IL Indianapolis Indians

7.8.23 Game Information: Memphis Redbirds (41-44, 2-8) vs. Indianapolis Indians (40-44, 7-3)

Published on July 8, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #85 / HOME #43: Memphis Redbirds (41-44, 2-8) vs. Indianapolis Indians (40-44, 7-3)

PROBABLES: RHP Thomas Parsons (0-5, 6.94) vs. LHP Kent Emanuel (6-3, 6.08)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Jared Jones fanned seven batters in 4.0 relief innings as the Indianapolis Indians pitching staff held the Memphis Redbirds to just two hits in last night's 2-1 win at Victory Field. After Memphis scored its lone run of the contest in the fourth on a run-scoring double play by Moises Gomez, the Indians plated two in the following inning to capture a lead they did not relinquish. Vinny Capra singled and swiped second before Alika Williams sent him home on an RBI single. After another single by Miguel Andújar, center fielder Ryan Vilade poked a ground ball up the middle off Ryan Loutos to score the Williams as the go-ahead run. Both teams were held scoreless after the fifth frame.

MR. JONES: Jared Jones stunned the Redbirds offense in his first relief appearance since July 11, 2021 with Single-A Bradenton last night, punching out seven in 4.0 one-run innings to earn his first career Triple-A win. After topping out at five strikeouts through his first two Triple-A starts, both of which lasted at least 5.0 innings, he's been dominating opposing batters with 15 total strikeouts in 8.2 frames over his last two outings. At Victory Field, where he's made three of his four total Triple-A appearances, he owns a 4.30 ERA (7er/14.2ip) and 16 strikeouts.

PITCHING PERFORMS: After Jones took the Indians past the fifth inning - coming in relief after J.C. Flowers tossed a scoreless opening frame - the Indians bullpen corps officially took over and silenced Memphis with five strikeouts across 4.0 scoreless innings to close out the one-run victory. Over their last five games in which they're 4-1, the Indians own the lowest ERA in the International League at 2.80 (14er/45.0ip) with the second-least walks (17, one behind Memphis for the league lead).

OWNING THE ONE-RUN: After going 2-17 in one-run games through June 28 when they opened the second half with a one-run loss at Louisville, the Indians are now 3-0 in one-run games over their last nine contests. On June 29 at Louisville, a 3-2 win clinched Indianapolis' first one-victory win since April 8 at Louisville (5-4). Since, the Indians have continued to prevail in tight games, narrowly edging Memphis by one run in each of the last two nights. On Thursday night, a ninth-inning, tiebreaking sacrifice fly off the bat of Miguel Andújar led to Indy's first walk-off of the season and their third last at-bat victory, all of which have come in the second half.

BREAK A STREAK, START A STREAK: After recording a career-high 20-game hitting streak from May 24-June 18, Miguel Andújar is at it again with his two-hit performance last night extending a current hitting streak to nine games dating back to June 29. Over his past nine contests, Andújar is hitting .400 (16-for-40) with three extra-base hits, 11 RBI and .957 OPS. A torrid month of June in which he hit .362 (34-for-94) with 10 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 23 RBI and 1.015 OPS led to him being named the Indians Player of the Month yesterday prior to the game. Since returning to the Indians lineup on May 24 after being designated for assignment by Pittsburgh, he is hitting .397 (62-for-156) with 30 runs scored, 14 doubles, six home runs, 40 RBI and a 1.063 OPS while hitting safely in 33 of 37 games. The 28-year-old currently ranks among International League full-season qualifiers in batting average (2nd, .357), doubles (T-6th, 22), hits (T-7th, 87), OPS (T-8th, .992), on-base percentage (9th, .418), RBI (10th, 55) and slugging percentage (10th, .574).

ALIKA CATCHES FIRE: Known for his glove at shortstop, Alika Williams has caught fire at the plate since June 20. In 14 games, he is hitting .370 (20-for-54) with four doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, six walks and a 1.063 OPS. He has hit safely in 12 of his last 15 games - including a season-high nine-game hitting streak from 6/20-7/1 - with seven total multi-hit games and six in his last nine. Last night, he was one of four Indians batters to record two hits and one of two to have an extra-base hit, with his first-inning double marking the Indians' first since Tuesday night.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Redbirds continue their six-game set at Victory Field tonight at 7:05 PM ET at Victory Field. After taking five of six games at Louisville, the Indians have won three of four so far against Memphis this week and have clinched at least a series split with the Redbirds. The Indians are 11-5 in their last 16 games - which is tied with Iowa for the most wins in the league since June 21. This week is the second of two matchups this season between the Indians and Redbirds, their first meeting came at AutoZone Park in Memphis from April 18-23 when Memphis took five of the six games. Tonight, southpaw Kent Emanuel (6-3, 6.08) will make his 16th outing (13th start) of the season and second this year against Memphis. On April 16, Emanuel took the loss after surrendering nine earned runs in 1.2 innings at AutoZone Park. Countering today for the Redbirds is righty Thomas Parsons (0-5, 6.94), who hasn't pitched against Indy this season but made three starts against the Indians last year. In his lone start at Victory Field on June 23, 2022, he took a no-decision while surrendering three earned runs in 4.0 innings.

OWNING THE VIC: Indians starter Kent Emanuel will look to continue an impressive stretch at Victory Field this season with his eighth outing (sixth start) at home. In those games, he is currently 5-1 with a 2.83 ERA (11er/35.0ip), 31 strikeouts and 0.94 WHIP with only three walks issued. He's tossed 6.0 innings in each of his last three starts at Victory Field, with two of those coming as quality starts. On June 4 vs. Toledo, he made his best start of the season with five strikeouts in 6.0 shutout frames. In his last start at The Vic on June 21 (1) vs. Columbus, he fanned a career-high tying eight batters in 6.0 two-run innings to earn the win.

THIS DATE IN 2017: Leading 2-1 after the first inning, the Indians were in an offensive standstill with Gwinnett until the ninth inning. Eury Perez, who finished the day with two stolen bases and his only four-hit game of the season, sent a solo-shot to left field to boost the Indians to a 3-1 win. It was Perez's 11th four-hit game of his career and his first since 2015. The only other runs scored by Indianapolis also came via the home run, with Eric Wood's two-run homer in the top of the first giving Indy the only run it needed.

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International League Stories from July 8, 2023


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