July 20 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Columbus Clippers
IL Iowa Cubs

July 20 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Columbus Clippers

July 20, 2025 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (48-46, 9-11) vs. COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (44-48, 10-10)

Sunday, July 20 - 1:08 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Connor Noland (8-3, 4.26) vs. LHP Parker Messick (4-3, 3.36)

TODAY'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs play the finale of a three-game series vs. the Columbus Clippers today...right-hander Connor Noland is slated to start for Iowa...left-hander Parker Messick will start for Columbus.

SATURDAY W: The I-Cubs picked up a win last night by a 7-2 score over Columbus... Ben Cowles had two home runs as part of a three-hit night and Christian Franklin also added three hits... Will Sanders tossed 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and earned his fifth win...Sanders has won five straight starts, making him the first I-Cubs starter to do so since Alec Mills from May 30-July 7, 2019... Tommy Romero tossed 3.1 innings and allowed two runs to pick up his first save.

THERE GOES THAT MAN: Friday night, Carlos Pérez hit his 20th home run of the season...marks the fourth time in his career he has hit at least 20 home runs (all in Triple-A)...he is the first I-Cub to hit at least 20 home runs with the team since 2023...he ranks among Pérez slugging percentage (1st, .621), home runs (2nd, 20), OPS (3rd, .986), extra-base hits (4th, 38), and RBI (8th, 57).

BALLY, BALLY: Since June 1, Catcher and Cubs' No. 2 prospect Moises Ballesteros has played 34 games and has tallied 12 multi-hit efforts...during that span, he is batting .331 (43-for-130) with 14 doubles, three home runs and 27 RBI...Bally ranks among International League leaders in hits (2nd, 103), batting average (2nd, .337), total bases (6th, 152) and doubles (6th, 23).

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY: Outfielder and Cubs No. 1 prospect Owen Caissie hit his 19th home run of the year July 10 and his seventh in his last 11 games...Caissie tallied his third multi-homer of the season on July 8 and his third in that week...he is the first I-Cub to have three multi-homer games in a season since Alexander Canario in 2024, no I-Cub has had four such games since Jared Young in 2023...Owen played in the Futures Game on July 12 in Atlanta and went 1-for-2 with a double, RBI and two walks.

BACK AT IT: Infielder Jonathon Long tallied his eighth multi-hit effort in his last 14 games last Sunday...Jonny also tallied four RBI last Saturday which marked his third game this year with at least four RBI...Long is batting .345 (19-for-55) with five doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI over the course of those 14 games...the Cubs No. 11 prospect is slashing .317/.399/.505 (105-for-331) with 16 doubles, 14 home runs and 61 RBI in 90 games this season.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNOR!: Today, starting pitcher Connor Noland celebrates his 26th birthday...he shares a birthday with Hall of Famers Heine Manush and Tony Oliva ...he also shares this date of birth with musician Carlos Santana and actor Omar Epps.

BIG BEN: Infielder Ben Cowles hit two homers last night for the first time this season...marked his first home run since June 11...for Cowles, he tallied his third career multi-homer game and first since July 23, 2023.

WALK-A-THON: The I-Cubs issued a season-high 13 walks Friday night, with starter Brandon Birdsell walking five...it marked the most free passes by the I-Cubs since they walked 16 on Aug. 3, 2023 vs. Toledo...the 13 walks are tied for the most by any International League team this year with Omaha and Charlotte.

OFF THE BREAK: Coming off the break, the Iowa Cubs were 47-45, which was good for fifth place in the International League West Division, 8.0 games behind first place Indianapolis, who will visit Principal Park from July 29-Aug. 3...Iowa's run differential of 57 is second-best in the division, behind Nashville's 89...last year after the break, the I-Cubs were 41-52.

BITTER 16: On July 9, the Iowa Cubs offense were fanned 16 times in the game...the 16 punchouts marked the most strikeouts given up this season and the most since September 22, 2024 at Rochester (16)...the franchise record for the most strikeouts is 19, which happened three times since 2014...the most recent was against the Memphis Redbirds on April 22, 2018.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from July 20, 2025


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