenceville, GA
LHP Jordan Wicks (0-7, 6.79) vs. RHP Owen Murphy (4-6, 3.88)
TODAY’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Gwinnett Stripers are set to play the fourth and fifth games of a six-game series as part of a doubleheader today at Gwinnett Field...left hander Jordan Wicks is set to make his 15th start this season with Iowa in game one, with Ty Blach scheduled to start in game two...right-handed pitcher Owen Murphy is set to start for Gwinnett in game one and Cedric De Grandpre scheduled to start game two.
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY: Yesterday’s fourth game between the Iowa Cubs and the Gwinnett Stripers was postponed due to rain...this is the third doubleheader Iowa has played in this last year, last doing so on June 6 against Toledo at Principal Park...their last doubleheader played on the road was on June 12, 2025 at Louisville, defeating them in both games.
BATEMAN: Brett Bateman extended his hitting streak to 11 games Thursday night, matching his season high that he has hit twice before this season... Brett is slashing .420/.482/.620 (21-for-50) with five 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, .430), walks (T-5th, 56) and batting average (6th, .310)... 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.
AYE-RS!: Chicago Cubs’ No. 8 overall prospect Owen Ayers made his Triple-A debut last 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 .285 (6-for-21) 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.
CONGRATS TRI!: Chicago Cubs’ No. 7 prospect and infielder/outfielder James Triantos was recalled by the Chicago Cubs yesterday, and will make his Major League debut when he appears in a game...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.
THE JAG: I-Cubs outfielder Kevin Alcántara was optioned to Iowa on Friday...he returns to the I-Cubs with a 35 game on-base streak, the longest streak in the International League this season and third longest in all of Triple-A... if he reaches base in his next appearance, he will set a new Iowa Cubs franchise record for an on-base streak, as he is currently tied with Jonathon Long for the franchise record at 35 games that Long set from July 9 - Aug. 24, 2025.
HE GETS ON BASE: Iowa’s BJ Murray extended his on-base streak to 31 games last night and is batting .357 (40-for-112) with 26 walks during that span...it is the second-longest streak in the International League this season, trailing Cubs’ outfielder Kevin Alcántara who has an active 35-game run from April 24-June 28 that matches Jonathon Long’s franchise record.
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.
JONNY LONG: Jonathon Long went 2-for-4 with two runs on Tuesday night, giving him his third consecutive multi-hit game...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 .373 (25-for-67) with 18 runs, nine doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI in 16 July games this month.