Game Notes June 23: Iowa Cubs vs. Buffalo Bisons

IOWA CUBS (30-42) vs. BUFFALO BISONS (35-40)

June 23 • 6:38 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Paul Campbell (0-5, 7.92) vs. RHP Richard Gallardo (0-1, 5.52)

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Buffalo Bisons are set to play the first of a six-game series at Principal Park tonight... right-hander Paul Campbell is slated to make his 13th appearance and ninth start for Iowa...right-hander Richard Gallardo is scheduled to start for Buffalo.

THE END: The I-Cubs played the series finale on Sunday vs. Indianapolis and fell 3-1...Christian Bethancourt recorded the lone multi-hit game for Iowa as he went 2-for-4 with a double...Jordan Wicks made the start and he worked 5.0 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two strikeouts...Vince Reilly pitched 1.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts and Christian Roa also worked a scoreless frame.

TRI: Chicago Cubs’ No. 9 prospect James Triantos is batting .328 (22-for-67) with seven doubles, one home run and 11 RBI in 17 June games...Triantos is tied for sixth in the International League with 76 hits on the season...Triantos is just two home runs shy of tying a career high of seven done twice, in 2022 and 2025...he did not hit his fifth home run of year last season until Aug. 29 at Las Vegas...Triantos’ 76 hits and 17 stolen bases are numbers matched by just three other players in the International League, Nashville’s Luis Lara Gwinnett’s Jim Jarvis and Indianapolis’ Ronny Simon.

B.J. BALLIN’: I-Cubs infielder B.J. Murray ended his three-game multi-hit streak at three games on Sunday but he still went 1-for-4...it marked the first time B.J. has had three consecutive multi-hit games since he did so in three straight games June 6-8, 2023 while with Double-A Knoxville...Murray ranks among International League leaders in hits (T-4th, 77), batting average (6th, .316), on-base percentage (7th, .413) and total bases (T-9th, 124).

BATEMAN!: I-Cubs outfielder Brett Bateman saw his hit streak end at 11 games Sunday but he has reached base in 12 straight... during the 12-game stretch, Brett is batting .354 (17-for-48) with seven runs scored, three doubles, five RBI, 10 walks and nine stolen bases...he has also recorded a .466 on-base percentage during this span...his 20.1% walk rate ranks third among International League players with at least 150 plate appearances this season.

THAT’S A WRAP: The Iowa Cubs, along with all minor league teams, wrapped up the first half of the 2026 season on Sunday...the I-Cubs finished 30-42 (.417) in the first half of the season and won just one series on March 31-April 5 at Louisville...Iowa finished ninth in the International League West Division, just one place above last place Indianapolis...the I-Cubs -83 run differential is the worst in the division and third-worst in the entire IL, ahead of Durham (-109) and Norfolk (-96).

JONNY LONG: Cubs’ No. 9 prospect Jonathon Long hit a grand slam in Friday night’s game, his second of the season following April 1 at Louisville...Long homered in consecutive games for the first time this season, last doing so July 3-4, 2025 at Omaha...since June 13, Long is batting .345 (10-for-29) with nine runs scored, four doubles, two home runs, and six RBI.

THE JAGUAR: Kevin Alcántara extended his on-base streak to 29 games Friday night with a walk in the first inning...the streak is the longest by an I-Cub since Jonathon Long reached in 35 consecutive games from July 9-Aug. 24, 2025, which set a franchise record...in addition, it is the second longest active streak in the International League and third longest in all of Triple-A...since returning to the Iowa lineup on June 10 after being optioned by Chicago, Kevin is batting .333 (11-for-33) with seven runs scored, four doubles, a home run, five RBI, and five walks.

THE HERD: Iowa is set to host the Buffalo Bisons for the lone six-game set of the season...Buffalo has been to Des Moines twice since 2021 and each team has won six games, including a series split in 2025... Jonathon Long has played in six games in his career vs. Buffalo and is batting .400 (10-for-25) with one double, one home run and six RBI.

WELCOMED NEW FACES: Iowa’s new relievers Vince Reilly and Antoine Kelly have been welcomed faces to the bullpen... Reilly, who was called up from Double-A Knoxville has made three appearances and has not allowed a run in 2.2 innings and has five strikeouts...Vince picked up his first Triple-A save on Friday night...Kelly was acquired in a trade from the Dodgers and has posted a 1.59 ERA (1 ER in 5.2 IP) in four outings and has added seven strikeouts.