Game Notes for Tuesday, August 5

TODAY'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and Omaha Storm Chasers play the final game of a four-game series at Werner Park. The Storm Chasers are the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. This is the ninth game of the Cubs' longest road trip of the season. The team is in a stretch of 14 games over 14 days away from Principal Park. The Cubs started this trip with five games in New Orleans and finished 4-1 against the Zephyrs. Following this series, the Cubs will finish this trip with a five-game series at Oklahoma City.

GOOSE EGGS: The Cubs recorded their league-leading 12th shutout of the season with a 6-0 victory over the Storm Chasers last night. This matches the team's highest shutout total since joining the PCL in 1998. The Cubs also recorded 12 shutouts in 2001 and 2004. The overall franchise record for shutouts in a season is 13 set in 1985.

ACE IN THE HOLE: LH Eric Jokisch (8-8) allowed five hits and struck out seven over eight innings for the win last night. He has pitched 15 consecutive shutout innings over his last two starts. He has won his last three starts and the team has won his last five outings. Jokisch leads the league with 138.1 innings pitched, ranks second with 126 strikeouts, fourth with a 1.13 WHIP, tied for fourth with 22 starts, and sixth with a 3.58 ERA (55ER/138.1IP).

MEN OF STEAL: The Cubs set a season-high with six stolen bases last night as CF Matt Szczur, 2B Logan Watkins, and 3B Kris Bryant each swiped a pair of bags. It was Szcur's third game with two stolen bases this season and the first for Watkins and Bryant. It was the first of Bryant's career. Bryant now has 15 stolen bases this season between double-A and the I-Cubs to go along with 36 home runs. The Cubs lead the league with 118 stolen bases this season. Szczur leads the team, and is tied for sixth in the league, with 26. He is second in the PCL with 11 steals since the All-Star Break.

CUBS RECLAIM DIVISION LEAD: Last night's win put the Cubs back in front of the Storm Chasers by a half-game for first place in the American Northern Division. The Cubs have held the division lead for all but two days since June 29. A win today gives the Cubs a win of the season series and the head-to-head tiebreaker with Omaha.

VS. STORM CHASERS: The Storm Chasers lead this series 2-1, but the Cubs lead the season series 8-7. The Cubs won six of the eight games played at Principal Park, including a double-header sweep on July 1. The Storm Chasers won three-of-four in their first home series, July 7-10 and are now 5-2 at Werner Park in the series. This is the final series between these two clubs this year. Last year, the Cubs won the season series 12-4 over the Storm Chasers, including a 5-3 mark in Omaha. The Cubs lead the all-time PCL series 142-128, but Omaha has a 73-62 advantage in home games.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES: The Cubs are a league-best 27-7 in day games this season, including a 9-2 mark on the road.

EIGHT ISN'T ENOUGH: 3B Kris Bryant finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, two walks, two runs scored, and a career-high two stteals last night. Bryant has a hit and has scored a run in each of his last eight games and is batting .370 (10-for-27) with three doubles, three home runs, 12 runs scored, and seven RBI during this stretch. Bryant is batting a combined .339 (138-for-407) with 36 home runs and 94 RBI in 113 games between double-A and the I-Cubs this season. He leads the minor leagues in extra-base hits (69), total bases (279), slugging (.686), and OPS (1.128). He is second in home runs and runs scored (98) and third in on-base percentage (.442)

STREAKERS: OF Matt Szczur was 1-for-5 last night and has hit safely in a season-high nine straight games. He has also hit safely in 17 of his 19 starts since the All-Star Break. In his last nine games, Szczur is batting .333 (12-for-36) with two doubles, four runs scored, and seven stolen bases. 1B Mike Olt was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI last night. He has also hit safely in nine straight. Olt is batting .389 (14-for-36) with five doubles, a home run, and six RBI during this stretch. He has hit safely in 15 of 17 games since getting optioned from Chicago on July 23. C Rafael Lopez has hit safely in a season-high six straight games and is 6-for-19 (.316) with three RBI. OF Josh Vitters has hit in four straight games and is batting .375 (6-for-16) with a double, two home runs, three RBI, and three runs scored during this stretch. He is one game away from tying his longest hitting streak of the year.