June 30 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints

IOWA CUBS (35-45) vs. ST. PAUL SAINTS (41-38)

Sunday, June 30 • 1:08 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Kyle McGowin (0-0, 6.52) vs. RHP Adam Plutko (2-1, 5.68)

TODAY’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the St. Paul Saints play the finale of a six-game series today...the two clubs met in St. Paul from April 9-14 with the I-Cubs winning four of the six games in the series...right-hander Kyle McGowin is slated to make his fifth start with Iowa and nine of the season... opposite of McGowin will be Adam Plutko who will make his seventh start with St. Paul.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The I-Cubs fell by an 8-2 score in the fifth game of the series last night vs. St. Paul...starting pitcher Thomas Pannone suffered the loss as he surrendered six runs (three earned) on 10 hits with four strikeouts across 4.0 innings... Chase Strumpf led the team offensively, going 2-for-2 with one run, one double and two walks.

COLE WORLD: Iowa outfielder Cole Roederer has hit safely in eight consecutive games dating back to June 20 in which he is batting .281 (9-for-32) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI...marks his longest hitting streak since he also 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.

THE EIGHTH IS GREAT: The exclamation point for Iowa’s offense came in the eighth inning on Friday night...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.

PACK THE PARK: Over the last two days, the average attendance at Principal Park is 11,112 fans, including Friday night’s 11,430 mark, which was the largest at Principal Park since Aug. 23, 2019.

START ME UP: Friday 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.

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...St. Paul has won three of the fifth games played this series and each team has scored 33 runs...during the 2023 campaign, the I-Cubs went 14-10 against St. Paul, including 8-4 at Principal Park.

MO BALLER: Moises Ballesteros tallied another multi-hit game last night, going 2-for-5 with one run, one double and one RBI...since joining Iowa on June 18, Bally is batting .366 (15-for-41) with five 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 Thursday night and the second by an I-Cub this season following BJ Murray Jr. on April 12 at St. Paul.

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.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: Iowa fell just one game below .500 at Principal Park this season with their loss last night...the I-Cubs have gone 20-21 at home this season vs. 15-24 on the road... in 2023, Iowa posted a 42-31 record at the friendly confines.