IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (11-11) at Omaha Storm Chasers (15-7)

Published on May 30, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Werner Park

FIRST PITCH: 2:05 PM ET

GAME #23 / Road #17: Indianapolis Indians (11-11) at Omaha Storm Chasers (15-7)

PROBABLES: RHP Cody Ponce (0-0, 5.40) vs. LHP Daniel Lynch (1-1, 3.86)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians dropped the fifth game of the series at Omaha, 6-2, last night. Omaha came back from a 1-0 deficit following a Ke'Bryan Hayes home run with a long ball of their own, and then offset the Indians 2-1 lead in the fourth with a four-run bottom half of the inning for the win. Hayes and Bligh Madris led the Indians the offense with one RBI each, with Madris going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Beau Sulser took his second loss with Indianapolis after surrendering five runs in 3.1 innings. The Indians faced off against seven different Storm Chaser bullpen arms in the defeat.

HAYES HOMERS: Ke'Bryan Hayes has been showing off both his Gold Glove-caliber defense and offensive power during his rehab assignment with Indianapolis. Last night, he hit his second home run with the Indians to drive in the first run of the game in the first inning. In six games, Hayes has hit .300 (6-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI and six runs scored. He has played four of his six games at third base.

BLIGH IS THAT GUY: Bligh Madris went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI to lead the Indians offense last night at Omaha. In his first nine Triple-A games since being promoted from Double-A Altoona, he is hitting .355 (11-for-31) with four extra-base hits, six RBI and five runs scored. He has had five multi-hit performances in that span. In the past four games, he has driven in six RBI following multi-RBI performances on May 26 (3 RBI) and May 27 (2 RBI).

SHARPE ON BASE: With a single in his final at-bat last night, Chris Sharpe extended his on-base streak to 15 consecutive games dating back to May 12. During that time frame, he has hit safely in 12 games with a .245 average (13-for-53), 13 runs scored, seven doubles, a home run and 10 walks. Also during that time, he had a team-leading eight-game hitting streak from May 14-22. With a leadoff double in the seventh inning on Friday, Sharpe retook sole possession of the league lead with eight doubles. The 24-year-old split the 2019 season between High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona and hit a combined .254 (116-for-457) with 31 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 17 stolen bases. His 31 doubles between the two levels was tied for second among Pirates farmhands.

SIX STRAIGHT: For the first time since 2018, the Indians have lost six consecutive games. That season, the team lost two games at Charlotte, three vs. Gwinnett and one vs. Scranton/WB for its longest losing streak of the season from May 27-June 1. Indianapolis has now lost six consecutive games on their 12-game road trip dating back to last Sunday at St. Paul and have been outscored, 33-19, in that span.

TONIGHT: The Indians look to avoid being swept in the six-game series at Omaha this afternoon. RHP Cody Ponce is set to make his first Indians start since May 13 vs. Toledo after starting with Pittsburgh at Chicago (NL) on May 25. LHP Daniel Lynch will take the mound for Omaha after earning the win in the series opener on May 25 vs. Indianapolis (5.2ip, 5h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 6k).

PONCE WITH THE PIRATES: Cody Ponce was recalled by Pittsburgh on May 25 and made his first start for the Pirates this season vs. Chicago (NL). He took the loss after surrendering four runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings and was optioned back to Indianapolis the next day. Today will be Ponce's third start and fourth appearance with the Indians this season, and he enters the game with a 5.40 ERA (7er/11.2ip) and 11 strikeouts in Triple-A this season. Ponce made his MLB debut in 2020 and appeared in five games (three starts) with the Pirates that season, going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA (6er/17.0ip).

OMAHA WIN STREAKS: Dating back to 1988, Omaha has won five or more consecutive games against Indianapolis three times, with the longest winning streak coming in seven games from May 17 (2)-July 21, 1991. Omaha outscored Indy, 39-21, during that streak. In the first game of the May 17 doubleheader, the Indians were trailing, 5-3, entering the ninth inning and scored seven runs in the top half to come back and win, 10-5. That season, the Indians went 3-9 vs. the then-Royals with a 1-5 record on the road.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION RIVALRY, RENEWED: The Indians and then-Omaha Royals played each other as part of the American Association from 1969-97. According to Omaha's records from that time frame, Indianapolis leads the all-time series, 280-270 (.509). Since 1988 (Indianapolis' records), the Indians are leading Omaha 87-74 (.540) overall, but the Storm Chasers hold the advantage in Nebraska, 32-51 (.386). The two teams met in the American Association Championship series four times, with the Indians taking the 1982, '88 and '89 series. Per Omaha's records, the Indians lead, 11-9, in the postseason.

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