IL Indianapolis Indians

7.2.23 Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (36-42) at Louisville Bats (41-36)

July 2, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Louisville Slugger Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:05 PM ET

GAME #79 / ROAD #41: Indianapolis Indians (36-42, 3-1) at Louisville Bats (41-36, 1-3)

PROBABLES: RHP Jared Jones (0-1, 5.06) vs. RHP Michael Mariot (3-0, 1.42)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Trailing 8-2 with seven outs at their disposal, the Indianapolis Indians scored 12 unanswered runs to record their largest comeback since 2014 with a 14-8 victory over the Louisville Bats on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field. Cal Mitchell provided the heroics off the bench with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the seventh and a tiebreaking two-run home run in the ninth. Facing former Indian Shea Spitzbarth with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Canaan Smith-Njigba rocked a bases-clearing double to right to make it 8-5, and Mitchell brought Indy within one run two batters later with a pinch-hit two-bagger off the base of the wall in left. Following a 41-minute rain delay, Indy kept on raking. Chris Owings reached first base with one away in the eighth on a fielding error by Bats pitcher Randy Wynne and a dropped popup by first basemen Christian Encarnacion-Strand with two outs extended the frame to Miguel Andújar, who laced a game-tying single into right-center. In the bottom of the eighth, Louisville put two runners on against Daniel Zamora, but Hunter Stratton was summoned and struck out Encarnacion-Strand and induced a fielder's choice off the bat of Henry Ramos to get out of the jam. The Indians sent 11 batters to the plate during their six-run burst that started with a towering drive by Mitchell and continued with RBI doubles by Owings and Vinny Capra, another run-scoring single by Andújar, and a Ryan Vilade RBI two-bagger.

CSN GROOVES: Canaan Smith-Njigba has found his groove at the plate with five multi-hit games in his last seven. His bases-clearing double on Saturday night in the seventh inning sparked a five-run frame that put Indy within one run before the rain delay. Since June 22, he's hitting .429 (12-for-28) with eight runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and five walks. He has scored a run in each of his last eight games - which is tied for the longest active run-scoring streak in the International League alongside Omaha's John Rave.

SCORING IN BUNCHES: Since June 21, the Indians offense leads the International League with 85 runs scored, 14 more runs than the second-most by the St. Paul Saints. During this span, the Indians offense also paces the IL in doubles (28), RBI (83), walks (67), on-base percentage (.418) and extra-base hits (46).

OBP MACHINE: Ryan Vilade drew a career-high four walks last night while reaching base five out of six plate appearances. His four walks were the most drawn by an Indian in a game this season. Saturday night's performance extended his on-base streak to 21 games on Friday - which is the longest active streak by an Indians hitter and fourth longest active streak in the International League. He has drawn at least one walk in 10 of his last 12 games and is tied for the most walks drawn in the IL since June 1 with Omaha's Logan Porter (22). The 24-year-old finished the month of June hitting .304 (24-for-79) with five doubles, two triples, a home run, 13 RBI and 18 walks in 23 games.

ALIKA SHOWS POP: Alika Williams went 3-for-5 with a run, double and RBI while extending his hitting streak to nine games. He now has two-plus hits in each of his last three games. His hitting streak is the longest active streak by an Indians batter and his longest since his career-high 19-gamer with Single-A Charleston (7/30-8/24/21). During his streak, he is hitting .423 (14-for-33) with two doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and six walks to just three strikeouts.

SECOND-HALF COMEBACKS: After playing its first 76 games without a last at-bat or walk-off win, Indianapolis notched its second last at-bat victory in as many nights. Last night's comeback victory saw a six-run deficit turn into a six-run lead for the third-largest comeback win since 2005. Indy last won a game when trailing by six-plus runs on May 23, 2014, at Charlotte, when it won 15-6 after falling behind 6-0 through two innings.

TODAY: The Indians and Bats will continue their second six-game set of the season at Louisville Slugger Field today at 1:05 PM ET. The two team's first met from April 4-9 with the Indians earning wins in five of six games. Indianapolis has taken a commanding lead in the series through four games, with three consecutive wins after losing the series opener. Today, right-hander Jared Jones (0-1, 5.06) will take the mound for Indianapolis against Louisville's right-hander Michael Mariot (3-0, 1.42). Mariot has made seven career appearances against Indianapolis with his first coming on July 18, 2016 with Lehigh Valley.

JONES TAKES THE HILL: Right-hander Jared Jones will make his third career Triple-A start today at Louisville at 1:05 PM ET. He's allowed six runs in 10.2 innings over his two starts with Indy. Jones made 10 starts with Double-A Altoona before his promotion, he was 1-4 with a 2.23 ERA (11er/44.1ip), 47 strikeouts and 1.08 WHIP. He has allowed one run or less in each of his last four starts, surrendering only 12 hits in 20.1 innings. The 21-year-old was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (44th overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of La Mirada High School (Whittier, Calif.). Jones is rated Pittsburgh's No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

THIS DATE IN 1964: Right-hander Dave DeBusschere improved to 6-5 on the season after he tossed 7.1 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a combined shutout with Ed Drapcho and Warren Hacker to beat Dallas at old Victory Field, 2-0. DeBusschere also collected two of Indy's nine hits in the contest, including a solo home run for his first long ball of the season. In 1964, the 6-foot-6 Detroit Pistons forward was just two seasons into his 12-year NBA career that eventually featured eight All-Star bids, two championships and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction in 1983.

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