IOWA CUBS (29-39, 62-81) at OMAHA STORM CHASERS (31-39, 64-80)
September 19 • 1:05 PM CT • Werner Park • Papillion, NE
RHP Andrew Wantz (2-1, 4.06) vs. RHP Vince Velasquez (1-1, 6.15)
TODAY’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Omaha Storm Chasers are set to play the fourth game of a five-game series at Werner Park today...right-hander Andrew Wantz is set to 14th appearance (ninth start) for Iowa this season...right-hander and former I-Cub Vince Velasquez is slated to start for Omaha.
HOW SWEEP IT IS: The I-Cubs swept their doubleheader against Omaha on Friday night at Werner Park winning game one 2-1 and game two 10-2...Justin Steele started game one for Iowa, pitching two innings and allowing no runs and no hits while striking out five...Grant Kipp picked up his fourth win of the year after pitching 3.0 innings and allowing one run out of the bullpen, while Tyler Ferguson picked up his third save of the year...up 2-1 in the sixth inning of game two, Iowa erupted for eight runs in the inning, highlighted by a BJ Murray grand slam...James Triantos collected four hits, while Braxton Garrett earned his third victory with Iowa after pitching five innings and allowing one run while striking out six.
TWO FOR TWO: The I-Cubs swept their doubleheader with the Storm Chasers on Friday night at Werner Park...it is the first time this year they swept a doubleheader, last doing so June 12, 2025 at Louisville...it marks the second time this year these two teams played a doubleheader, also doing so on April 10 at Principal Park, where Omaha swept the pair of games...this was the fifth doubleheader Iowa has played in this year and second on the road, last playing a road doubleheader against Gwinnett July 25...Iowa has a record of 3-7 in doubleheaders this year.
MAN OF STEELE: Left-handed pitcher Justin Steele made his fourth outing in a competitive game on Friday night versus Omaha...he pitched 2.0 innings, allowing one walk and striking out five...he was placed on the injured list on April 9, 2025 with left elbow tendinitis...Steele was named an All-Star in 2023 and has gone 32-22 with a 3.30 ERA (186 ER in 506.2 IP) in 102 games (91 starts) with the Cubs.
THE OFFENSIVE: The I-Cubs scored eight runs in the sixth inning of game two of the doubleheader on Friday night against Omaha..the eight runs scored are the most Iowa has scored in single inning since scoring nine runs in the eighth inning on July 9 against St. Paul.
THE GRAND BALL: BJ Murray hit a grand slam in the sixth inning of the second game of Friday night’s doubleheader...it was the first grand slam hit by the I-Cubs since Kevin Alcantara hit one on June 24 versus Buffalo...Iowa has hit eight grand slams this season, the most they have hit in a single season since 2023...Ben Cowles and former I-Cub Jonathon Long each hit two grand slams this year, joining Carlos Perez (2025), Owen Caissie (2024), and Pete-Crow Armstrong (2023) as the only I-Cubs since 2017 to hit multiple grand slams in a season.
THE JAG: Kevin Alcantara belted his 20th home run of the season last Friday night, setting a new career high for home runs in a single season, surpassing his previous career high of (17) in 2025 with Iowa...he has played at first base in six of his last eight games, the first time in his professional career he has logged time at the position in a game.
HOME SWEET HOME: The I-Cubs played their final home game of the 2026 season on Sunday, finishing the 2026 season with an overall home record of 30-43 (.410)...two home games were cancelled due to inclement weather, with Norfolk and El Paso being the only Triple-A teams to not have at least 30 victories at home.
VERSUS OMAHA: The I-Cubs and the Storm Chasers are meeting for the final series of the 2026 season...Iowa won the series 4-2 in Des Moines August 25-30, including back-to-back walkoff wins on the 28th and 29th...with their sweep of the doubleheader last night, Iowa has clinched the season series over the Storm Chasers...the I-Cubs currently hold a season record of 9-5 against Omaha...this week is the only time the I-Cubs make the trip to play at Werner Park this year.
JUMPMAN: Jordan Nwogu hit his third Triple-A home run on Sunday...he collected his fifth multi-hit game in his last 12 games played on Friday night, going 2-for-4 with a double, and an RBI...on Saturday he recorded three-RBI in a game for the first time at the Triple-A level and this season...he last had three RBI in a game on Sept. 6, 2025 with Double-A Knoxville against Rocket City...in the month of September, Nwogu is batting .400 (16-for-40) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBI, raising his batting average for the season from .186 to .273 during the stretch.
TRI: James Triantos went 4-for-5 in game two of the doubleheader on Friday night against Omaha...it is the second four-hit game for Triantos this season and first since April 2 at Louisville... has 131 hits and 27 stolen bases on the season...the last I-Cub to match those numbers was John Andreoli with 130 hits and 43 stolen bases in 2016...James ranks among International League leaders in batting average (4th, .301), doubles (T-3rd, 30) and hits (6th, 131).
NASTY NOLAND: Iowa Cubs starter Connor Noland picked up his fourth win last night as he pitched 5.0 innings and did not allow a hit or a run...he walked two batters and struck out six...it marked the first time an I-Cubs starter has pitched at least 5.0 hitless innings since Riley Thompson did so on April 20, 2023 in the second game of a doubleheader at Buffalo.
CHAS: Chas McCormick collected his third consecutive multi-hit game on Sunday, going 3-for-3...Sunday marked the fifth time this season he has had a three-hit game, three of which have come since August 18...he has collected seven multi-hit games in his last 13 games, with two streaks of three consecutive multi-hit games...prior to September, he had one instance this year where he had three consecutive multi-hit games, collecting two hits in each of the games played on May 22-May 24 against Memphis...over his last 24 games, he is batting .381/.469/.619 (32-for-84) with eight doubles, four home runs, 18 RBI, and 13 walks... in the month of September, Chas is batting .417/.472/.667 (20-for-48)...since August 18, he ranks first in the International League in on-base percentage (.469) second in batting average (.381), third in OPS (1.088), fourth in hits (32) and seventh in slugging percentage (.619)
AYE-RS!: Chicago Cubs’ No. 2 overall prospect catcher Owen Ayers threw out his 38th and 39th runners of the season Thursday night between Advanced-A, Double-A and Triple-A, which is tied for ninth-most of any player at those levels...it also marked the fifth time in 32 appearances at catcher since being promoted to Triple-A he has caught multiple runners stealing in the same game, last doing so on September 3 at Columbus...since being promoted to Triple-A on July 17, he has recorded 17 runners caught stealing, which is 11th most amongst all Triple-A catchers across the full 2026 season...Owen went 2-for-5 on last Friday night against Toledo, recording his 11th multi-hit performance in 47 games at the Triple-A level.