IL Indianapolis Indians

9.8.23 Game Information: Toledo Mud Hens (64-70, 31-29) vs. Indianapolis Indians (61-72, 28-31)

Published on September 8, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #134 / HOME #66: Toledo Mud Hens (64-70, 31-29) vs. Indianapolis Indians (61-72, 28-31)

PROBABLES: RHP Keider Montero (3-1, 6.48) vs. RHP Jared Jones (3-4, 5.74)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Quinn Priester racked up 10 punchouts for his second double-digit strikeout performance of the season and Chris Owings went yard for the second consecutive game as the Indianapolis Indians defeated the Toledo Mud Hens on Thursday night at Victory Field, 4-1. Priester (W, 9-4), appearing in just the second time this season and the third time in his career, struck out the side in his second inning of work and continued rolling through Toledo's order for 5.2 innings. The Indians got on the board first with a trio of runs in the third inning against Jack O'Loughlin (L, 3-6) and never looked back as Priester worked his magic. Owings opened the contest with a solo shot out to right field. With runners on and one out, Cal Mitchell then sent a sharp line drive into right field to drive in the pair of eventual game-winning runs. The Mud Hens played their first run in the top of the seventh on a Colt Keith single after Priester exited the game with the bases loaded and two outs. Canaan Smith-Njigba then countered in the bottom half with his second double of the contest to drive in Gonzales. After Travis MacGregor pitched a scoreless eighth frame, Kyle Nicolas (S, 1) entered for the ninth and stranded the bases loaded with back-to-back strikeouts.

Q IN RELIEF: Quinn Priester dazzled yet again in his second relief outing this season. Priester fanned 10 batters in 5.2 innings of one-run ball en route to his ninth win of the season. He became the first Indians reliever in Victory Field history to strikeout double-digit batters. Priester leads the International League in strikeouts (26) since Aug. 25. He ranks among IL full-season qualifiers in wins (9, T-2nd), ERA (4.00, 3rd) and strikeouts (116, 5th).

NICOLAS CLOSED: Kyle Nicolas earned his first career save in Thursday night's win. Nicolas worked through a bases-loaded jam with one out, striking out Colt Keith and Eddys Leonard to end the threat. Last night's scoreless outing was his eighth in his last nine appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander has flourished in a transition to the bullpen. He is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA (4er/17.1ip), eight hits allowed, nine walks, 23 strikeouts, 0.98 WHIP and .136 average against (8-for-59) since Aug. 1.

CHRIS KEEPS CRUSHING: Chris Owings sent a blast onto the berm for the second consecutive night on Thursday. Owings now has 13 home runs on the season and has homered in three of his last four games. He is one of five Indians hitters this season with double-digit home runs, tied with Canaan Smith-Njigba for the third-most blasts. In addition to his pop at the plate, he has been steady defensively as a utilityman. The 32-year-old has played defensively at second base (seven games), third base (12 games), shortstop (29 games), left field (10 games) and center field (22 games). In the infield, he owns a .980 fielding percentage in 380.0 innings played, committing just four errors in 200 total chances. He has not committed an error in 32 games in the outfield.

WELCOME HOME, MATT: Former Indiana Hoosier and Fishers, Ind. native Matt Gorski got off to a quick start in his return to Victory Field last night. The 25-year-old went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Gorski joins Indy from Altoona where he played in 93 games and hit .238 (85-for-357) with 56 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples, 17 homers, .437 slugging percentage and a .733 OPS. The 25-year-old leads Altoona's full-season qualifiers in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, OPS, extra-base hits (35) and total bases (156). Gorski played in one game with Indianapolis last season on Sept. 22, before being placed on the 7-day injured list for the remainder of the season.

CSN IS ROLLING: Canaan Smith-Njigba is off to a hot start to the month and has notched a hit in 13 of his last 17 games. The lefty slugger had a pair of double in last night's win. Smith-Njigba is hitting .421 (8-for-19) in six games this month. Since Aug. 12, he is hitting .301 (25-for-83) with four doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI in 22 games. His 18 RBI during that span is the ninth-most in the International League.

STRATTON NAMED INDIANS AUGUST POTM: The Indianapolis Indians today named closer Hunter Stratton as their August Player of the Month after posting a career-high scoreless streak and team-high four saves in 11 appearances out of the bullpen. Stratton, 26, put together an astounding month of August in which he did not allow an earned run in 11 relief appearances (12.1ip). The right-hander posted a career-high 11.1-inning scoreless streak from Aug. 1-27. He fanned 18 batters compared to just four walks and did not surrender a hit in 9 of his 11 appearances (12.1ip), holding opponents to an .075 batting average (3-for-40). His four saves in August were the most saves he's recorded in a single month in his career and tied for the most saves in the International League, highlighted by a 2.0-inning save with a season-high tying five strikeouts at Gwinnett on Aug. 3.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Mud Hens continue their six-game set on Friday at 7:05 PM ET at Victory Field. The Indians recaptured the series lead with a win last night, Indy leads the season series, 12-3. Tonight, Pittsburgh's No. 3 rated prospect RHP Jared Jones will take the mound for Indianapolis against Toledo's RHP Keider Montero (3-1, 6.48). Montero has never faced Indianapolis.

MR. JONES: Jared Jones takes the hill tonight in his 13th Triple-A start and his first career start vs. Toledo. Jones will look to bounce back from his last outing at Buffalo on Sept. 2, where he surrendered five runs in 5.0 innings. Since his promotion to Indianapolis from Double-A Altoona on June 20, he has the second-most strikeouts in the International League (72).

THIS DATE IN 2017: In Game 3 of its Governors' Cup semifinal against Durham, Nick Kingham hurled 7.0 shutout frames in a 5-0 win, Indy's lone victory in the best-of-five series. Kingham struck out four and allowed just seven baserunners (four hits, three walks). A two-run double by Joey Terdoslavich in the third put Indy in front for good, and the offense tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth. The win was the first playoff shutout for the Indians at Victory Field and Indy's second since 1996, the other coming in Game 3 of the 2012 Governors' Cup semifinals at Charlotte.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from September 8, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central