June 29 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the St. Paul Saints play the fifth of a six- game series tonight...the two clubs met in St. Paul from April 9-14 with the I-Cubs winning four of the six games in the series... left-hander Thomas Pannone is slated to make his league-leading 17th start of the season and second vs. St. Paul...the Saints are scheduled to pitch right-hander Louie Varland, who will make his 10th start with St. Paul and 15th of season as he has made five starts with Minnesota.

FRIDAY FIREWORKS: The I-Cubs pitching staff allowed just two hits and scored six runs in the eighth inning to lead them to an 8-1 victory over St. Paul last night...starting pitcher Riley Thompson tossed 6.1 hitless innings before he allowed a home run to DaShawn DaShawn Keirsey...Thompson earned his fourth win of the season as he allowed one run in 6.2 innings of work with three strikeouts... Riley Thompson (1.1 IP) and Daniel Palencia (1.0 IP) contributed to the two-hitter, which was the lowest total allowed by Iowa since July 6, 2023 vs. St. Paul.

THE EIGHTH IS GREAT: The exclamation point for Iowa’s offense came in the eighth inning in which the club scored six runs on five hits, highlighted a two-run homer from Hayden Cantrelle...the I-Cubs held a slim 2-1 lead heading into the frame before the six-run outburst made it, 8-1, Iowa.

COLE WORLD: Iowa outfielder Cole Roederer has hit safely in seven consecutive games dating back to June 20 in which he is batting .286 (8-for-28) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI...marks his longest hitting streak since he hit in eight consecutive games from July 6-21, 2023 with Double-A Tennessee...Cole homered in back-to-back games from June 23-25 for the fifth time in his career and first since July 16-19, 2023 with Double-A Tennessee.

BIGGE SMALLS: Reliever Hunter Bigge earned his first win since June 1, 2023 with Double-A Tennessee Thursday night...Bigge has pitched 8.1 scoreless innings and has 13 strikeouts with the I-Cubs this season after joining the active roster on June 4...since he joined Iowa, his three saves rank tied for third most in the International League.

START ME UP: Last night’s starter Riley Thompson earned his fourth win and tossed a career-high 6.2 innings last night, after carrying a no-hitter through 6.1 frames...in seven starts this season, Thompson has gone 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA (8 ER in 31.0 IP) vs. going 2-0 with a 8.54 ERA (25 ER in 26.1 IP) in 15 relief appearances.

PACK THE PARK: Last night’s paid attendance of 11,430 was the largest crowd at Principal Park since Aug. 23, 2019 vs. Nashville in which 13,138 was the announced attendance.

VS. ST PAUL: Iowa and St. Paul are matching up for the second time this season and first since April 9-14 in which the I-Cubs won four of the six games and outscored the Saints 36-29...each team has won two games this series with Iowa outscoring St. Paul 31-25...during the 2023 campaign, the I-Cubs went 14-10 against St. Paul, including 8-4 at Principal Park.

MO BALLER: Moises Ballesteros went hitless last night but drew two walks and has reached base in eight of his nine games with Iowa...since joining Iowa on June 18, Bally is batting .361 (13-for-36) with four doubles, one home run and two RBI...he is one of three position players aged 20-or- younger to have appeared in a game in the International League this season, along with Jackson Holliday (Baltimore) and Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay).

KEEPING IT IN THE PARK: Iowa shortstop Jack Reinheimer hit his first home run of the season last night and the second by an I-Cub this season following BJ Murray Jr. on April 12 at St. Paul...Jack is batting .400 (4-for-10) with two extra- base hits in his first three games with Iowa.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS: With their 11-9 win Thursday night, Iowa improved to 7-14 in two-run games, which is the most such games in the International League this season...the I-Cubs 6-5 loss Tuesday night vs. St. Paul dropped them to 14-12 this season in one-run games... Iowa has played 26 one-run contests this season which is the most such games in the IL this season.