IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (15-16) at Charlotte Knights (14-19)

May 13, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Truist Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:04 PM ET

GAME #32 / Road #15: Indianapolis Indians (15-16) at Charlotte Knights (14-19)

PROBABLES: RHP Roansy Contreras (0-0, 0.87) vs. LHP Wes Benjamin (2-0, 3.58)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Back-to-back two-run frames weren't enough to overcome an eight-run deficit as the Indians fell to the Knights last night, 8-4. Charlotte took an early lead when major league rehabber Andrew Vaughn hit a solo home run -his first of two on the night - in the bottom of the first. The Knights would keep the lead for the remainder of the ballgame and tack on seven additional runs before the Indians could plate one to put the game out of reach. Cal Mitchell put the Indians on the board in the eighth inning with an RBI single, and a second run scored on the play with an error by Vaughn. After Hoy Park roped a two-out single in the top of the ninth, Bligh Madris belted a no-doubter out to right field to cut Charlotte's lead to four runs.

OUT OF THIS BALLPARK: With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Bligh Madris launched a home run 428 feet out of the ballpark in right field to plate the final two Indians runs. It was Madris' fifth extra-base hit in 17 games with the Indians this season after leading the club with 35 extra-base hits a year ago. He is currently hitting .232 (13-for-56) with five RBI.

CRUZ MISSILE: Oneil Cruz smoked a 121.7-MPH line drive up the middle last night for the hardest hit ball measured in Triple-A this season. There have only been three batted balls hit as hard in the Statcast era, all off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton (122.2 (2x), 121.7). Last Saturday vs. Louisville, Cruz smoked a two-run double and solo home run - both of which tracked at 113-mph exit velocities - during a career-high five-RBI performance. He is known for hitting the ball hard, roping an 118.2-mph single during his major league debut on 10/2 vs. Cincinnati which ranks as the 14th highest exit velocity by a rookie in the Statcast era.

MITCHELL MASHING: Cal Mitchell recorded his second consecutive two-hit game and his third in seven May contests last night, improving his batting average to a team-leading .307 (27-for-88) in 25 games. He also leads all Indians batters with eight multi-hit games. Mitchell plated the first Indians run in the top of the eighth inning last night, extending his RBI streak to three games, his longest since beginning the 2022 season on a seven-game RBI streak. The corner outfielder has reached base safely in all seven of his games played in May, hitting .310 (9-for-29). Mitchell was one of the best hitters for average in Double-A last season, ranking among Double-A Northeast leaders with 107 total hits (4th), a .280 batting average (8th) and 61 RBI (9th).

CANAAN CONTINUES: Canaan Smith-Njigba extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games dating back to 4/22 vs. Columbus with a single last night at Charlotte. On Tuesday, the corner outfielder went 4-for-6 to record his first career-high four-hit game since 6/20/21 with Double-A Altoona at Erie. Since 4/27, which was the beginning of a team-high tying seven-game hitting streak, Smith-Njigba is hitting .326 (15-for-46) with 11 walks and just 13 strikeouts, good for a .456 on-base percentage and .956 OPS. That comes in stark contrast to the beginning of his season, when he hit .196 (10-for-51) with just four walks to 17 strikeouts in his first 14 games.

SPEED DEMONS: The Indians' streak of 12 consecutive games with a stolen base, their longest since swiping 34 total bases in 14 straight games from 7/1-17/06, was broken last night when no stolen bases were attempted. They now are tied with Buffalo for the most stolen bases in the International League this season and are tied for second in all of Triple-A (Tacoma leads with 57). They have led the league in stolen bases seven times since becoming an affiliate of the Pirates in 2005, the last league-leading season coming with 110 stolen bases in 2016. In 2019, the Indians stole a franchise-low 69 bases.

A GREAT VIEAUX: Cam Vieaux is currently working a 9.1-inning scoreless streak since 4/26 at Iowa, the longest active streak by a current Indians pitcher after Cam Alldred had his contract selected by Pittsburgh on Wednesday. In his past four appearances, Vieaux is 3-0 with a 0.43 WHIP and .071 average against (2-for-28) with two walks and six strikeouts. He has surrendered just three earned runs this season across two of his seven appearances and owns a 1.80 ERA (15.0ip), 0.87 WHIP and .140 average against (7-for-50).

TODAY: The Indians will look to even up the six-game series after losing the last two contests against the Charlotte Knights tonight at 7:04 PM ET at Truist Field. This series is the first meeting between the two teams since they faced off 10 times in 2019 with Indianapolis winning that season series, 7-3. The Indians were last in Charlotte from 4/26-28/19 and went 2-1 with their lone loss coming in a one-run game (10-9, 4/26). They will look to bounce back from a series loss to Louisville while Charlotte has yet to win a series. Roansy Contreras will take the mound against southpaw Wes Benjamin.

ROANSY DAY: Roansy Contreras, Pittsburgh's No. 4 prospect and No. 78 overall by Baseball America, will make his fourth start with Indianapolis tonight at Charlotte. On 5/7 vs. Louisville, the hard-throwing right-hander surrendered just one hit in 4.0 shutout innings. He fanned a season-high six batters in the start, marking his fifth consecutive outing with five-plus strikeouts. He began the season with no strikeouts in his first outing (1.2) in which he surrendered two earned runs. In his last five appearances between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, he owns a 1.10 ERA (2er/16.1ip) with 26 strikeouts.

WELCOME TO THE SPACE CAM: After having his contract selected by Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Cam Alldred made his major league debut last night vs. Cincinnati and caught Tyler Stephenson looking with one out for his first career MLB strikeout. He retired his first three batters faced in the sixth inning before surrendering a leadoff single in the top of the seventh. Alldred collected a 1-1 record, 1.53 ERA (3er/17.2ip) and 15 strikeouts in eight games (one start) with Indianapolis, including an active, team-high 12.1-inning scoreless streak dating back to April 20. Alldred has been dominant against lefties, holding them to a .042 batting average (1-for-24) with just two walks and nine strikeouts.

THIS DATE IN 1963: Fritz Ackley tossed a six-hit complete game in a 9-2 Indians win over Jacksonville at old Victory Field. The two teams almost brawled after Indy shortstop Jose Valdivielso was hit-by-pitch in both the seventh and eighth innings.

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