September 13 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs Versus Toledo Mud Hens
IL Iowa Cubs

September 13 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs Versus Toledo Mud Hens

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


IOWA CUBS (28-39, 58-81) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (35-32, 69-72)

September 13 - 1:08 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

RHP Kohl Franklin (0-1, 4.24) vs. LHP Austin Gomber (2-9, 5.68)

TODAY'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Toledo Mud Hens are set to play the finale of a five-game series at Principal Park today...right-hander Kohl Franklin is set to make his seventh appearance (6th start) for Iowa...left-hander Austin Gomber is slated to start for Toledo.

LEAVING IT LATE: The I-Cubs fell to the Toledo Mud Hens yesterday by a 9-7 score...the I-Cubs were up 7-1 in the fourth inning but ended up as the losing side... Justin Dean, Chas McCormick and Jordan Nwogu all had two hits for Iowa...McCormick hit his 14th home run of the season in the fourth inning and Nwogu had three RBI...right-hander Andrew Wantz made the start and tossed 3.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts... Doug Nikhazy pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, allowing just one hit and one walk.

THE OFFENSIVE: The I-Cubs recorded 16 hits in Friday nights contest versus Toledo, the most they have had in a single game since July 19 at Memphis...they scored five runs in the seventh inning of the contest, the most runs they have scored in a single inning since scoring four runs in the tenth inning on August 22 at Toledo...they went on to score six runs in the fourth inning of Saturday's contest... prior to Friday night the last time they had scored at least five runs in a single inning was on August 13 versus St. Paul, scoring six runs in the first inning.

JUMPMAN: Iowa Cubs outfielder Jordan Nwogu collected his fourth multi-hit game in his last eight games played on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and three RBI...it is the first time he has recorded three RBI in a game at the Triple-A level and first time he has done so in a game this season... he last had three RBI in a game on Sept. 6, 2025 with Double-A Knoxville against Rocket City...n the month of September, Nwogu is batting .429 (12-for-28) with three doubles, a triple, one home run and seven RBI, raising his batting average for the season from .186 to .264 during the stretch.

CHAS: Over his last 20 games, Chas McCormick is batting .371/.476/.614 (26-for-70) with five doubles, four home runs, 14 RBI, and 13 walks... in the month of September, Chas is batting .412/.476/.614 (14- for-34)...he went 3-for-3 Saturday night and hit his 13th home run of the season, marking the second time in this stretch he has recorded a three-hit game, also doing so August 20 versus Toledo...he had two three-hit games this year prior to this stretch, June 27 against Buffalo and April 29 at St. Paul...since August 18, he ranks first in the International League on-base percentage (.476), third in batting average (.371), and fifth in OPS (1.090).

THE JAG: Kevin Alcantara belted his 20th home run of the season Friday night, setting a new career high for home runs in a single season, surpassing his previous career high of (17) in 2025 with Iowa... he has played at first base in three games this week, the first time in his professional career he has logged time at the position in a game...he has recorded 34 putouts in his first three career games at the position.

REHAB CLINIC: The I-Cubs have several Chicago Cubs pitchers on the roster currently on Major League Rehab Assignments... Justin Steele (3rd appearance) and Shelby Miller (11th appearance) pitched Thursday night out of the bullpen, while Gavin Hollowell (3rd appearance) appeared on Friday night...Iowa has had 11 different pitchers join the team on Major League Rehab Assignment this season thus far.... Matt Shaw is the lone position player for thus far to join Iowa on a Major League Rehab Assignment.

VERSUS TOLEDO: The I-Cubs and the Mud Hens are meeting for the fourth final time of the 2026 season...Iowa won the series 4-2 in Toledo August 18 - 22...Toledo won the last series at Principal Park 4-1, with the series finale cancelled due to rain...against Toledo, Iowa currently holds a season record of 9-12.

MAN OF STEELE: Left-handed pitcher Justin Steele made his third outing in a competitive game on Thursday night versus Toledo...he pitched 2.0 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three...last Wednesday at Columbus he made his first competitive outing since April 7, 2025 vs. Texas... he threw 1.2 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits...he was placed on the injured list on April 9, 2025 with left elbow tendinitis...Steele was named an All-Star in 2023 and has gone 32-22 with a 3.30 ERA (186 ER in 506.2 IP) in 102 games (91 starts) with the Cubs.

TWO, THREE: Iowa Cubs' infielder Owen Miller hit his 30th double of the season Wednesday afternoon, which is tied with teammate James Triantos for third-most in the International League this season, trailing Indianapolis' Ronny Simon (33) and former I-Cub Jonathon Long (34)...Miller also hit his seventh triple of the year last Tuesday in Columbus, which trails 2026 I-Cub teammate BJ Murray for the league lead (9).

RUNNER: James Triantos went 2-for-4 yesterday and now has 127 hits and 26 stolen bases on the season...the last I-Cub to match those numbers was John Andreoli with 130 hits and 43 stolen bases in 2016...James ranks among International League leaders in batting average (3rd, .302), doubles (T-3rd, 30) and hits (7th, 127).

AYE-RS!: Chicago Cubs' No. 2 overall prospect catcher Owen Ayers threw out his 38th and 39th runners of the season Thursday night between Advanced-A, Double-A and Triple-A, which is tied for 8th most of any player at those levels...it also marked the fifth time in 30 appearances at catcher since being promoted to Triple-A he has caught multiple runners stealing in the same game, last doing so on September 3 at Columbus...since being promoted to Triple-A on July 17, he has recorded 17 runners caught stealing, which is tied for 12th most amongst all Triple-A catchers across the full 2026 season...Owen went 2-for-5 on Friday night, recording his 11th multi-hit performance in 44 games at the Triple-A level.

DAY TRACKER: Today marks the final home game at Principal Park this season...the I-Cubs have gone 23-27 during day games this year vs. 35-53 in night games...the 23 daytime wins are third-most in the International League West Division, behind Columbus (26) and St. Paul (25).

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