August 1 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints

IOWA CUBS (43-61) vs. ST. PAUL SAINTS (52-51)

Thursday, August 1 • 6:38 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Brandon Birdsell (0-3, 7.43) vs. RHP Adam Plutko (5-1, 3.93)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and St. Paul Saints play the third of a six-game series tonight at Principal Park...the series marks the third six-game set the two clubs have played this season following April 9-14 at St. Paul and June 25-30 in Des Moines...right-hander Brandon Birdsell is scheduled to make his 19th appearance (18th start) of the season and his fifth with Iowa...Birdsell went 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA (30 ER in 74.1 IP) in 15 outings (14 starts) with Double-A Tennessee before being promoted to the I-Cubs on July 10...right-hander Adam Plutko is slated to make his 12th appearance (11th) start of the season for the Saints.

AFTERNOON SHUTOUT: The I-Cubs dropped the second game of the series to St. Paul by a 11-0 score yesterday... Iowa starting pitcher Trey Supak suffered the loss as he worked 4.0 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts... Daniel Palencia pitched 2.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and struck out three... Gilberto Celestino, Jake Hager and Jack Reinheimer each tallied a double on offense.

BLANKED: Last night, Iowa was shut out for the fourth time this season following April 27-28 at Buffalo and June 19 at Indianapolis...the I-Cubs had not been shutout at home since a 6-0 loss to Toledo on Aug. 6, 2022.

HIT PARADE: The I-Cubs pitching staff snapped their streak of allowing 10 hits in six consecutive games Tuesday night as they surrendered eight hits...it’s tied for the longest such streak in the International League this season and the first time Iowa has done so since June 29-July 4, 2022 (85 hits)...the I-Cubs have not surrendered 10 hits in seven straight contests since June 3-June 10, 2007 (98 hits overall).

SIX-GAME SWEEP: Iowa was swept by the Indianapolis Indians in their last series from July 23-28 in which they were outscored 58-27 (-31)...it marked the first time the I-Cubs were swept in a six-game set since May 25-30, 2021 vs. these St. Paul Saints.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS: The I-Cubs suffered a one-run loss Tuesday night and fell to 21-16 in such games this season... Iowa has played the most one-run games in the International League during the 2024 campaign (37) ahead of next-closest Jacksonville (34).

EIGHT-GAME SKID: Iowa has lost eight straight games after being swept by Indy and dropping the first two games of the series vs. St. Paul...marks the first time Iowa has lost eight consecutive games since Sept. 23-Oct. 3, 2021 (also eight games) and is tied for the fifth-longest losing streak in the IL this season.

START THE STREAK: In yesterday’s loss, Gilberto Celestino extended his hit streak to 10 games in which he is batting .341 (14-for-41)...it is tied for the third-longest active hitting streak in the International League this season.

THIS IS A HILLY AREA: In yesterday’s loss, outfielder Darius Hill made his first professional pitcher appearance...he faced two batters with the first hitting a single and the next popping out to second...Hill became the second position player to pitch this season following Caleb Knight on May 21 vs. Indianapolis.

VS. ST. PAUL: Iowa and St. Paul are facing off for the third time this season following April 9-14 at St. Paul and June 25-30 at Principal Park...Iowa had won seven of the 12 games coming into the current series but have dropped the last two games.

MOISES COMES UP CLUTCH: Iowa Cubs No. 5 prospect (MLB.com) Moises Ballesteros hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game...it marked the first pinch-hit grand slam for an I-Cub since Matt Spencer on Aug. 20, 2011 vs. Oklahoma City and was the first pinch-hit homer for an I-Cub in the ninth inning or later since Greg Deichmann on Aug. 18, 2021 at St. Paul (also ninth inning)...Bally has hit .292 (88-for-301) with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 83 games between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa this season (27 games with Iowa)...he ranks among Cubs’ minor league leaders in RBI (2nd), hits (3rd), home runs (4th) and batting average (5th).