July 31 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Indianapolis Indians
IL Iowa Cubs

July 31 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Indianapolis Indians

July 31, 2025 - International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (52-51, 13-16) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (62-41, 20-9)

Thursday, July 31 - 6:38 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Brandon Birdsell (0-0, 4.50) vs. RHP Drake Fellows (7-2, 4.18)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs play the third of a six-game series vs. Indianapolis tonight...right-hander Brandon Birdsell is slated to start for Iowa...right-hander Drake Fellows will start for Indianapolis.

BOUNCE BACK: The I-Cubs won game two vs. Indianapolis yesterday afternoon by a 5-2 score... Kevin Alcántara went 2-for-3 with a walk and two home runs... Greg Allen and Hayden Cantrelle also tallied two hits for Iowa... Javier Assad made a start on Major League rehab assignment and worked 3.2 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) with two strikeouts... Jordan Wicks earned the win as he tossed 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out six... Nate Pearson worked a scoreless ninth to pick up his third save.

THE JAG: Outfielder and Cubs No. 4 prospect Kevin Alcántara recorded his second two-homer game of the season with the other coming on May 21, 2025 at Columbus...he is the sixth I-Cub this season to have at least two multi-homer games this season...since June 18, The Jaguar is batting .342 (27-for-79) with eight doubles, six home runs and RBI in 22 games.

WALK THIS WAY: Jonathon Long snapped his walk streak at eight games Tuesday night...it is tied for the second-longest such streak in the International League and the longest by an I-Cub since Owen Caissie from April 25-May 2 (also 8)...no Iowa Cub has walked in nine straight games since at least 2004 when data was made available.

800 BIG ONES: Manager Marty Pevey earned his 800th win with Iowa in yesterday's 5-2 victory over Indianapolis...Pevey is among many minor league managers who have reached this milestone including Charlie Montoyo, Mike Jirschele and Pat Kelly.

DO NOT PASS: Last Wednesday night, Iowa recorded their seventh shutout of the season with a 9-0 win over Louisville...marked their first shutout since a 3-0 win on June 15 also vs. Louisville...the Iowa Cubs recorded six shutouts all of last season.

THE DEADLINE: Former Iowa Cubs Outfielder Christian Franklin was included in a trade last night with Washington Nationals...Franklin, along with Rookie League shortstop Ronny Cruz will go to the Nationals organization in exchange for right-handed pitcher Michael Soroka ...Franklin played in 86 games with Iowa and batted .265/.393/.427 (85-for-321) with 20 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 41 RBI and 63 walks.

BALLY TO THE SHOW: Catcher Moises Ballesteros received his second call up to the Chicago Cubs prior to yesterday's game and went 1-for-2 with a double and three RBI...Bally has played in 86 games with the I-Cubs and is batting .332 (112-for-337) with 26 doubles, nine home runs and 57 RBI.

HIT PARADE: Iowa's 16 hits on Saturday were the third-most the club has had all season, trailing a 24 hit game on April 16 vs. St. Paul and a 18 hit effort on May 16 vs. St. Paul...last season, the I-Cubs only reached 16 hits on two occasions with the season high being 18 on Sept. 15 vs. Louisville...last night marked the 13th time this season Iowa has reached the 10 run mark and first since July 3 vs. Omaha.

CINCO DE HIT-O: Last Tuesday night, Owen Caissie tallied the team's first five-hit game of the season...he went 5-for-5 with two doubles, and a two-run homer (20)...the last time an I-Cub had a five-hit game was when P.J. Higgins did it against the Omaha Storm Chasers on September 5, 2023...he is one of eight players in the International League this season with a five-hit game.

LONG BALL: Cubs' No. 6 prospect Jonathon Long hit his 16th home run of the season Tuesday night...it marked his seventh home run since July 1 which ranks tied for fifth-most in the International League during that span.

VS. INDIANAPOLIS: Iowa and Indianapolis have played six games this season with five being April 1-6 at Victory Field in Indianapolis...each team has won three game...the I-Cubs have outscored Indianapolis by a 25-20 margin.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics



International League Stories from July 31, 2025


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