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Doubleheader Information: Indianapolis Indians (22-19) at St. Paul Saint (16-25)

May 25, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

GAME #1 FIRST PITCH / GAME #2 FIRST PITCH: 6:07 PM ET / 30 mins after G1

GAMES #42 & 43 / Road #19 & 20: Indianapolis Indians (22-19) at St. Paul Saints (16-25)

GAME 1 PROBABLES: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (2-2, 4.78) vs. RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-1, 8.38)

GAME 2 PROBABLES: RHP Matt Eckelman (0-3, 14.92) vs. RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-2, 3.45)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT YESTERDAY: The Indians mounted a four-run comeback thanks to a game-tying, two-run home run off the batter's eye by Oneil Cruz in the seventh inning and went on to beat the Saints in 11 innings yesterday, 8-5. St. Paul took an early lead with three runs in the second inning on a two-out, bases-clearing double by Roy Morales and one run in the third. The teams traded runs over the fourth and fifth innings, with Mason Martin crushing a solo home run to right field to plate the first Indians run. Indy then recorded a pair of two-run innings in the sixth and seventh to tie the game, 5-5. In the seventh, Cruz followed with his fifth home run of the season. Following scoreless ninth and tenth frames, the Indians plated three runs in the 11th with the go-ahead run scoring with two outs on an infield single by Hoy Park.

PITCHING WINS IT: Blake Weiman, Hunter Stratton and Austin Brice combined to hold St. Paul hitless through the final six innings of the game last night as the Indians mounted a comeback and emerged victorious in 11 innings yesterday. They recorded seven of the Indians nine total strikeouts in those six innings, with Weiman's three leading the pack.

CRUZING: Oneil Cruz hit a home run off the CHS Field batter's eye in the top of the seventh inning to cap Indy's four-run comeback of the Saints yesterday. It was his second long ball in as many games, a stretch which began when he launched a fly ball 449 feet onto the top of a trash can beyond the right-center field berm on Sunday at Victory Field. He has now hit safely in six of his last seven games and is hitting .386 (8-for-28) with three home runs, 10 RBI and more walks (6) than strikeouts (5). The 6-foot-7 shortstop has been heating up in the month of May, hitting four of his five home runs in the past 17 games. From 9/4-30/21, Cruz became the first Indians batter since Adam Boeve in 2008 to homer in four consecutive games, a stretch that included a two-run, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on 9/29 vs. Nashville.

MARTIN MASHING: Mason Martin launched his fourth home run in his last five games yesterday, extending his total to a team-leading nine this season. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games with eight extra-base hits and is now tied for third in all of Minor League Baseball with 25 extra-base hits this season. The Indians' April Player of the Month had a slow start to May, going just 2-for-30 with one extra-base hit in his first eight games. Since May 13, he's hitting .306 (11-for-36) with an .833 slugging percentage and 1.238 OPS. In addition to his extra-base hits, he is tied for sixth in MiLB with a career-high five triples and ranks among International League leaders in slugging percentage (6th, .592) and total bases (9th, 84).

STRATTON'S STRIKEOUTS: Hunter Stratton continues to dominate against opposing batters and is tied for first among International League relievers with 34 strikeouts this season. Over half of his outs recorded in 20.2 innings have come via strikeout and he has fanned multiple batters in 12 of his 14 appearances. Stratton also hasn't allowed an earned run in eight May appearances (11.2ip) and has registered a 0.94 WHIP and .143 average against (6-for-42) in the month.

SWAGS ON FIRE: Travis Swaggerty has now hit safely in six consecutive games, half of which were multi-hit performances, dating back to 5/17 vs. Toledo. In that stretch, he owns a .476 average (10-for-21), .542 on-base percentage and 1.304 OPS. After hitting just .164 (9-for-55) in April, Swaggerty has gone on a tear and is hitting .371 (13-for-35) with a .979 OPS in 10 May games.

GOING STREAKING: The Indians own two of the three longest on-base streaks in the International League this season, all of which are still active. Canaan Smith-Njigba (25 games) and Ji-Hwan Bae (21) each doubled yesterday and extended their respective on-base streaks. More details about Smith-Njigba and Bae's active streaks are listed below:

Canaan Smith-Njigba - Smith-Njigba's 25-game on-base streak currently ranks as the longest in the IL this season and the second-longest active streak in Triple-A behind El Paso's Nomar Mazara (31). His streak began with a single on 4/22 vs. Columbus, and since he owns a .241 batting average (20-for-83) with a .394 on-base percentage. During that time, he has taken almost as many walks (21) as strikeouts (25). Smith-Njigba's longest career on-base streak came in 2017 with the GCL Yankees East, his first year in professional baseball, when he reached base safely in a GCL-leading 27 consecutive games with a .360 average (31-for-86) from 8/3-9/1.

Ji-Hwan Bae - Bae is currently working a 21-game on-base streak, which trails Smith-Njigba and Durham's Rene Pinto (22) for the third-longest in the IL this season. Since his streak began on 4/27 at Iowa, Bae has hit safely in 16 of his 21 games with a .333 average (26-for-78), .438 on-base percentage and 1.053 OPS. All four of his home runs and 12 of his 14 total extra-base hits this season have come in that time span. He has also struck out just 11 times compared to 15 walks. Bae's longest career on-base streak lasted 25 games from 8/15-9/15/21 with Double-A Altoona, in which he registered a .348 average (31-for-89) with a .459 on-base percentage.

TODAY: The Indians will look to build on a series lead today with a doubleheader vs. the Saints. From 4/12-4/17, the Indians went 2-3 for their first series loss of the season, with today's contest making up 4/14's postponed game at CHS Field. In 18 games in St. Paul since 2021 - which was the first season the Indians faced a team in St. Paul since 1960 - Indianapolis is 10-8.

THIS DATE IN 1997: After dropping Game 1 of a doubleheader at Louisville, 4-1, three Indianapolis pitchers combined to throw the first no-hitter in the Victory Field era. Pedro Martinez (5.2ip, 3bb, 3k), Felix Rodriguez (0.1ip, 1k) and Scott Service (1.0ip, 3k) each appeared in the game and rolled through seven innings. First baseman Kevin Maas hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning for the only run of the game, giving Service a chance to close out the historic bid. Rodriguez earned the win and improved to 3-3 on the season, and Service earned his sixth save of the year.

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