IL Indianapolis Indians

7.1.23 Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (35-42, 2-1) at Louisville Bats (41-35, 1-2)

July 1, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Louisville Slugger Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:15 PM ET

GAME #78 / ROAD #40: Indianapolis Indians (35-42, 2-1) at Louisville Bats (41-35, 1-2)

PROBABLES: RHP Quinn Priester (7-3, 4.36) vs. RHP Levi Stoudt (2-3, 5.00)

RADIO: FoxSportsIndy.com / Fox Sports 1260 / iHeart app

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Ji Man Choi blasted a go-ahead, three-run home run with one out in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Indianapolis Indians to a win over the Louisville Bats on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field, 10-8. Following a fielding error to put Vinny Capra on and a one-out single by Endy RodrÌguez, Choi stepped to the plate and smoked a line drive 107.6 MPH just over the right-field wall against Alan Busenitz to plate three, extending his RBI total to four on the night. The back-and-forth contest began with the Indians scoring first, taking a 2-0 lead on back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Chris Owings and RodrÌguez at the top of the order. The Bats took the lead in the bottom of the third on a two-run triple by Henry Ramos and subsequent wild pitch. The Indians quickly countered to tie the game via a solo shot by Alika Williams. With the game tied at 5-5 after the Indians countered a two-run bottom of the fourth with two runs of their own in the fifth, Louisville scored another pair in the sixth and one in the seventh to take the lead. Indianapolis then scored five unanswered runs for the win, with two in the eighth coming by a Choi triple and wild pitch.

HE-MAN CHOI: First baseman Ji Man Choi crushed the go-ahead blast in the ninth inning and notched his first triple since Sept. 9, 2019 (1) with Tampa vs. Baltimore last night. In two games with Indy, he is 4-for-8 with three runs scored, a triple, two home runs and seven RBI. Choi, 32, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strain of the left achilles tendon on April 14 and was later transferred to the 60-day IL. He began the season with Pittsburgh and hit .125 (4-for-32) with two home runs in nine games. His rehab assignment began on June 22 with Double-A Altoona, where he went 2-for-8 in three games.

OBP MACHINE: Ryan Vilade extended his on-base streak to 20 games on Friday - which is the longest active streak by an Indians hitter and fifth longest active streak in the International League. He has drawn at least one walk in nine of his last 12 games. The 24-year-old is hitting .304 (24-for-79) with five doubles, two triples, a home run, 13 RBI and 18 walks in 23 games in June.

ALIKA SHOWS POP: Alika Williams blasted his second home run in as many days and his third in his last five games yesterday. He now has back-to-bac games with multiple hits and extended his hitting streak to eight games which is the longest active hitting streak by an Indians hitter. During his streak, he is hitting .393 (11-for-28) with a double, three home runs, six RBI and six walks to just three strikeouts.

ENDY IS THE FUTURE: Endy RodrÌguez is 6-for-13 with four runs scored against Louisville this week. He has it was his four multi-hit games in his last six. Over his last 11 games, he is hitting .364 (16-for-44) with five doubles, a home run, 13 RBI, seven walks and a .979 OPS. Major League Baseball announced on Monday he was among the first six players selected to participate in the 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, making him the second player in the last two seasons from Indianapolis to earn a roster spot, alongside Mike Burrows in 2022.

NICOLAS FANS NINE: Kyle Nicolas - who entered following opener Yohan Ramirez - struck out nine over 4.0 innings last night. The nine-strikeout effort marks just the second time this season and in Victory Field history that a reliever has fanned nine-plus batters, following Osvaldo Bido on April 16 vs. St. Paul.

JOR BLANKS 'EM: Right-handed reliever John O'Reilly recorded another scoreless outing with a perfect seventh inning on Wednesday night. He has not surrendered a run in his last seven outings (7.2 ip). The lone run he's allowed in June came in a season-high 2.2 innings vs. Toledo on June 1. The 27-year-old is 1-1 with a 0.87 ERA (1er/10.1ip) in eight relief appearances this month. He has held opponents scoreless in nine of his last 11 appearances dating back to May 11.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Bats will continue their second six-game set of the season at Louisville Slugger Field tonight at 7:15 PM ET. The two team's first met from April 4-9 with the Indians earning wins in five of six games. Tonight, right-hander Quinn Priester (7-3, 4.36) will take the mound for Indianapolis against Louisville's right-hander Levi Stoudt (2-3, 5.00). Stoudt last faced Indianapolis on April 6 in Game 1 of a doubleheader, he tossed 4.1 one-run innings.

QUALITY QUINN: Quinn Priester will make his team-leading 16th start of the season tonight at Louisville. The Indians pitching staff was led by Pittsburgh's top pitching prospect through the first half of the season. Priester dazzled in his last start on June 24, with a season-high 11 strikeouts in 6.0 shutout innings. The right-hander allowed just five baserunners in the outing via three hits and two walks. His 11 strikeouts were his most since fanning a career-high 13 on Aug. 27, 2021 with High-A Greensboro at Asheville. It was his sixth quality start of the season - which leads the Indians pitching staff. Since May 4, he is 6-0 with a 3.13 ERA (19er/54.2ip), 51 strikeouts, 1.32 WHIP and .239 average against. He leads the International League in wins (7) and ranks among league qualifiers in strikeouts (2nd, 76), innings pitched (T-4th, 74.1), average against (6th, .254) and ERA (7th, 4.36).

THIS DATE IN 2006: Oliver Perez moved into second place among single-game strikeout records in the Victory Field era when he struck out 13 batters in 7.0 innings at Toledo, trailing only Steve Parris' 16-K game from 1998. Perez took the loss, 2-1, as he surrendered both earned runs in the seventh inning on five hits and two walks. Perez's 13-K performance is currently tied for 3rd in Victory Field history with Mitch Keller (2019) for the most single-game strikeouts since 1996, behind Ian Snell (17, 2009) and Parris.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics



International League Stories from July 1, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central