IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (13-11) vs. Louisville Bats (9-16)

Published on May 4, 2022 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET

GAME #25 / Home #14: Indianapolis Indians (13-11) vs. Louisville Bats (9-16)

PROBABLES: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-1, 7.20) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (0-0, 0.00)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: A pair of defensive errors by Indianapolis in Louisville's go-ahead sixth inning led to an eventual 6-3 loss in the series-opener on Tuesday night, 6-3. The Indians scored first for the seventh consecutive game on an RBI single off the bat of Travis Swaggerty in the second inning to score Canaan Smith-Njigba. Louisville then took the lead in the fifth on a leadoff home run by JT Riddle and a bases-loaded infield single off the bat of Albert Almora Jr. The lead didn't last long, however, and Michael Perez roped a game-tying double into the right-field corner to tie the game at two. With two outs and one runner on base in the next half inning, consecutive errors by Oneil Cruz and Ji-Hwan Bae gifted two unearned, game-winning runs to the Bats.

ON THE BOARD: Last night marked the Indians' seventh consecutive game in which they've scored first against their opponents dating back to last Tuesday at Iowa. In those games, the Indians are 4-3 with a 27-21 run differential. They have given up the lead four times in that seven-game span, with the lone comeback win by the Indians coming on 4/30 when home runs by Canaan Smith-Njigba and Brendt Citta in the top of the ninth inning gave them a 4-3 win over Iowa.

MAX IS BACK: Max Kranick entered the game in relief of starter Nathan Kirby in the third inning and surrendered just one hit and one walk over 2.0 scoreless innings of work. Kranick, who began his season with back-to-back rehab starts with the Indians on 4/22 vs. Columbus and 4/28 at Iowa, surrendered just one unearned run in his previous outing and has given up two hits in his last pair of appearances (5.0ip). Last night marked Kranick's first career scoreless outing at Victory Field after experiencing stark splits between home and road games in 2021. In eight home games with Indianapolis last season, he went 0-4 with a 6.89 ERA (24er/31.1ip) and 23 strikeouts. In comparison, in four road games in 2021 he went 4-0 with a 0.39 ERA (1er/23.0ip) and 22 strikeouts.

PLANET POPSTAR: Nathan Kirby made his third start of the season last night and surrendered just two hits over 2.0 scoreless innings before Max Kranick took over in the game. Kirby has been one of Indianapolis' most reliable arms to begin the season, surrendering runs in just two of his seven outings with a 1.42 ERA (2er/12.2ip) and nine strikeouts.

SWAGS SHOWING OFF: Travis Swaggerty had himself a game last night, making two stellar defensive plays and leading the Indians' offense with two hits. With no outs in the top of the second inning and a runner on first base, Swaggerty fielded a line-drive single and sent a laser of a throw into third base to get the lead runner out. It was Swaggerty's second outfield assist of the season and the third of his Triple-A career. He followed the defensive gem with an RBI single in the bottom half to score the Indians' first run of the game.

BAE BATTING: With a single last night, J-Hwan Bae has now hit safely in four of his last five games with a .381 batting average (8-for-21), .905 slugging percentage and 1.340 OPS dating back to 4/27 at Iowa. His hot streak began with his first home run of the season last Wednesday and followed with another the next day, marking the second time in his career that he has homered in back-to-back games (also: 7/28-29/21 at Harrisburg). On Friday, he recorded a career-high five hits with three extra-base knocks, making him one of three players in the International League to notch a five-hit game this season.

SCORELESS STARTERS: Indy's starting pitchers have not surrendered an earned run since 4/24 vs. Columbus, lowering their collective ERA for the season to a minor league-leading 2.21 mark (18er/73.1ip), which ranks second to only the Los Angeles Dodgers (1.90) as the lowest in all of professional baseball. The Indians' .183 average (48-for-262) allowed by starting pitchers also ranks as the third-lowest among all 150 minor and major league clubs. In the last seven games, Indians' starters have allowed just one unearned run in 19.1 innings pitched with 14 walks and 17 strikeouts.

PITCHING PRODUCES: Overall, the Indians' pitching staff has been firing on all cylinders, ranking third among 20 International League teams and fourth in Triple-A with a 3.69 ERA (84er/205.0ip) in 24 games. Indianapolis' pitchers own a collective 1.25 WHIP - third in Triple-A behind Nashville (1.22) and Gwinnett (1.25) - and .214 average against (163-for-762), which ranks second behind Nashville (.210). Last night was the first game since 4/28 at Iowa and just the second time in the past seven games that the Indians pitching staff surrendered four-or-more runs. When surrendering more than three runs in a game, the Indians are 1-10.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to even the six-game series vs. Louisville today at 1:35 PM ET at Victory Field. This is the second of 18 matchups between the two International League West rivals this season, with 12 of those contests played at The Vic (also: 8/2-7). Last year the Indians went 8-10 against the Bats including a 3-3 mark at Victory Field, marking Indy's first season-series loss to Louisville since 2016 (12-14). Taking the mound for Louisville is Reds' starter and 2019 National League All-Star Luis Castillo in the third start of his rehab assignment and the second with the Bats. On 4/29 at Columbus, Castillo tossed 3.2 scoreless innings with two hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Countering for the Indians will be Evansville, Ind. native Jerad Eickhoff in his fifth outing (second start) of the 2022 season.

THE CLOSER: Yerry De Los Santos, one of Indy's quality late-inning relievers, earned his team-leading second save in as many opportunities on Sunday afternoon at Iowa. He struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning. This season, the right-hander leads Indians relievers (6.0-plus innings pitched) with a 1.13 ERA (1er/8.0ip) and has 13 strikeouts. In 11 career Triple-A outings with Indianapolis, De Los Santos is 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA (1er/14.0ip), four hits allowed, two walks and 19 strikeouts.

THIS DATE IN 2009: The Indians set a franchise record with nine stolen bases during a 7-5 loss vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Victory Field. The running game was led by right fielder Jeff Salazar, who swiped two bases in the first inning and one in the third. Designated hitter Garrett Jones and first baseman Steve Pearce each tacked on a pair of their own, with Jones stealing home to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker each contributed one stolen base to the nine-swipe effort.

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International League Stories from May 4, 2022


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