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Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (11-5) at St. Paul Saints (6-11)

May 23, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 3:05 PM ET

GAME #17 / Road #11: Indianapolis Indians (11-5) at St. Paul Saints (6-11)

PROBABLES: RHP Beau Sulser (2-0, 3.55) vs. RHP Griffin Jax (1-1, 5.40)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians took home their second consecutive series victory last night with a 5-1 win over St. Paul in the fifth game of the six-game set. Three consecutive singles began the game and scored Chris Sharpe for the first Indians run, marking the second straight game the Indians have scored a run in the first inning. St. Paul's only run came in the second inning off a Jimmy Kerrigan home run to tie the game, but Indy piled on with one run in the fourth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth. Hunter Owen hit the game-winning home run in the fourth and Joe Hudson hit another in the seventh, both were their first home runs this season.

PITCHING PERFORMS: RHP Chase De Jong surrendered one run on four hits in the first three innings and did not allow another hit through the remainder of his 6.0-inning performance. He combined with RHP Steven Wright and LHP Austin Davis to hold the Saints hitless through the final six innings of the game. With a 3-1 lead and the go-ahead Saints run at the plate in the bottom of the eighth, Wright caught Tomas Telis looking with a high-and-outside knuckleball to end the inning unscathed. Indianapolis has a 2.95 ERA (47er/143.1ip), which currently ranks second in the Triple-A East behind Buffalo (2.74 ERA; 46er/151.0ip).

SHARPE SHOOTING: With a leadoff single to begin the game last night, outfielder Chris Sharpe extended his hitting streak to eight games dating back to 5/14 vs. Toledo. Within that span, he his hitting .300 (9-for-30) with five doubles, one home run and nine runs scored. Sharpe, now hitting in the leadoff spot as the Indians center fielder, has reached base safely in ten consecutive games. He currently ranks first in the league with seven doubles.

KRAMER CONNECTING: With two hits last night, infielder Kevin Kramer is now 5-for-7 in his last two games with two runs scored, a double, home run, six RBI and four walks. He went 3-for-4 on Friday night with a game-winning two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning. Last night, he went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two walks. He has three multi-hit performances in his last six games and is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with seven walks to two strikeouts in that span.

HUDSON HITTING: Catcher Joe Hudson has hit safely in each of his last five games, three of them being multi-hit contests. In his last two games he is hitting a combined 4-for-7 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. He also has a four-game RBI streak. Dating back to 5/15 vs. Toledo, the beginning of his hitting streak, Hudson is hitting .500 (8-for-16) and has raised his average to .323 (10-for-31) within the month.

YOUNG HAYES REHABS: Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes made his first rehab appearance with Indianapolis last night and went 1-for-2 with a first-inning single. He was replaced by Troy Stokes Jr. in the fourth inning as he eases back into game play. The 24-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 4 with a left wrist injury and was moved to the 60-day IL on May 9. He began the season as Pittsburgh's Opening Day third baseman and homered in his first at-bat of the season on April 1 at Chicago (NL). Hayes exited Pittsburgh's April 3 game at Chicago (NL) with the wrist injury after he walked in his only plate appearance.

TONIGHT: The Indians are looking to go 5-1 over a six-game series for the second week in a row today at St. Paul. RHP Beau Sulser and RHP Griffin Jax will face off for the second time since opening the series against each other on Tuesday. In the first game, Sulser earned the win after the Indians offense put up seven runs in the first three innings off Jax. Sulser surrendered three earned runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings.

SULSER'S SUCCESS: RHP Beau Sulser is one of three Indians pitchers with a team-leading two wins, joined by RHP Shea Spitzbarth and RHP Chase De Jong, who earned his second win last night. Sulser, after spending all of 2019 in Double-A and not playing organized baseball in 2020, is 2-0 on the season with a 3.55 ERA (5er/12.2ip) and 14 strikeouts. In his last outing vs. St. Paul, he fanned six batters, one shy of his career-high seven from July 31, 2019 at Single-A Columbia. Sulser has spent most of his minor league career in the bullpen, only making 15 starts in a total of 90 appearances. He will be making his fourth start with the Indians tonight, and his single-season high in games started is six (2019, 2017).

LEADING THE MIDWEST: With the Indians win over St. Paul last night and Omaha's win over Iowa, the Indians have extended their lead in the Triple-A East to 1.5 games. After beginning the year 9-5 for the second consecutive season, the Indians improved to 11-5 to go one game ahead of their 2019 record through the same number of games. With a 9-5 record last season, the Indians lost five of their next six games. Indianapolis has finished with a May record over .500 in nine of the last 10 seasons (excluding 2018), going 18-9 (.667) in 2019 and 21-8 (.724) in 2017 for its best record in the month in Victory Field history. With seven games left in the month, the Indians are on pace to go 16-8 (.667).

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