September 4 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at St. Paul Saints
Published on September 4, 2024 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release
IOWA CUBS (60-73) at ST. PAUL SAINTS (63-69)
Wednesday, September 4 - 6:37 PM CT - CHS Field - St. Paul, MN
RHP Brandon Birdsell (3-4, 3.56) vs. LHP Brent Headrick (1-0, 2.08)
TONIGHT'S GAME : The Iowa Cubs and St. Paul Saints play the second of a six-game series tonight at CHS Field...it marks the penultimate roadtrip of the season for Iowa...right-hander Brandon Birdsell is scheduled to make his first ninth start for Iowa and his 23rd of the season...left-hander Brent Headrick is slated to make his third start for St. Paul during the 2024 campaign and first since April 6 at Nashville.
STARTING OFF RIGHT : Iowa won the series opener at St. Paul on Monday by an 11-8 score...it marked Iowa's second Monday game of the season following a 5-1 loss at Omaha on July 1... Caleb Knight led the way on offense for Iowa as he went 3-for-4 with two runs, two home runs and four RBI... Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcántara and Moises Ballesteros each tallied two hits for the I-Cubs... Daniel Missaki made his first start in affiliated ball since 2015 and pitched 3.0 innings of one-run ball... Blake Weiman made his first outing with Iowa and earned the win.
KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR : Catcher Caleb Knight tallied his first career multi-homer game on Monday as part of a three-hit game...additionally, Knight set a career high with four RBI...three of Caleb's 11 career home runs have come while playing third base, despite having just two games at the position.
VS. ST. PAUL : Iowa and St. Paul are matching up for their fourth series of the season with two of those being at Principal Park and one at CHS Field...Iowa has gone 10-9 vs. the Saints this season and dropped the last series vs. St. Paul losing four of the six games from July 30-Aug. 4.
TRAYCE OF EVIDENCE : Iowa outfielder Trayce Thompson hit his 23rd home run of the season Saturday night and has three homers in his last six games...Thompson's 23 home runs rank tied for fourth-most in the International League this season...marks the fourth time this season Thompson has homered in back-to-back games and first since July 28-30 vs. Indianapolis and St. Paul.
COOL JAMES : Cubs No. 5 prospect James Triantos snapped his hitting streak at eight games Friday night...he batted .364 (12-for-33) with three doubles, five RBI and five stolen bases during the streak...James has 132 hits and 46 stolen bases this season between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa and is the first Cubs' minor leaguer to have such numbers since Tony Campana in 2010...Triantos started his stint with Iowa going 0-for-8 but is batting .338 (26-for-78) since Aug. 8 and has hit in 18 of his 20 starts with Iowa.
BIRDSELL ROLLIN G: Tonight's starting pitcher Brandon Birdsell has pitched 12.0 scoreless innings dating back to Aug. 22 at Toledo...Birdsell has struck out at least five batters in five straight games, the longest such streak by an Iowa pitcher since Caleb Kilian did so in seven straight game from July 14-Aug. 23, 2022...Brandon tallied his third game with at least nine strikeouts this season in his last start on Aug. 22 at Toledo.
UPHILL : After recording the longest losing streak of the season from July 23- Aug. 1 (nine games), Iowa has gone 17-11 in their last 28 games dating back to Aug. 2...the I-Cubs last four series have been a split with First Half Champions Omaha (Kansas City) and Columbus (Cleveland) and a win over Toledo (Detroit) and Memphis (St. Louis).
GOIN' BACK-TO-BACK : On Monday, Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcántara hit back-to-back homers as part of a seven-run third inning...marked the fifth time this season the I-Cubs have hit back-to-back home runs and first time since Matt Shaw and Ballesteros did so on Aug. 17 vs. Columbus (G1).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK : Catcher Moises Ballesteros was named International League Player of the Week Monday the league announced...Bally hit .588 (10-for-17) with three extra-base hits and five RBI in five games vs. Memphis...Moises is one of three minor leaguers aged 20-or-younger to have at least 114 hits and 18 home runs this year.
International League Stories from September 4, 2024
- Nashville Offense Stays Hot And Roll Over Gwinnett - Nashville Sounds
- Syracuse Rally Falls Just Short in 10-8 Loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday Night - Syracuse Mets
- Barrage of Doubles Pushes Indians to Within 3.0 Games of International League Lead, 9-6 - Indianapolis Indians
- Jumbo Shrimp Can't Overcome Early Deficit in Loss to Bats - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Stripers' Bullpen Struggles Again in 12-3 Loss to Nashville - Gwinnett Stripers
- Headrick, Dobnak Spin Gem in 2-1 Win Over I-Cubs - St. Paul Saints
- Iowa Drops One-Run Game at St. Paul - Iowa Cubs
- Bowens Hits Homer In Second Straight Game In Loss - Norfolk Tides
- Knights Keep Rolling, Beat the Tides 4-3 on Wednesday - Charlotte Knights
- RailRiders Down Mets, 10-8 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Bisons' Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to IronPigs - Buffalo Bisons
- Cocos Locos Blanked by WooSox Wednesday Night - Rochester Red Wings
- Bigbie's Three RBI's Weren't Enough in 9-6 Loss - Toledo Mud Hens
- IronPigs Survive Bisons Thanks to Five-Run Fourth - Lehigh Valley IronPigs
- Phillips, Power Pace Bats to 10-2 Victory - Louisville Bats
- Priester, 'Pen Shut Out Red Wings in 7-0 Win - Worcester Red Sox
- Ramos Promoted to White Sox on Wednesday - Charlotte Knights
- Redbirds and Storm Chasers Postponed Due to Weather - Memphis Redbirds
- September 4 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at St. Paul Saints - Iowa Cubs
- SWB Game Notes - September 4 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
- Memphis Grizzlies Announce 2024 Fall Events Schedule - Nashville Sounds
- DBAP to Host NC State Baseball Fall Opener - Durham Bulls
- Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - September 4 vs. Worcester - Rochester Red Wings
- Durán Goes 5-For-5 in 13-3 Omaha Win at Memphis - Omaha Storm Chasers
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