July 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Memphis Redbirds
IL Iowa Cubs

July 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Memphis Redbirds

Published on July 18, 2026 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (9-10, 39-52) vs. MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (8-11, 55-39)

July 18 - 6:35 PM CT - AutoZone Park - Memphis, TN

LHP Jordan Wicks (0-7, 7.31) vs. SHP Jurrangelo Cijnte (0-0, -.--)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Memphis Redbirds are set to play the second game of a three-game series tonight at AutoZone Park... left hander Jordan Wicks is set to make his 14th start of the season for Iowa...switch-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijnte is set to start for Memphis in his Triple-A debut.

WALKED OFF: The Iowa Cubs were walked off by Memphis last night 10-9... Brett Bateman led the offense with three RBI, while Jonathon Long and Owen Miller had two RBI apiece... Chicago's No. 8 overall prospect Owen Ayers went 3-for-4 with a walk in his Triple-A debut...despite leading by one run headed into the eighth inning, the Redbirds would tie the game in the eighth inning and walk Iowa off in the ninth inning, the fifth walk off win surrendered by Iowa this year... Chicago's No. 3 overall prospect Jaxon Wiggins made his second start since returning from the IL, pitching 2.1 innings, allowing five runs on two hits with five walks and three strikeouts... Zac Leigh threw 1.2 innings of relief last night, striking out two.

MILLER TIME: I-Cubs infielder Owen Miller tallied two more hits last night, extending his season-high hitting streak to 14 games, the joint longest active streak in Triple-A, longest active streak in the International League, and longest by an I-Cub this season, tying James Triantos' 14-game run from June 14-30...during the streak, Owen is batting .443 (27-for-61) with eight doubles, two triples, and 13 RBI...Owen also has six consecutive multi-hit games, which is the second-longest streak in the IL this season and the longest by an I-Cub this season, surpassing Jonathon Long 's five game streak from April 3-8...this is the first time an Iowa player has had six straight multi-hit games since Kevin Alcántara from June 27-July 3, 2025....Miller hit seven doubles in the series versus St. Paul, including hitting three doubles on July 8, the first time an I-Cub has tallied three doubles in a game since Pete Crow-Armstrong on May 24, 2024.

BJ BALLIN': I-Cubs infielder BJ Murray is batting .354 (23-for-65) with three doubles, two triples, three home runs and nine RBI in his last 16 games...BJ has reached base in 27 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 (.328), OPS (.972), and trails teammate James Triantos by one hit for the IL lead (103).

ZAC-ATTACK: Since returning to Iowa from the ACL Cubs on June 27, reliever Zac Leigh has posted a 1.04 ERA across five appearances and 8.2 innings pitched, allowing one run on six hits with nine strikeouts while allowing just one walk.

WALKING IN MEMPHIS: The I-Cubs surrendered 11 walks last night, trailing their single game season high of 13 walks allowed on May 19 against Memphis...this marked the fifth time this season that the I-Cubs have allowed 10 or more walks in a game, most recently surrendering 12 walks on June 25 against Buffalo...Iowa currently has allowed the most walks in the International League and the second most walks in Triple-A (475), trailing Oklahoma City (489), and allowed the tenth most walks in full season Minor League Baseball.

AYE-RS!: Chicago's No. 8 overall prospect Owen Ayers made his Triple-A debut last night, going 3-for-4 with a walk...Ayers played in 65 games in Knoxville, batting .304 with 16 home runs and 48 RBI...at the time of his promotion, Ayers ranked first in the Southern League in on-base percentage (.417), slugging percentage (.591), and OPS (1.008), second in batting average, third in extra-base hits (33), fifth in total bases (136), and sixth in home runs.

SPEAKING SERIES-LY: With their win Saturday night, the I-Cubs secured their second series win of the season, with the first coming on March 31-April 5 in which they won five of six games in Louisville...it marked the first series win at home for the I-Cubs since a six-game sweep of Omaha on Sept. 2-7, 2025.

BRETT'S BANDITS: Brett Bateman recorded three RBI last night, his second three RBI game of the season, last doing so on June 20 against Indianapolis...Brett hit .545 (12-for-22) in the series against St. Paul...against the Saints this season, Bateman is batting .459 (17-for-37) with five doubles, a home run, and six RBI...Brett recorded four hits and two doubles on July 7, 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 25 of his last 30 games, including a season high 11-game hitting streak from June 6-19...since June 2, Bateman is batting .349 (44- for-126) with nine doubles, one home run, 16 RBI and 23 walks...he currently ranks first in the IL in on-base percentage (.434), tied for fourth in walks (54), and seventh in batting average (.309).

JONNY LONG: Chicago's No. 7 prospect Jonathon Long went 5-for-5 last 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 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.

TRI: Chicago's No. 7 prospect James Triantos currently leads the International League in hits (104), third in doubles (22), and fourth in batting average (.313)...since June 2, Triantos is batting .362 (50-for- 138) with 12 doubles, three home runs, and 24 RBI.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from July 18, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central