July 5 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Omaha Storm Chasers

IOWA CUBS (38-47) vs. OMAHA STORM CHASERS (54-29)

Friday, July 5 • 7:08 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Kyle McGowin (0-0, 5.18) vs. RHP Chandler Champlain (1-2, 5.15)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Omaha Storm Chasers play the fifth of a six-game series tonight at Principal Park after playing the first three games of the series at Werner Park...right-hander Kyle McGowin is slated to make his sixth start with Iowa this season...opposite of McGowin will be right-hander Chandler Champlain who will make his eighth start with the Storm Chasers.

THE FOURTH: Iowa capped off Independence Day with a 5-4 victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers...Omaha took a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning but in the bottom half of the frame, Caleb Knight homered to tie the game at 4-4 and Owen Caissie doubled home a run to give Iowa a 5-4 advantage...Hunter Bigge tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his sixth save of the season with Michael Arias picking up his second win in relief.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS: Iowa’s 5-4 win last night night improved them to 16-12 in one-run games this season...the I-Cubs 28 one-run games this season are the most such games in the International League, ahead of next closest Omaha (17-10).

FOR STARTERS: Over the last five games, Iowa’s starting pitchers have posted a 1.48 ERA (4 ER in 24.1 IP) and the team has gone 2-2 over that span... Kyle McGowin spun 5.0 scoreless innings on June 30 vs. St. Paul and allowed just three hits and Dan Straily worked 5.0 scoreless frames on Tuesday night at Omaha, allowing just one hit and eight strikeouts, which marked his most since he punched out nine on July 27, 2019 at Lehigh Valley with Triple-A Norfolk.

STORM CHASIN’: The I-Cubs and Omaha have played 13 games during the 2024 season with Omaha winning nine of the contests, outscoring Iowa 70-47 (-23)...the two clubs faced off 21 times in 2023, with Iowa going 13-8 and outscoring Omaha 160-117 (+43) including a 20-1 win at Werner Park on Aug. 9 in which Iowa outhit Omaha 17-4 and hit seven home runs, four of which came in the first inning... the I-Cubs tallied a seven-game winning streak against the Storm Chasers last year from July 2 (G2)-Aug. 12.

OAT MILKERS: The Iowa Cubs will play tonight as the Malmö Oat Milkers.. announced during MLB Tonight’s March 27 evening broadcast, the introduction of the Malmö Oat Milkers to the league is part of Oatly’s ongoing multi-year partnership with MiLB as the first national plant-based, non-dairy sponsor, and pays homage to Oatly’s home city of Malmö, Sweden...all of MiLB’s 120 teams are playing on game this season as the Oat Milkers.

FUTURE STARS: Cubs’ No. 2 prospect Owen Caissie and Cubs’ No. 6 prospect (MLB Pipeline) Moises Ballesteros were selected to participate in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game as announced by Major League Baseball this morning...Caissie is batting .279 (78-for-280) with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 46 RBI in 76 games with Iowa this season and Ballesteros is hitting .340 (18-for-53) and has tallied seven multi-hit efforts over his 13 games with the I-Cubs...the 2024 All-Star Futures Game will be played on Saturday, July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas (home of the Texas Rangers) with the MLB Futures Skill Showcase following the conclusion of the All-Star Futures Game.

BIGGE SMALLS: Reliever Hunter Bigge earned his sixth save of the season last night...Bigge has allowed one run in 11.2 innings of work and has 19 strikeouts since joining the I-Cubs on June 4...since he joined the club, his six saves ranked tied for second-most in the International League.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: The I-Cubs returned home to Principal Park after last night a quick three-game getaway in Omaha...the win last night improved Iowa’s record at the friendly confines to 22-21 (.512) opposed to going 16-26 (.381) on the road this season... the I-Cubs have won four of their last five home games (three coming against St. Paul) and outscored their opponents 33-23 (+10)...despite being in last place of the International League West Division, Iowa’s 22 wins at home are tied for fourth- most among the 10 teams in the division.