IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (12-12) vs. Columbus Clippers (8-16)

June 3, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #25 / Home #8: Indianapolis Indians (12-12) vs. Columbus Clippers (8-16)

PROBABLES: RHP James Marvel (0-0, 3.72) vs. LHP Kirk McCarty (3-0, 4.40)

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

TV: MiLB TV / My-INDYTV 23

YESTERDAY: The second game between the Indians and Clippers was postponed yesterday due to inclement weather. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow evening, with Game 1 scheduled for 5:05 PM. Game 2 will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1, with fireworks to follow.

TUESDAY: The Indians broke their seven-game losing streak with a 5-3 comeback win over the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday night. The Clippers opened up with a two-run lead with solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings by Oscar Mercado and Bobby Bradley, but the Indians took advantage of two errors on one play to get on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Christian Bethancourt then singled home Troy Stokes Jr. as the game-tying run. Indy struck again in the bottom of the eighth to take a 5-2 lead, with Bligh Madris singling home the go-ahead run and two others coming around to score on a bases-loaded walk and hit batter for insurance runs. Former Indians catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit the Clippers' third home run of the night in the ninth inning, but Tyler Bashlor struck out the side to seal the Indians win.

PIRATES REHABBERS: Colin Moran and Phillip Evans each began their respective rehab assignments at Victory Field in Tuesday's win. Evans hit second in the lineup as the Indians starting right fielder, and Moran followed him in the three-hole as the first baseman. Evans went 1-for-2 and Moran went 0-for-2 in their shortened appearances, with each leaving the game in the sixth inning.

BLIGH IS THAT GUY: Bligh Madris went 1-for-3 with an RBI, run scored and walk in his Victory Field debut on Tuesday. With two outs in the eighth inning, he drove in Chris Sharpe on a bloop single to left field for the Indians go-ahead run, and he came around to score as the team's final run of the game when T.J. Rivera was hit by a pitch. Tuesday marked Madris' third consecutive game with a hit, and he is hitting .368 (14-for-38) since making his Triple-A debut on May 20 at St. Paul.

WELCOME TO INDY: Max Kranick made his Triple-A debut with Indianapolis on Tuesday and, after allowing back-to-back singles to lead off the game, retired 13 straight batters until Mercado's one-out homer in the fifth inning. He allowed four total hits on the night and fanned six Columbus batters. Rated as Pittsburgh's No. 30 prospect by Baseball America entering the season, Kranick went 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA (7er/15.2ip) and 16 strikeouts in three starts with Double-A Altoona. The 23-year-old spent 2020 at Pittsburgh's Alternate Training Site in Altoona.

BETHANCOURT BATTING: Christian Bethancourt singled home the game-tying run in the sixth inning after going hitless on Sunday at Omaha. In 17 games with the Indians, he is hitting .297 (19-for-64) with five doubles, one home run, seven RBI and seven runs scored, and has not gone hitless in back-to-back games so far this season. He walked in the eighth inning and came around to score, giving Indianapolis the insurance run needed to best the Clippers.

PITCHING PERFORMS: The Indians pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts and zero walks to hold the Clippers to three runs on Tuesday. It marked the first game this season that the Indians have issued no walks, and the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of a single game since fanning 15 batters with only two walks on Opening Day, May 4 at Iowa. After Max Kranick exited the game after five innings, Blake Weiman, Kyle Keller and Tyler Bashlor combined to hold the Columbus bats off as the Indians offense mounted a comeback. Weiman and Bashlor each surrendered home runs, with former Indians catcher Ryan Lavarnway's bomb in the ninth inning marking Bashlor's first earned run allowed this season.

VICTORIES AT THE VIC: The Indians are now 6-1 at Victory Field this season and have a four-game winning streak at home dating back to the homestand vs. Toledo from May 11-16. They opened with a 6-1 record at the Vic in 2019 as well during a 10-game homestand and finished that slate of games with a 7-3 record. Last season the Indians finished 32-38 at home, their worst record in the Victory Field era and the first sub-.500 home record since 2003 (35-37).

TONIGHT: Indy will look to win its fifth consecutive home game today vs. Columbus after being postponed yesterday. RHP James Marvel is set to take the mound vs. southpaw Kirk McCarty.

MARVEL ON THE MOUND: James Marvel makes his fifth start of the season and his third career start vs. the Clippers today. In his most recent start on May 27 at Omaha, Marvel tossed a season-low 3.2 innings and was charged with five runs (four earned) on seven hits (all season highs). Marvel's first three starts on the season were consistent; he tossed no less than 5.0 innings in each of them and surrendered no more than two earned runs. In eight career starts at Victory Field, Marvel is 5-0 with a 2.91 ERA (15er/46.1ip) and 41 strikeouts to only seven walks.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics



International League Stories from June 3, 2021


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