September 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens
IL Iowa Cubs

September 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Toledo Mud Hens

Published on September 18, 2025 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (73-72, 34-37) vs. TOLEDO MUD HENS (81-65, 42-29)

Thursday, September 18 - 6:38 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA

LHP Austin Gomber (2-1, 1.13) vs. RHP Kyle Finnegan (0-0, -.--)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs play the third of a six-game series tonight against the Toledo Mud Hens...it is the final series of the regular season...left hander Austin Gomber is slated to start for Iowa vs. right-hander Kyle Finnegan for Toledo.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY: The I-Cubs suffered their fifth straight loss to the Toledo Mud Hens yesterday by a 5-1 score...the game was called in the bottom of the seventh inning due to rain... Chase Strumpf provided the only offense for Iowa as he hit a solo home run in the second inning... Connor Noland was tagged with the loss as he allowed five runs on seven hits across 5.1 innings... Riley Martin worked 0.2 scoreless frames and Eli Morgan worked a scoreless inning.

JONNY LONG BALL: Last Wednesday, Cubs No. 7 prospect Jonathon Long tallied three hits including his 20th home run of the season...Long is one of three minor leaguers with at least 150 hits and 20 home runs this season, along with Ryan Ward and Konnor Griffin ...Saturday night, Long went 1-for-4 to give him 154 on the season, which is the most by an I-Cub since Felix Pie had 158 in 2006...Long's 90 RBI are also the most since Bryan LaHair had 109 in 2011.

NICKY ON BASE: Infielder Nicky Lopez has reached base in 18 straight games dating back to Aug. 21...during that span, Lopez is batting .274 (17-for-62) with 11 runs scored, four doubles, five RBI and 13 walks...it is the longest on-base streak by an I-Cub since Owen Caissie reached base in 19 straight games (5/30 - 6/19) and was batting .368 (25-for-68), had eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBI in that span.

FIVE GUY: Infielder Hayden Cantrelle hit his fourth home run of the season Thursday night and first since his grand slam on Aug. 30 at Las Vegas...in his last 15 games, Cantrelle is batting .288 (17-for-59) with four extra base hits and 11 RBI...Hayden also stole his 30th base Thursday night between Double-A Knoxville and Iowa which ranks tied for fourth among Cubs' farmhands.

EXTRA EXTRA: Catcher Carlos Pérez hit this 32nd double of the season Tuesday night and is one of three minor leaguers this season to have at least 30 doubles and 25 home runs...he is the first I-Cub to reach 30 doubles since Yonathon Perlaza hit 40 in 2023.

HIT PARADE: The I-Cubs tallied 16 hits Thursday night which is tied for their third-most this season and most since they also had 16 on Aug. 30 at Las Vegas...the season high for Iowa was set on April 16 vs. St. Paul (24).

DOUBLE DIGITS: The I-Cubs snapped their winning streak at 10 games last Wednesday...the 10-game run is tied for the third-longest in the International League this season trailing Louisville's active 11-game streak and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 11...it marks the longest win streak by Iowa since data was made available in 2005 and is two shy of the franchise record set from Aug. 10-21, 1990 (12 games).

AWARD TOUR: Iowa Cubs left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber was named International League pitcher of the Week for the period of Sept. 8-14, the league announced Monday...in one start at Indianapolis, Gomber pitched 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with nine strikeouts in a no decision...Gomber is the third Iowa Cub to earn weekly honors this season, along with Carlos Pérez from May 12-18 and Owen Caissie from June 30-July 6. The left-hander is the first I-Cub to be named International League Pitcher of the Week since Keegan Thompson on Aug. 9-15, 2021.

STRUMPF POWER: Iowa Cubs infielder Chase Strumpf hit his 12th home run of the season yesterday, matching the number he hit last season...he has hit 38 career home runs with the I-Cubs across three seasons...Strumpf has hit just .206 (7-for-34) in 11 games this month but he is reaching base at a .400 clip thanks to eight walks.

Check out the Iowa Cubs Statistics

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



International League Stories from September 18, 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