IOWA CUBS (5-5, 35-47) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (6-4, 40-44)
July 4 • 6:05 PM CT • Fifth Third Field • Toledo, OH
RHP Grant Kipp (0-0, 7.35) vs. RHP Troy Watson (3-2, 3.00)
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Toledo Mud Hens are set to play the fifth game of a six-game series at Fifth Third Park tonight...right-hander Grant Kipp is slated to make his second start with Iowa since being promoted from Double-A Knoxville...right-hander Troy Watson will start for Toledo.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: The I-Cubs defeated the Toledo Mud Hens for the second straight night on Friday by a 5-4 score...BJ Murray led the I-Cubs offense as he went 3-for-4 with two runs, a triple, a home run and two RBI...James Triantos and Brett Bateman each had two hits...Ty Blach earned his fourth win as he pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on six hits with six strikeouts...Vince Reilly worked 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and Jayden Murray and Luis Peralta each worked an inning with Peralta earning his second save.
TRI: Chicago Cubs’ No. 8 prospect James Triantos has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games and is batting .364 (24-for-66) during that span...Tri ranks among International League leaders in hits (3rd) and batting average (7th) during that span...just two other players match Triantos’ 90 hits and 17 stolen bases this season, Nashville’s Luis Lara and Gwinnett’s Jim Jarvis.
BLACH OUT: Left-hander Ty Blach picked up his fourth win of the 2026 season last night...in his last four outings since June 13, Blach has gone 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA (6 ER in 17.0 IP) and 15 strikeouts...on June 26, Ty pitched 5.0 scoreless innings for the first time since June 1, 2025 with Triple-A Round Rock vs. Reno.
BATEMAN!: I-Cubs outfielder Brett Bateman has reached base safely in 19 of his last 23 games, including a season high 11-game hitting streak from June 6-19...in the month of June, Bateman batted .316 (24-for-76) with 14 runs scored, four doubles, seven RBI, and 17 walks...Brett currently ranks third in the International League in on-base percentage (.422) and sixth in walks (49).
POSITIONLESS BASEBALL: On Sunday, Iowa position players Scott Kingery and Christian Bethancourt pitched for Iowa, combining to throw 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit...Bethancourt struck out Buffalo’s lead off hitter Jay Harry with a 94 MPH fastball...this was the second time in the series Iowa pitched two position players in a game after Catchers Eric Yang and Casey Opitz pitched on Thursday...Kingery became the first I-Cub pitcher to homer in a game since Tyson Miller on August 26, 2019.
RARE OCCURRENCE: Last night, BJ Murray had his second game of the season in which he had a triple and a home run...just five players for the I-Cubs have had two such games in a season since 2005, Murray (2026), Jonathon Long (2025), Brett Jackson (2012), Andres Torres (2008) and Scott McClain (2005).
BJ BALLIN’: I-Cubs infielder BJ Murray is batting .426 (26-for-61) with five doubles, three triples, four home runs and eight RBI in his last 15 games...BJ has reached base in 19 straight games, which is the ninth-longest active streak in the International League and the second-longest by an I-Cub this season, trailing Kevin Alcántara’s 35-game streak...Murray tallied his sixth triple of the season last night, becoming the first Iowa Cub since John Andreoli (8) in 2017 to have at least six triples in a season.
LONG BALL: Thursday night, 2025 Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year Jonathon Long hit his eighth home run of the season as part of a two-hit night...marked his fourth home run in his last 13 games and his 28th as an I-Cub...over the last two seasons, Long’s 238 hits is the most of any International League player and his .835 OPS ranks third.
CADET KELLY: I-Cubs Reliever Antoine Kelly earned his first win as an Iowa Cub Thursday night...in seven appearances with Iowa, he has posted a 0.84 ERA across 10.2 innings pitched, allowing one run on eight hits one home run) and striking out 11 batters against just three walks...Kelly was acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 7.
MILLER TIME: I-Cubs infielder Owen Miller reached base five times Thursday night, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI...it marks the second time Miller has reached base five times in a game this season, last doing so on May 29 at Indianapolis...in his last nine games, Miller is batting .474 (18-for-38) with nine runs scored, four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 12 RBI...Miller has scored a run in five consecutive games which is tied for the third-longest active streak in the International League and the sixth-longest such streak by an I-Cub this season, trailing Chas McCormick who scored in eight straight games from April 11-22.