IL Indianapolis Indians

8.20.23 Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (55-62, 22-21) at St. Paul Saints (68-50, 25-19)

Published on August 20, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 3:07 PM ET

GAME #118 / ROAD #62: Indianapolis Indians (55-62, 22-21) at St. Paul Saints (68-50, 25-19)

PROBABLES: LHP Braeden Ogle (0-0, 5.40) vs. RHP Randy Dobnak (4-6, 4.53)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Right-handers Quinn Priester and Beau Sulser combined for 7.0 innings of one-run ball as the Indianapolis Indians survived a late comeback effort from the St. Paul Saints on Saturday night at CHS Field, winning 5-4. The Indians jumped in front in the top of the third against St. Paul starter Simeon Woods Richardson thanks to a two-run blast from designated hitter Domingo Leyba. The tandem of Priester and Sulser held the Saints scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when first baseman Yunior Severino tattooed a solo home run to straight-away center field. After the Indians added three insurance runs in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI double from second baseman Jared Triolo and a two-run home run from center fielder Ryan Vilade. St. Paul clawed back to a one run deficit thanks to a bases-clearing double in the bottom half of the inning. Indians closer Hunter Stratton shut the door on the Saints with a 1-2-3 ninth fanning a pair.

SLAMMING THE DOOR: Hunter Stratton had yet another dominant outing, earning his fifth save of the season with a perfect ninth inning. After being unsuccessful in his first two save opportunities this season, Stratton has been perfect in his last five save chances. It was his seventh consecutive scoreless outing (9.0ip). He sent the Saints down in order, recording two of the three outs by way of strikeout. He has held opponents without a hit in six of seven appearances in August, opponents are 1-for-28. His scoreless streak is his longest since posting career-high 10.0 scoreless frames from 5/8-6/2/21 with Double-A Altoona. Since July 18, he is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA (2er/14.2ip), seven hits allowed, 20 strikeouts and 0.89 WHIP.

LEYBA LAUNCHES: Domingo Leyba launched his fifth home run in 17 games with Indianapolis on Saturday night. Leyba has shined since he joined the team on July 25 from Double-A Altoona. The 27-year-old is hitting .298 (17-for-57), 11 runs scored, 11 walks compared to 12 strikeouts, .412 on-base percentage and .632 slugging percentage. Nearly half of his hits have gone for extra bases with two doubles, a triple and five big fly's.

VILADE LEAVES THE YARD: Ryan Vilade lifted a two-run blast in the seventh inning last night, plating key insurance runs in the win. Vilade's fifth homer of the season snapped a 41-game drought without a home run. His last home run came on June 23 vs. Columbus. He is 4-for-10 in his last three games.

QUITE THE TANDEM: Quinn Priester and Beau Sulser combined for 7.0 one-run innings in Saturday night's win. Priester held the Saints scoreless in 4.0 innings of work, continuing his success against St. Paul. Priester finished the season series with St. Paul 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA (4er/14.2ip) and 19 strikeouts. Sulser earned his second win in back-to-back outings. In his last two outings, Sulser has allowed just one run in 8.0 innings on four hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.

PLAYING CLEAN: The Indians have played nearly perfect defense over their last seven games. In their last seven, Indy has committed just one error in 253 total chances with 183 putouts, 69 assists and rolling nine double plays. Since June 1, the Indians have the highest fielding percentage in the International League (.989), committing just 26 errors in 65 games.

SLAMMIN' HOMERS: The Indians offense has homered twice in back-to-back games and Vinny Capra slugged the team's league-leading 34th triple of the season on Saturday night, extending their extra-base hit streak to 34 games, which is tied with Memphis for the longest active streak in the International League. Since July 7, the Indians have hit 56 doubles, seven triples and 45 home runs for a total of 108 XBH's.

ROB DOES THE JOB: 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.

TODAY: The Indians and Saints conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 3:07 PM ET. Indy earned at least a series split with Saturday night's win and can earn its eighth series win of the season this afternoon. This week marks 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 17 games, with one game remaining. Today, Southpaw Braeden Ogle (0-0, 5.40) will open for Indianapolis against St. Paul's RHP Randy Dobnak (4-6, 4.53). Dobnak took the loss on Tuesday, with the Indians tagging him seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 7.16 ERA (16er/20.1ip) in six career outings against Indianapolis.

RO TAKES THE HILL: Roansy Contreras will make his third outing in Triple-A this season tonight in his second against St. Paul this week. Contreras was excellent his last time out earlier this week, tossing 4.0 one-run innings with one hit allowed, two walks and five punchouts. Since he was assigned to Indianapolis on Aug. 8, he has allowed just two hits in 7.0 innings of work. At the Triple-A level, the 23-year-old is 1-1 with a 2.80 ERA (14er/45.0ip) in 12 starts. Contreras began is 2023 season on Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster. The righty made 19 appearances (11 starts) and is 3-7 with a 6.59 ERA (50er/68.1ip). He was optioned by Pittsburgh on July 6 and later assigned to Single-A Bradenton, where he made one outing on Aug. 4 before returning to Indianapolis

THIS DATE IN 2004: Right-handed pitcher Ben Hendrickson pitched his second complete game of the season, the team's fourth and the Indians' first 9.0-inning complete game since 2002 in a 1-0 shutout over Toledo at Victory Field. Indianapolis' last 9.0-inning complete-game shutout came on Aug. 7, 2000 when Horacio Estrada went the distance at Louisville. In his 10th of 11 wins on the season, Hendrickson allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out six.

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