IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Columbus Clippers (12-13) vs. Indianapolis Indians (9-16)

Published on April 29, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:35 PM ET

GAME #26 / HOME #14: Columbus Clippers (12-13) vs. Indianapolis Indians (9-16)

PROBABLES: RHP Brett Daniels (0-1, 4.70) vs. RHP Luis Ortiz (1-1, 2.31)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Aaron Shackelford launched a game-tying homer for his first Triple-A long ball, but the Columbus Clippers countered with three runs in each of their next two offensive frames to defeat the Indianapolis Indians on Friday night at Victory Field, 7-4. Trailing 1-0 after the first inning, Shackelford cranked a home run onto the concourse in right field and out of the Victory Field gates to tie the game for Indianapolis. The lead didn't last long, however, and a pair of costly throwing errors returned the advantage to Columbus. David Fry doubled and Micah Pries scored Brayan Rocchio on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-1. The Indians took one run back in the bottom of the third on a Malcom Nuñez RBI single, but the Clippers countered with three runs of their own in the next half inning. Josh Palacios smacked a two-run homer that wrapped around the right-field foul pole in the bottom of the seventh.

PALACIOS HAS CAUGHT FIRE: Josh Palacios led the Indians offense on Friday night, going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a pair of doubles and a walk. He continued his hot hitting and is now hitting .375 (9-for-24) with two home runs, two doubles, three runs scored, eight RBI and four walks compared to three strikeouts in his first six games with Indianapolis. After going hitless in his debut with Indy, he is on a five-game hitting streak and is 9-for-20. The 27-year-old was selected by Pittsburgh in the MiLB phase of the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 7, 2022. He was originally selected by Toronto in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Auburn University.

LEADING OFF: Canaan Smith-Njigba will hit in the leadoff spot tonight in his first game of the season with Indianapolis. He began the season with Pittsburgh and appeared in 14 games. He began last season with Indy and played 52 games, hitting .277 (51-for-184) with 15 doubles, three triples, a home run, 19 RBI and 33 walks drawn. From 4/22-5/26, he had a 28-game on-base streak, in which he hit .280 (26-for-93) with eight doubles, a triple, home run, seven RBI, 24 walks, .427 on-base percentage and .846 OPS.

NEED ZAMORA IT: Southpaw reliever Daniel Zamora has allowed only one run in his last nine appearances (8.2ip). In his most recent outing, he held the Clippers scoreless in 2.0 innings of work with a pair of strikeouts on Wednesday. He is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA (3er/9.1ip) with 14 strikeouts compared to four walks issued. In 2022, he spent the entirety of the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA (27er/63.0ip), 71 strikeouts and 1.35 WHIP.

STRATTON BLANKS THE OPPONENT: Right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton posted 2.0 scoreless innings Thursday afternoon, allowing two hits and two walks. After surrendering three earned runs between his first two appearances of the season, he hasn't allowed an earned run over his last six games (10.0ip). He has been a dependable arm when called upon. The 26-year-old's six-game scoreless streak is the longest of the season for an Indians pitcher and tied for the seventh-longest active scoreless streak in the International League currently. In eight appearances (one start), he owns a 2.19 ERA (3er/12.1ip) with 12 hits allowed and 19 punchouts. Stratton's strikeouts currently rank third on the pitching staff behind two starters, Quinn Priester (25), Osvaldo Bido (25) and Luis Ortiz (20). He was a mainstay in Indy's bullpen last season, making 47 appearances (one start) with a 5.71 ERA (40er/63.0ip), he leads the relief pitchers in strikeouts with 80.

TONIGHT: The Clippers and Indians will continue their six-game set tonight at 6:35 PM ET at Victory Field. After losing the first game of the series, the Clippers have now clinched at least a series split with three consecutive wins over Indy. Columbus won the season series last year, taking 12 of 20 games against Indy. Tonight, RHP Luis Ortiz (1-1, 2.31) will take the mound for Indianapolis vs. Columbus' RHP Brett Daniels (2-2, 7.16). Daniels will open for the Clippers in a bullpen game, he will make his second appearance of the series. On Tuesday night, he surrendered three runs on three hits and four walks in 1.1 relief innings.

FLAME THROWER: Luis Ortiz will take the mound today for his sixth start of the season and first career appearance vs. Columbus. In two starts against Memphis last week, he was 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA (2er/11.0ip), seven hits allowed, two walks and three strikeouts. The 23-year-old is off to a good start to his 2023 campaign, owning a 2.31 ERA (6er/23.1ip), 14 hits allowed, 20 strikeouts, 0.94 WHIP and .169 batting average against. He ranks among International League qualifiers in batting average against (3rd), WHIP (3rd) and ERA (4th). Ortiz has ascended from Pittsburgh's No. 22 prospect in 2022 to its No. 4 entering into the 2023 season - Pittsburgh's highest rated pitching prospect - according to Baseball America. Ortiz was promoted to Indianapolis on Sept. 1 and made two starts, allowing eight runs (four earned) in 10.0 innings with 12 strikeouts. Pittsburgh selected his contract on Sept. 13, and he debuted with 5.2 scoreless frames at Cincinnati later that day.

THIS DATE IN 2012: Three Indians combined on a no-hitter in Durham for the third no-no in the Victory Field era and first since Ian Snell spun a 9.0-inning no-hitter on May 15, 2005 vs. Norfolk. Left-hander Justin Wilson got the nod and threw 7.1 innings, yielding two walks with nine strikeouts. Jose Diaz then recorded the final two outs in the eighth inning before Doug Slaten slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth to give Indy a 2-0 victory. The no-hitter was just the fourth combined effort of 13 no-hitters in franchise history at the time and first since Pedro Martinez, Felix Rodriguez and Scott Service held Louisville hitless in the second game of a doubleheader on May 25, 1997.

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International League Stories from April 29, 2023


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