IL Indianapolis Indians

8.19.23 Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (54-62, 21-21) at St. Paul Saints (68-49, 25-18)

August 19, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 8:07 PM ET

GAME #117 / ROAD #61: Indianapolis Indians (54-62, 21-21) at St. Paul Saints (68-49, 25-18)

PROBABLES: RHP Quinn Priester (7-3, 4.31) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (4-5, 5.56)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: After the Indianapolis Indians offense scored four runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at five runs apiece, the St. Paul Saints roared back in the bottom half of the frame to take a three-run lead en route to victory at CHS Field on Friday night, 8-5. With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, St. Paul put two runners in scoring position courtesy of a hit by pitch and two-out walk issued by Travis MacGregor. Austin Martin then launched a three-run homer to take the lead back for the Saints. St. Paul wasted no time getting on the board in its first plate appearance. A lead-off home run from Andrew Stevenson plated the game's first run, and the Saints tallied three more runs in the second with a two-RBI triple from Anthony Prato and RBI single by Brooks Lee. In the fourth, Dom Nuñez launched a solo home run to right field to put the Indians on the board. The Indians put up four runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at five. After a walk issued to Canaan Smith-Njigba, Jared Triolo smacked a single to left field, and Ryan Vilade grounded into a force out to put runners on the corners. Mason Martin followed with a two-RBI double, and in the next at-bat, Chris Owings sent a two-run blast over the left-center wall to tally the game-tying run before St. Paul quickly countered.

MORETA REHABS: Dauri Moreta joined Indianapolis last night to begin his rehab assignment. He retired the Saints in order in an inning of work with a pair of strikeouts. Moreta was placed on the 15-day injured list with lower-back soreness on Aug. 4. The right-handed reliever is 4-2 with a 4.10 ERA (22er/48.1ip) in 48 relief appearances. The 27-year-old was acquired by Pittsburgh from Cincinatti in exchange for shortstop Kevin Newman on Nov. 18, 2022.

ROB DOES THE JOB: Rob Zastryzny tossed his third consecutive no-hit relief appearance on Friday. The southpaw has recorded eight outs during this stretch, six of the outs coming way of strikeout. The veteran has shown excellent command, issuing just one walk in 16.1 innings, his lone walk came in his first outing on May 16 vs. Iowa, he has not issued a free pass in his last 15.1 innings. Since July 5, he's posted a 2.63 ERA (4er/13.2ip) with eight hits allowed, 15 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHIP.

PLAYING CLEAN: The Indians have played nearly perfect defense over their last six games. In their last six, Indy has committed just one error in 216 total chances with 156 putouts, 59 assists and rolling seven double plays. Since June 1, the Indians have the highest fielding percentage in the International League (.988), committing just 26 errors in 64 games.

MARTIN GETS ON: Mason Martin has reached base safely in nine of 10 games this month, with a .417 on-base percentage. Martin is 10-for-31 at the plate in August with four doubles, a triple, six RBI and five walks. Martin was assigned to Indianapolis on July 28 after spending the majority of the season with Double-A Altoona. The lefty slugger was a mainstay in Indy's lineup last season, pacing the offense in home runs (19), RBI (74), doubles (29), extra-base hits (53) and total bases (197).

SLAMMIN' HOMERS: Three of Indy's five hits went for extra-base hits on Friday night, extending their extra-base hit streak to 33 games, which is tied with Memphis for the longest active streak in the International League. Dom Nuñez notched his first hit with the Indians on Friday night, a 372-foot blast over the right-field wall. Chris Owings tallied the team's second home run of the night in the seventh, his 10th home run of the season. Owings is the fourth Indians batter to hit double-digit jacks this season. Since July 7, the Indians have hit 55 doubles, six triples and 43 home runs for a total of 104 XBH's.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Saints continue their six-game set on Saturday at 8:07 PM ET. Indy jumped out to an early series lead after taking the first two games before St. Paul took the last two to even the series heading into the penultimate contest. This week is Indy's third and final matchup with St. Paul. The team's first met at Victory Field from April 11-16 with St. Paul winning the series, 4-2. In their first meeting at CHS Field from May 9-14, the teams split the six-game series. The Saints have a slight edge in the season series, winners in nine of 16 games, with two games remaining. Tonight, RHP Quinn Priester (7-3, 4.31) will take the hill for Indianapolis against St. Paul's RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (4-5, 5.56). Indy's offense has found success against Woods Richardson in two outing this season, tagging him for 10 runs over two starts.

PRIESTER DAY: Quinn Priester takes the hill for Indianapolis in his 18th start and first since being optioned by Pittsburgh on Aug. 15. Priester served as the staff's ace for much of the 2023 season before getting the call to the big leagues on July 17. At the time of his callup, he was tied for the most wins in the International League (7) and ranked among qualifiers in strikeouts (T-4th, 84) and innings pitched (4th, 87.2). The 22-year-old made six starts with Pittsburgh, going 2-2 with a 9.10 ERA (29er/28.2ip). Priester leads the Indians with seven quality starts this season, highlighted by a career best 7.1 two-run innings vs. Memphis on July 6. Tonight marks his third career start against St. Paul. Priester fared well in his last outing at St. Paul, earning a quality start win with 6.0 innings of two-run ball.

THIS DATE IN 1954: Indians southpaw Herb Score set the American Association all-time strikeout record with a 12-strikeout, complete-game effort at Columbus, boosting his season total to 269. The former record of 264 punchouts was held by Columbus' Charlie "Heine" Berger in 1906. Score would go on to strike out an American Association record 330 batters, a record that still stands.

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