IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (14-17) at Toledo Mud Hens (18-13)

Published on May 7, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Fifth Third Field

FIRST PITCH: 2:05 PM ET

GAME #32 / ROAD #18: Indianapolis Indians (14-17) at Toledo Mud Hens (18-13)

PROBABLES: LHP Kent Emanuel (1-1, 8.74) vs. RHP Garrett Hill (1-1, 3.09)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Behind a trio of three-RBI performances from Ryan Vilade, Malcom Nuñez and Cal Mitchell, the Indianapolis Indians clinched a series win against the Toledo Mud Hens with their fourth straight win on Saturday night at Fifth Third Field, 9-1. The Indians jumped on the board first in the top of the second inning thanks to back-to-back singles from the first basemen Vilade and second basemen Aaron Shackelford, followed by a two-run double from Mitchell for his first of three hits on the night. In the third, center fielder Josh Palacios singled through the left side of the infield before Vilade brought him home on a mammoth home run off Toledo starter Brenan Hanifee. Sandwiching a fourth inning single, Mitchell blasted a solo home run to right field for his third hit of the day in the sixth. Indianapolis capped its scoring with a four-run seventh inning, highlighted by a three-run double down the left field line for the designated hitter Nuñez. Osvaldo Bido carved his way through five innings of two-hit, one-run ball against the Mud Hens to earn his second win of the season.

HAVING FUN: With Saturday night's win, the Indians earned their second series win of the season after taking four of the first five contests at Fifth Third Field against the Mud Hens. With a win today, the Indians will have matched their longest win streak of the season, when they took five straight at Louisville (4/6 (1)-9). Indianapolis' starting pitching has dazzled throughout the week, allowing only one earned run in 21.0 innings pitched during their four-game winning streak. Indy's offense has backed the strong starts with 32 runs scored, while hitting .310 (52-for-168) with 21 extra-base hits. The Indians have scored first in all five contests and are outscoring the Mud Hens 32-10.

SHACK ATTACK: Aaron Shackelford is hitting .500 (7-for-14) in his last five games, with two doubles, a triple, home run, four RBI and five walks compared to only three strikeouts. On Saturday night, his five-game RBI streak was snapped while going 2-for-4 with a double. His RBI streak is tied for the longest this season by an Indians hitter with Endy RodrÌguez (4/6-11).

PERDOMO SITS 'EM DOWN: Angel Perdomo came in relief of Osvaldo Bido on Saturday night and tossed 2.0 scoreless frames, allowing two hits, one walk and a season-high five strikeouts. After allowing three runs without recording an out on April 14 vs. St. Paul, he has strung together some strong outings. In his last seven relief appearances, he owns a 1.04 ERA (1er/8.2ip) with five hits allowed, five walks, 12 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP. Perdomo was signed by Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent on Feb. 9, 2023.

FANNING THE OPPONENT: The Indians pitching staff fanned 15 batters in last night's victory, marking the 17th time in 31 games this season that it has racked up double-digit strikeouts. Indy had 45 10+ K games in 2022. The Indians pitching staff leads the International League in strikeouts with 304. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido leads the staff with 31 punchouts, which ranks ninth in the International League.

PALACIOS IS STREAKING: Josh Palacios extended his International League-leading hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the third inning on Saturday night. Along with his three hits on Friday, he drove in four runs and now has 19 RBI in 12 games. Since April 25, he ranks among minor league baseball leaders in RBI (T-2nd, 19), batting average (3rd, .514), hits (T-3rd, 19), OPS (3rd, 1.514), extra-base hits (T-6th, 9) and slugging-percentage (5th, .949). Since joining the Indians on April 21, he is hitting .417 (20-for-48) with four doubles, a triple, four home runs, .792 slugging-percentage and 1.283 OPS.

GONZALES IS BACK: Hitting in the leadoff spot in his return to the Indians lineup after a stint on the 7-day injured list, Nick Gonzales made his precense known with a 3-for-5 night at the plate with a run scored and stolen base on Friday night. Gonzales had a slow start to his season, hitting .182 (6-for-33) with two home runs in his first 10 games with the Indians. Since then, he is hitting .341 (15-for-44) with two doubles, two triples, an RBI and stolen base, bumping up his season batting average to .273. The 23-year-old was selected by Pittsburgh as the seventh overall pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of New Mexico State (Las Cruces). He is currently rated as Pittsburgh's No. 5 rated prospect by MLB Pipeline.

CATCHER HITTING: In his first game as Indianapolis' starting catcher since April 20, when he left the game early with an injury, Endy Rodríguez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and two stolen bases in Friday night's contest. His speed on the basepaths marked his second career multi-stolen base performance and the first since July 3, 2019 at GCL Nationals. Friday night was also his second three-hit game of the season, following April 15 vs. St. Paul. Rodríguez has hit safely in two of three games played since being activated from the 7-day injured list on May 3. After going 2-for-15 through his first four games, Pittsburgh's No. 1 prospect has recorded multi-hit performances five times while hitting safely in 10 of 13 games with a .321 batting average (17-for-53), 12 runs scored, seven RBI and as many walks as strikeouts (7).

TODAY: The Indians and Mud Hens will wrap up their six-game set today at 2:05 PM ET at Fifth Third Field. After Tuesday's night opener was postponed due to inclement weather, Toledo took Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader, and the Indians have since taken all four contests and earned the series win. Toledo won the season series against Indianapolis last season while winning 11 of 18 games. Today, southpaw Kent Emanuel (1-1, 8.74) will take the mound against Toledo's right-hander Garrett Hill (1-1, 3.09). Emanuel made his first career start against Toledo in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader and allowed two runs in 2.2 innings. Hill got the start in Game 2 on Wednesday for Toledo, he allowed one run in 3.0 innings on a hit, walk and three strikeouts.

THIS DATE IN 1970: After hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning, Indians catcher Bill Plummer was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Indianapolis a 4-3 walk-off win over Denver.

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International League Stories from May 7, 2023


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