IL Indianapolis Indians

8.1.23 Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (48-53, 15-12) at Gwinnett Stripers (45-56, 12-14)

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


LOCATION: Coolray Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #102 / ROAD #52: Indianapolis Indians (48-53, 15-12) at Gwinnett Stripers (45-56, 12-14)

PROBABLES: RHP Duane Underwood Jr. (0-4, 7.71) vs. LHP Jared Shuster (3-3, 6.11)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT SUNDAY: Jason Delay roped a career-high three doubles to become the 18th Indianapolis Indian in Victory Field history to match the feat and lead a booming offense to an 11-3 rout over the Louisville Bats on Sunday afternoon at Victory Field. With the win, the Indians clinched a 4-2 series victory and finish the season set with a 13-5 record vs. the Bats. Delay's standout performance was one of many for the Indians offense, which scored runs in five of the first six frames to take an insurmountable lead. Miguel Andújar began the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run against Randy Wynne. Delay's first double and a single by Rodolfo Castro in the second inning gave Indy the lead it needed for the win. With Louisville's first runs plated in the top of the fourth, Castro countered quickly with a two-run homer to right field. Aaron Shackelford joined in on the fun with a multi-RBI performance of his own, lining a two-run single with the bases loaded to cap a four-run fourth inning. All 11 of the Indians' runs were driven in by Andújar, Castro, Delay and Shackelford. While the offense was rolling, Cam Alldred held the Bats offense hitless through the first three frames. He finished his outing after 5.0 two-run innings with six strikeouts. The bullpen entered to finish the job with ease, with John O'Reilly, Yohan Ramirez and Travis MacGregor combining for one run in the final four frames.

TRIPLE DOUBLE: Jason Delay went 3-for-3 with a trio of runs, two-baggers and RBI. Along with his three doubles being a career best, he became the first Indians batter to accomplish the feat since Tucupita Marcano on April 7, 2023, at Louisville. Since being optioned by Pittsburgh on July 17, he is hitting .357 (10-for-28) with four runs scored, four doubles and five RBI in eight games.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES: The Indians were one of two International League teams to not commit an error last week, alongside Worcester. Indy fielded a perfect week in 217 total chances while winning four of six games vs. Louisville.

EXTRA-BASE KNOCKS: Indianapolis' offense bruised the baseball in Sunday afternoon's win, clubbing eight extra-base hits on six doubles and a pair of homers. Sunday's hitting barrage marked the third-most extra-base hits this season for Indianapolis and its most since slugging nine at Omaha on July 14. The team hit a season-high 10 extra-base hits on June 23 vs. Columbus and have notched seven-plus in seven games this season and have a perfect record when doing so.

MIGGY KEEPS MASHING: Miguel Andújar belted his 14th home run of the season and second in as many games on Sunday. The 28-year-old continues to be the leading force of the Indians offense. In July, he hit .380 (38-for-100) with 17 runs scored, two doubles, six home runs, 26 RBI and a 1.009 OPS in 24 games. He leads the International League in average (.354) and is among full-season qualifiers in RBI (3rd, 71), hits (4th, 111), OPS (8th, .981), slugging percentage (8th, .573), OPS (8th, .988) and on-base percentage (9th, .415). Since he was outrighted by Pittsburgh on May 22, he has hit safely in 48 of 54 games, including 25 multi-hit games.

HAMMERIN' HOMERS: The Indians offense homered twice in Sunday's win and have now homered in 16 of its last 17 games. Miguel Andújar and Rodolfo Castro each have left the yard in back-to-back games. During the 17-game span, they have homered 32 times since July 8, which is tied with Syracuse for the most in the International League. Andújar and Chris Owings lead the team with five homers, followed by Josh Palacios, Aaron Shackelford and Alika Williams with four apiece. Indy finished the month of July tied with the second-most homers in the International League with 36.

LEYBA LAUNCHES: Domingo Leyba notched three multi-hit games in five games with Indianapolis last week. The switch-hitting infielder finished the week 7-for-19 with four runs, two doubles, a home run, two RBI and four walks. Leyba has spent most of the season with Double-A Altoona, where he hit .343 (35-for-102) with 12 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI, 12 walks and a .902 OPS in 30 games. Pittsburgh signed him as a minor league free agent on March 8, 2023.

RUDY GETS GOING: After going 1-for-16 through the first four games last week, Rodolfo Castro broke through and finished the homestand sizzling hot. The switch-hitter had three-hit performances in each of the last two games and has homered in back-to-back games. In his last two games, he went 6-for-10 with a double, two home runs and seven RBI. On Saturday night, he drove in a season-high tying four runs, his first four-RBI game since April 19 at Columbus. The switch-hitting infielder was optioned by Pittsburgh on July 16.

BAE IS BACK: The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that super utilityman Ji Hwan Bae will begin a rehab assignment tonight with the Indianapolis Indians as they open a six-game road trip against Gwinnett. Bae, 24, was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 2 with a left ankle sprain. He began the season on Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster and hit .238 (51-for-214) with 37 runs, nine doubles, two home runs and 20 stolen bases in 76 games. Defensively, he split time between second base (306.0 innings), center field (208.2) and shortstop (24.0), logging a .953 fielding percentage (six errors in 128 total chances) at his primary infield position.

TONIGHT: For the second consecutive season, the Indians head to Coolray Field to meet the Gwinnett Stripers for a six-game set. The Stripers prevailed in last season's six-game series, 4-2. Tonight, right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. (0-4, 7.71) will take the hill against Gwinnett's left-hander Jared Shuster (3-3, 6.11). Shuster has never faced Indianapolis.

THIS DATE IN 1962: Jim Koranda homered off Phil Niekro in the 11th inning to give the Indians a comeback victory over Louisville, 5-4. Indianapolis trailed 4-0 with two outs in the ninth inning but RBI singles by Koranda, Harry Simpson and Dick Berardino cut the deficit down to one run. A bases-loaded walk to Tom McCraw then tied the game, setting up Koranda's heroic efforts in extra innings off Niekro, a future Hall of Famer.

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