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9.23.23 Game Information: Rochester Red Wings (65-79, 31-40) vs. Indianapolis Indians (69-77, 36-36)

September 23, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:35 PM ET

GAME #147 / HOME #73: Rochester Red Wings (65-79, 31-40) vs. Indianapolis Indians (69-77, 36-36)

PROBABLES: RHP Daniel Mengden (2-3, 7.19) vs. RHP Roansy Contreras (0-0, 4.71)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Chris Owings roped a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple as the Indianapolis Indians earned a come-from-behind victory over the Rochester Red Wings on Friday night at Victory Field, 8-7. Facing a two-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, the Indians rallied for their 12th last at-bat win of the season. Vinny Capra hit a lead-off single, and walks issued to Josh Bissonette and Grant Koch by Anthony Banda (L, 2-5) loaded the bases. Owings followed with the go-ahead, three-run triple into the left-center field gap to make it 8-7. The Indians got on the board in the first. Canaan Smith-Njigba extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-out double in the first inning. He came around to score, courtesy of a Vilade RBI single. Indianapolis built a lead with solo home runs in three consecutive innings to accumulate a four-run lead. Nick Gonzales lifted his sixth home run of the month in the third inning before Joe Perez homered for the second time in his last three games. Ryan Vilade bookended the blasts with a 425-foot home run past the left field berm. Rochester rallied for seven runs on six hits in the seventh inning. The Red Wings tied the game at four apiece with four RBI singles before a Matt Adams bases-clearing double off Travis MacGregor (W, 2-2) gave them a three-run advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Indians rallied for a run in the bottom half of the frame on a Vilade RBI double and plated the winning run on Owings' triple in the eighth. Osvaldo Bido (S, 3) earned his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

THE HAMMER DELIVERS: Chris Owings played hero in the Indians come-from-behind victory on Friday night. He roped a bases-clearing triple to retake the lead for Indianapolis. The triple was his third of the season and Indianapolis' International League-leading 42nd triple of the season. His two-hit performance last night extended his on-base streak to nine games. The 32-year-old is hitting .270 (17-for-63) with 11 runs, two doubles, a triple, five home runs, 12 RBI, nine walks, .370 on-base percentage and .941 OPS.

OFF THE LIGHT POLE: Ryan Vilade led the offensive charge in Friday night's win going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBI. All three of his hits scored runs, highlighted by his fifth-inning mammoth home run that flew 425 feet at 108 MPH off the bat. Vilade has hit safely in 13 of 17 games played this month, hitting .294 (20-for-68) with six doubles, a triple, home run and 13 RBI. His month is highlighted by career-high tying five hits on Tuesday night.

CROWE PITCHES GEM: Wil Crowe pitched 6.0 shutout frames in his second start of the season with Indianapolis. His outing marked his first quality start since Oct. 1, 2021, with Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati. Crowe has been at his best in his two starts with Indy, owning a 1.80 ERA (2er/10.0ip) with eight hits allowed, four walks and seven strikeouts. The 29-year-old has primarily been used from the bullpen where he is 1-1 with a 5.82 ERA (11er/17.0ip) with 24 hits allowed, nine walks and 23 strikeouts.

CSN'S STREAK CONTINUES: Canaan Smith-Njigba extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a first-inning double last night. His active 10-game hitting streak is his longest of the season. Dating back to Aug. 20, he is hitting .364 (39-for-107) with 13 runs, eight doubles, four home runs, 28 RBI, seven stolen bases and .970 OPS in 27 games. He's improved his season batting average from .246 to .279 during this span.

JOES GOES YARD: Joe Perez belted his second home run in his last three games on Friday night. Perez is 7-for-17 this week, hitting safely in all four games. On Wednesday, he belted his first home run with Indianapolis and drove in a season-high four RBI. Perez was signed by Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent on Aug. 11, he was outrighted by Houston on Aug. 4, before being assigned to Double-A Altoona. The 24-year-old hit .341 (29-for-85) with 18 runs, three doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 20 walks and a 1.101 OPS in 25 games played with Altoona. Perez was tied for the fifth-most home runs in the Eastern League from Aug. 12-Sept. 10.

WATCH IT GO, GONZO: Nick Gonzales belted his sixth home run of the month on Friday night. He is 9-for-19 with nine runs, a double, two triples, two home runs and eight RBI this week. Gonzales followed his first career cycle on Tuesday with a three-hit performance. 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. The 24-year-old has been stellar at the plate this month, hitting .352 (25-for-71) with 24 runs, five doubles, three triples, six home runs, 14 RBI and 1.166 OPS. Gonzales leads the International League in triples, extra-base hits (14), total bases (54) and runs in September. The 24-year-old ranks sixth in the league in average since being optioned by Pittsburgh on Aug. 3.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Red Wings play the penultimate contest on Saturday night at Victory Field at 6:35 PM ET. This week's six-game set will cap the 2023 season, and is the lone meeting between the two teams. The Indians have a 3-1 series lead, with two chances remaining to clinch their 10th series win of the season. Since 1988, the Indians own the advantage in the Circle City, 57-48. Tonight, RHP Roansy Contreras (0-0, 4.71) will take the mound for Indianapolis against Rochester's RHP Daniel Mengden (2-3, 7.19). Menden made one appearance against Indianapolis on June 6, with Omaha. He posted 3.0 one-run innings with four punchouts.

ROANSY TAKES THE HILL: Roansy Contreras takes the hill for his eighth appearance (sixth start) of the season. Contreras makes his first career appearance against Rochester. He has a 4.71 ERA (15er/28.2ip) with nine walks, 26 strikeouts, 1.19 WHIP and .238 average against. The 23-year-old has a 2.48 ERA (8er/29.0ip) in seven career starts at Victory Field.

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