IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Doubleheader Information: Indianapolis Indians (5-12) @ Pawtucket Red Sox (7-9)

Published on April 27, 2017 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


After back-to-back rainouts, Indianapolis and Pawtucket meet for a doubleheader today at McCoy Stadium. Today's game notes are attached.

Location: McCoy Stadium

Game 1 Time: 12:05 PM ET

Game 2 Time: 30 minutes after Game 1

Games #18 & 19/Road #5 & 6: Indianapolis Indians (5-12) @ Pawtucket Red Sox (7-9)

Game 1 Probables: RHP Clay Holmes (0-1, 5.06) vs. LHP Brian Johnson (0-0, 1.69)

Game 2 Probables: RHP Tyler Eppler (2-0, 1.06) vs. LHP Henry Owens (1-0, 1.72)

From the Notes

A LONG-AWAITED GIFT: Tribe infielder Gift Ngoepe was recalled by the Pirates yesterday, making him the first African-born player to reach the major leagues. He entered last night's game against the Cubs as part of a double-switch by manager Clint Hurdle, playing second base. In the bottom of the fourth, he pounded a 3-1 offering from Jon Lester into center field for a base hit. He walked and struck out in his next final two plate appearances against Lester and Carl Edwards Jr. Ngoepe, 27, played in 704 games over his eight-plus year minor league career, all of them spent in the Pittsburgh farm system after signing on Sept. 29, 2008. This year for Indy, he was batting .241 (14-for-58) with five extra-base hits and four RBI, while seeing time defensively at shortstop, second base and third base.

BYE BYE BARBATO: Right-hander Johnny Barbato was officially recalled by Pittsburgh Tuesday after tossing three scoreless frames in two appearances for Indy. He was acquired by Pittsburgh from the Yankees in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations on April 17.

MONDAY HEADLINES: Reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, born and raised in Vilnius, Lithuania, made his Major League debut Monday night for Pittsburgh in a 14-3 loss to the Cubs. Neverauskas' appearance was the first by a Lithuania born-and-raised player. In 1933, outfielder Joe Zapustas played for the Philadelphia A's. Zapustas was born in Lithuania but raised in Boston, Mass. Neverauskas had thrown 8.1 innings this year for the Tribe without allowing an earned run. He was optioned to Indy yesterday to make room for Ngoepe on Pittsburgh's 25-man roster.

MAN IN CHARGE: Today's game two starter, Tyler Eppler, has been one of the IL's best pitchers in 2017. He ranks among league leaders in WHIP (2nd, 0.65), batting average against (4th, .164) and ERA (5th, 1.06). He has won each of his last two starts, snapping what were five- and four-game losing streaks for the Indians.

Tribe Tweets

WTHR.com (@WTHRcom)

History made by @IndyIndians Gift Ngoepe! Good luck with the @Pirates ! ( Photo : @AjPintar )

SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)

Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born player to reach the majors, got a hit in his MLB debut. VIDEO

MLB (@MLB)

. @Pirates 2B Gift Ngoepe 's first @MLB hit comes in his first AB. Save that ball!

Joe Block (@joe_block)

There are about 1.2 billion people in the 57 countries of Africa. #Pirates Gift Ngoepe is the first in the big leagues.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

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



International League Stories from April 27, 2017


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