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9.20.23 Game Information: Rochester Red Wings (64-77, 30-38) vs. Indianapolis Indians (67-76, 34-35)

September 20, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET

GAME #144 / HOME #70: Rochester Red Wings (64-77, 30-38) vs. Indianapolis Indians (67-76, 34-35)

PROBABLES: RHP Tommy Romero (5-6, 5.27) vs. RHP Aaron Shortridge (Triple-A Debut)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Nick Gonzales hit a 450-foot, tape-measure home run in the first inning, doubled and tripled during an eight-run sixth and singled through the right side of the infield in the eighth to complete his first career cycle, and the Indianapolis Indians ran away with a 19-1 win over the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night at Victory Field. After Rochester plated the first run of the game in the opening frame on a Derek Hill home run to left, Gonzales leveled the score in the bottom half with a blast onto the concourse beyond the left-center berm. Canaan Smith-Njigba put Indy in front for good two innings later with a two-run home. He then followed a bases-loaded walk to Gonzales in the fourth with a two-run double to make it 6-1 before hustling home on a two-run single by Vilade that capped the five-run burst. Leading 8-1 through five, Indy sent 12 batters to the plate to double its run total. Chris Owings singled and took third on Gonzales' two-bagger before Smith-Njigba singled up the middle. Vilade then reached safely on a run-scoring fielder's choice that preceded back-to-back fielding errors, loading the bases for Vinny Capra, who drove in two with a single to left. Grant Koch joined the hit parade with a sharp RBI single to right, and Gonzales tagged a bases-clearing triple into the right-center alley. Vilade doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Domingo Leyba in the seventh, and the Indians tallied two more runs in their final trip to the plate on an RBI single by Vilade and Matt Gorski sacrifice fly. Noe Toribio (W, 1-0) threw 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Max Kranick. Mitchell Parker (L, 0-1) was charged with seven earned runs in 3.1 innings of work to suffer the loss.

GONZO HITS FOR THE CYCLE: Nick Gonzales hit for his first career cycle in Tuesday night's rout of the Rochester Red Wings. His cycle was the seventh for Indy since 1996 - six coming at Victory Field - and first by an Indian since Kevin Newman and Jacob Stallings both accomplished the feat on Aug. 7, 2018, vs. Lehigh Valley. His 450-foot homer was the second-longest blast by an Indian this season, trailing only a 466-foot home run by Josh Palacios on July 26 vs. Louisville. Gonzales' four-hit performance was his fourth of the season and ninth of his career, and he also tied season highs with five RBI and four runs, the latter also matching a career high. The 24-year-old's stellar performance at the plate last night put a stamp on what has been an excellent month of September. Gonzales is hitting .351 (20-for-57) with 19 runs, five doubles, two triples, five home runs, 11 RBI, .415 on-base percentage, .772 slugging percentage and a 1.187 OPS in 16 games.

HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS: Indianapolis' 21 hits last night marked the club's most since logging a Victory Field era record 23 on April 27, 2018, at Columbus. The 21-hit total was also Indy's highest mark at Victory Field since notching 22 on May 31, 2005, vs. Louisville. Eight of nine Indians starters hit safely, and the top four in the lineup were a combined 15-for-21. The Indians' 19 runs tied the Victory Field mark previously set on May 6, 2004, vs. Charlotte, and the 18-run margin of victory was also the largest ever at Victory Field and second largest since 1996, the biggest being a 21-1 rout at Columbus on July 6, 2017.

THREE BAGS: Nick Gonzales clubbed Indianapolis' International League-leading 40th triple of the season on Tuesday night. Yesterday marked the second-straight season that the Indians offense has tallied 40-plus triples - hitting a league-leading 44 triples last season. Gonzales' triple was his seventh of the season - which is the tied for the second-most triples in the IL.

CSN RAKES IN SEPTEMBER: Canaan Smith-Njigba hit his way to his second four-hit night of the season and sixth of his career on Tuesday. It was also his second five-RBI game of the season and third of his career. Last night's showing extended his hitting streak to seven games, and continued his torrid stretch in September. The 24-year-old is hitting .429 (24-for-56) with seven doubles, a home run, 19 RBI and six stolen bases this month. He leads the International League in hits this month (24) and ranks among league qualifiers in doubles (T-1st, 7), average (2nd, .429), RBI (2nd, 19), doubles (T-2nd, 6), stolen bases (T-3rd, 6) and on-base percentage (8th, .475) and OPS (9th, 1.082).

VINNY RETURNS: Vinny Capra is 5-for-10 with two runs and four RBI since being optioned by Pittsburgh on Sept. 15. The 27-year-old had his contract selected by the Pirates on Aug. 1, making his first of two short stints with the big league club. Capra went 3-for-18 with three runs scored in nine games with Pittsburgh. In 44 total games with the Indians this season, he is hitting .338 (48-for-142) with 25 runs scored, 10 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 29 RBI and 23 walks compared to just 24 strikeouts.

TODAY: The Indians and Red Wings continue their six-game set on Wednesday afternoon at Victory Field 1:35 PM ET. This week's six-game set will cap the 2023 season, and is the lone meeting between the two teams. The Indians bested the Red Wings in their lone six-game set last season, 4-2. Since 1988, the Indians own the advantage in the Circle City, 55-47. To kick off the week, RHP Aaron Shortridge (0-0, 0.00) will take the mound for Indianapolis in his Triple-A debut. RHP Tommy Romero (5-6, 5.27) will get the knod for Rochester. Romero has never faced Indianapolis.

SHORTRIDGE DEBUTS: Right-handed pitcher Aaron Shortridge will make his Triple-A debut this afternoon vs. the Red Wings. Shortridge joins the Indians -he was assigned to Indy on Sept. 19 - after playing the majority of the season with Double-A Altoona. The 26-year-old was 11-8 with a 5.01 ERA (77er/138.1ip) and 118 strikeouts in 29 games (27 starts). He tied for the Eastern League-lead in wins and games started and complete games (2). His season is highlighted by a dominant month of August, he was 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA (7er/33.0ip), 28 strikeouts and 1.09 WHIP. Shortridge was selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California, Berkeley.

THIS DATE IN 1956: Trailing 6-3 midway through the eighth inning, the Indians rallied for a thrilling 7-6 win. Indy scored once in the eighth and three in the ninth to extend its series lead to 2-0 over Denver, Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, in the American Association finals. Tommy Lasorda, who was later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997, was the starting pitcher for the Bears and gave up four runs on eight hits over 7.0 innings.

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