June 19 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Indianapolis Indians

IOWA CUBS (29-40) vs. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (29-43)

June 19 • 7:08 PM CT • Principal Park • Des Moines, IA

RHP Vince Velasquez (1-1, 5.87) vs. RHP Justin Meis (0-0, 3.82)

TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Indianapolis Indians are set to play the fourth game of a six-game series at Principal Park tonight...right-hander Vince Velasquez is slated to make his sixth start with the I-Cubs...right-hander Justin Meis is scheduled to open for Indianapolis with left-hander Hunter Barco set to follow.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Iowa Cubs fell to the Indianapolis Indians 11-8 on Thursday evening at Principal Park... Christian Bethancourt, Jonathon Long, Chas McCormick, and Casey Opitz all homered...Iowa starter Will Sanders threw 5.0 innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out six...Iowa held a 2-1 lead headed into the sixth inning, before the Indians went on to score seven runs in the inning...Iowa responded in the bottom half of the inning with five runs to make it a one run game, but Iowa could not tie or take the lead, being outscored three runs to one run over the final three innings.

THE LONG BALL: The I-Cubs hit four home runs on Thursday night, marking the second time in the last eight games they have done so after doing it on June 9 at Louisville... Chas McCormick hit a 467-foot home run, the longest home run hit by an I-Cub since Edwin Rios hit a 480-foot home run on July 4, 2023...Casey Opitz and Christian Bethancourt hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning, marking the second time this season Iowa has hit back-to-back homers in a game, last occurring April 4 at Louisville by Kevin Alcántara and B.J. Murray...the home run from Opitz was the first for him at the Triple-A level...the three home runs by Bethancourt, McCormick, and Opitz in the sixth inning were the most the I-Cubs have hit in a single inning this season.

TRI: Cubs No. 9 prospect James Triantos is batting .345 (19-for-55) with five doubles, one home run and ten RBI in 14 June games...Triantos’ is tied for sixth in the International League in hits (73) on the season...Triantos is 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’ 73 hits and 16 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.

JONNY LONG: Chicago’s No. 9 prospect Jonathon Long went 3-for-5 last night with two runs scored, a home run, and an RBI, giving him his sixth game this year with three or more hits...Long has three multi-hit efforts in his last five games...since June 13, Long is batting .381 (8-for-21) with seven runs scored, four doubles, one home run, and two RBI.

BATEMAN!: I-Cubs outfielder Brett Bateman currently has a season high nine game hitting streak, batting .412 (14-for-34) with two doubles, and an RBI...over his last 20 games, Bateman is batting .362 (25-for- 69) with 11 runs scored, four doubles, seven RBI, 15 walks and ten stolen bases...he has raised his batting average from .230 to .288 during this span (since May 21).

WILL THE THRILL: Iowa starting pitcher Will Sanders made his second appearance last night since returing from the injured list on June 12, allowing one run on three hits in five innings of work...in his two appearances since returning to Iowa, he has a 1-0 record with a 1.80 ERA (2 ER in 10.0 IP) allowing just six hits (two home runs) with 14 strikeouts against just two walks.

THE JAGUAR: Kevin Alcántara made his return to the Iowa lineup last Wednesday after being optioned by Chicago...since returning, he is batting .345 (10-for-29) with seven runs scored, four doubles, a home run, five RBI, and four walks...after reaching base with a single on Wednesday, he extended his on-base streak to 28 games...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 ranked tied for the second-longest active streak in the IL and tied for third in all of Triple-A.

BENNY BARRELS: I-Cubs infielder Ben Cowles hit the fourth Iowa grand slam of the season and his second of the season Wednesday, his first one coming on May 24 vs. Memphis...Cowles’ two career grand slams have both come this season...he is the only I-Cub this season with multiple grand slams, and joins Carlos Perez (2025), Owen Cassie (2024), and Pete-Crow Armstrong (2023) as the only I-Cubs with multiple grand slams in a season since 2017...since May 31, Cowles is batting .300 (12-for-40) with seven runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and seven RBI