Game Notes July 11: Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints

IOWA CUBS (8-8, 38-50) vs. ST. PAUL SAINTS (7-8, 49-40)

July 11 • 6:08 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Jameson Taillon (0-0, -.--) vs. RHP John Klein (2-3, 5.80)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the St. Paul Saints are set to play the fifth of a six-game series at Principal Park tonight...Chicago’s Jameson Taillon is scheduled to make his first appearance with Iowa this season on Major League rehab...right-hander John Klein will start for St. Paul.

FRI-YAY!: The Iowa Cubs won their third straight game on Friday night, defeating St. Paul 7-4... Christian Bethancourt led the offense with three hits and two RBI, while Brett Bateman and Owen Miller recorded multi-hit games...after falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Iowa responded with a four run second inning to take the lead for good...they outscored the Saints 7-1 over the final eight innings of the game...Chicago’s No. 3 overall prospect Jaxon Wiggins made his first appearance with the I-Cubs since April 4, throwing 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out four...Zac Leigh earned the win and Eduarniel Núñez pitched two perfect innings to earn the save, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

CB: Christian Bethancourt recorded his second consecutive three-hit game last night...it is the first time Bethancourt has recorded back-to-back three- hit games in nearly 12 years, last doing so Aug. 26-27, 2014 while with Triple-A Gwinnett against Durham...in his last three games, Christian is batting .583 (7-for-12) with five runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI...he hit two home runs Thursday night, marking the second two home run game Bethancourt has notched this season, also doing so on April 2 at Louisville...Bethancourt also homered on Wednesday, marking the first time he has homered in back-to-back games since April 14-16, 2023 with Tampa Bay against Toronto.

MILLER TIME: I-Cubs infielder Owen Miller tallied two more hits last night, extending his season-high hitting streak to 11 games, the third-longest active streak in the International League...Miller has hit five doubles in the series, including hitting three doubles on Wednesday, the first time an I-Cub has tallied three doubles in a game since Pete Crow-Armstrong on May 24, 2024...in Owen’s last 15 games, he is batting .446 (29-for-65) with 14 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, two home runs and 18 RBI...in the month of July, Miller has a .447 batting average (17-for-38) with six doubles, one triple, and nine RBI...since June 15, Miller ranks among the International League leaders in triples (1st, 3), hits (1st, 34), doubles (2nd, 11), total bases (4th, 57) and batting average (5th, .374).

BJ BALLIN’: I-Cubs infielder BJ Murray is batting .393 (24-for-61) with two doubles, three triples, four home runs and ten RBI in his last 15 games...BJ has reached base in 25 straight games, which is the fourth-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 currently leads the IL in batting average (.331), OPS (.980), hits (101), and triples (6).

HOMETOWN KID: Brett Bateman went 2-for-4 last night, now hitting .643 (9-for-14) in the series against St. Paul...against the Saints this season, Bateman is batting .483 (14-for-29) with five doubles, a home run, and four RBI...Brett recorded four hits and two doubles Tuesday night, the first time he has hit those marks in a single game in his professional career...he also reached base five times, the second time he has done so in a game this season, last doing so with three hits and two walks on June 27 versus Buffalo...he has reached base safely in 23 of his last 28 games, including a season high 11-game hitting streak from June 6-19...since June 1, Bateman is batting .348 (39- for-112) with nine doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and 21 walks...he currently ranks first in the IL in on-base percentage (.434) fifth in walks (52), and tenth in batting average (.306).

THE OFFENSIVE: The Iowa Cubs set several new single game highs for runs (21), hits (24) and doubles (8) on Thursday night...the run and hit totals are the most the I-Cubs have had in a game since April 16, 2025, also against St. Paul (20 runs, 24 hits)...the nine-run eighth inning was the second most runs they have scored in an inning this season, trailing the most (11) on June 24 against Buffalo in the fifth inning...the I-Cubs have scored eight or more runs in an inning four times so far this season...Christian Bethancourt and Scott Kingery hit the third set of back-to-back home runs by Iowa this season, last done by Bethancourt and Casey Opitz on June 18 against Indianapolis.

JONNY LONG: Chicago’s No. 7 prospect Jonathon Long went 5-for-5 Thursday night with a walk, five runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and two RBI...it marked the first time in Long’s professional career he has had a five hit game and the first time he has reached base six times in a single game in his career as well... the five hit performance was the first five hit performance since Owen Cassie did so on July 22, 2025 against Louisville...he came up one hit short of tying the franchise record for most hits in a game (6), held by *Jeff Small* (June 1, 1990) and *Tony LaRussa* (June 18, 1976)...his five runs scored were the most in a single game since Moises Ballesteros did so on April 16, 2025 against St. Paul...in his last 13 games, Long is batting .358 (19-for-53) with seven doubles, four home runs, and 15 RBI...Long ranks second in the IL in doubles (23).

TRI: Chicago Cubs’ No. 8 prospect James Triantos has hit safely in 20 of his last 23 games and is batting .367 (33-for-90) with 17 RBI during that span...Tri ranks among International League leaders in hits (2nd) and batting average (5th) during the stretch... Triantos currently ranks among the International League leaders on the season in hits (2nd, 99), doubles (4th, 21) and batting average (9th, .307).