IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (19-16) at Norfolk Tides (19-16)

Published on May 16, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians can clinch their sixth series victory of the season in game two of their three-game set in Norfolk. Indy won last night behind a 10-run outburst in the second inning, taking game one by a 10-8 final.

Location: Harbor Park

First Pitch: 6:35 p.m. ET

Game #36 / Road #17: Indianapolis Indians (19-16) @ Norfolk Tides (19-16)

Probables: RHP J.T. Brubaker (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Yefry Ramirez (1-2, 4.54)

Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 / AM 1260 / iHeart app

TV: MiLB TV

From the Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Indians used a 10-run second inning to hold off Norfolk in the series opener last night, 10-8. The Tribe sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning, a frame highlighted by seven hits and one crucial Tides error. Kevin Newman gave the Tribe a 1-0 lead with a single off Chris Lee, a knock that followed base hits by Wyatt Mathisen and Pablo Reyes. Christopher Bostick was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Austin Meadows who delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0. Indy's advantage became 4-0 thanks to a Jacob Stallings bases-loaded walk, and after a pitching change, Tides second baseman Adrian Marin booted an Eric Wood grounder with two outs to push the lead to five. Mathisen then ripped a three-run double ahead of RBI singles by Reyes and Bostick to cap the inning. Norfolk knocked Tribe starter Alex McRae out after three innings, scoring four runs in the home half of the third. The Tides got another run in the fourth and three more in the seventh, but Tanner Anderson and Johnny Hellweg slammed the door over the final two innings to stave off the comeback attempt.

MULTI-HIT MACHINE: Kevin Newman is 14-for-22 (.636) over his previous five games, recording two hits last Thursday, three on Friday, four on Satur-day, three on Sunday and two more last night; five consecutive games with multiple hits is a first for the 24-year-old. His previous high for consecutive games with two or more knocks was from May 2-7, 2016 with High-A Bradenton, a stretch where he recorded exactly two hits apiece in four straight contests. He owns a .516 average (16-for-31) with one homer, four doubles, eight runs scored, a .559 OBP and 1.301 OPS over his last games.

A PERFECT 10: The Tribe's 10-run second inning was the seventh double-digit inning for Indy since the beginning of the 1996 season, the year Victory Field opened -- five of the seven occurrences have happened on the road. The list of most recent to oldest occurrences with 10 or more runs in an inning since 1996 is below. The franchise record for runs in an inning is 15, set on today's date in 1964 (see "By the Numbers" note for details):

10 runs (Top 2) - May 15, 2018 at Norfolk (W, 10-8) 10 runs (Bot 4) - June 23, 1997 vs. Iowa: (W, 18-2)

10 runs (Bot 4) - May 18, 2004 vs. Columbus: (W, 15-11) 10 runs (Top 4) - April 7, 1996 at Louisville: (W, 15-4)

11 runs (Top 3) - June 8, 2000 at Ottawa: (W, 17-6) 11 runs (Top 2) - July 7, 1996 at Buffalo: (W, 14-4)

10 runs (Top 5) - May 20, 1998 at Pawtucket: (W, 11-4)

BY THE NUMBERS - 15: On May 16, 1964, the Indians scored a franchise-record 15 runs in the bottom of the first inning in game one of a doubleheader at Sick's Stadium against the Seattle Rainiers, Indy's first of five straight seasons in the Pacific Coast League. Indy was the home team despite playing on the road because of an April 19 game being postponed at old Victory Field. Tribe RF Jim Hicks went 3-for-5 with six RBI in the 18-0, 7-inning win. Indy was blanked in game two as the visiting team, 1-0.

ANCHOR DOWN: The Indians have won four straight games at Harbor Park thanks to last night's win and a three-game sweep in mid-June last summer. The Indians have won or split their series at Norfolk in six of the last seven years, the only setback being a 2-0 sweep for the Tides at Harbor Park in 2016. Indy swept Norfolk at Harbor Park in 2013 (4-0), 2015 (3-0) and 2017 (3-0). The Indians are 54-47-1 (.534) in Norfolk since 1988 and 51-41-1 (.554) all-time at Harbor Park.

CHEF BRUBAKER: J.T. Brubaker tossed six shutout innings in his Triple-A debut last Thursday at Louisville Slugger Field against the Bats, a 7-1 victory. He scattered six hits and one walk with two strikeouts, inducing double-play balls in the first, second and fourth innings to prevent Louisville from scoring. His 1.54 ERA (7 ER/41.0 IP) between Double-A Altoona and Indy this year ranks 19th among qualifying pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball.

LAST FOUR FOR THE FANTASTIC FOUR: Over the last four games, Austin Meadows, Kevin Newman, Kevin Kramer and Jordan Luplow have combined for impressive numbers against both Columbus and Norfolk. They have collected a .356 average (26-for-73) with one home run, six doubles, 12 RBI and 15 runs scored. Each player ranks among the top 30 prospects in Pittsburgh's farm system according to MLB Pipeline: Meadows (No. 2), Newman (No. 7), Kramer (No. 8), Luplow (No. 22).

FIRE EMOJIS: The Indians lead the IL in average (.281), doubles (94) and triples (13) and are second in slugging percentage (.428). The Tribe also rank second in fewest strikeouts (248) and OBP (.338), third overall in stolen bases (28) and fourth in runs scored (158 - 4.51 runs per game).

TANNER TERRIFIC: Tanner Anderson worked around a hit batter to post a scoreless eighth inning last night, leading to his league-high sixth hold of the year. The 24-year-old had his month-long scoreless streak snapped last Saturday night against Columbus when he allowed an unearned run in the seventh inning, ending his career-best scoreless streak at 16.1 innings dating back to April 8. It remains the longest scoreless streak by a Tribe pitcher in 2018. Since allowing five earned runs and recording just two outs in his Triple-A debut, Anderson has yielded just two unearned runs in his last 19.2 innings pitched, spanning 11 appearances.

SAVE THE DAY: Johnny Hellweg is a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities following last night's scoreless bottom of the ninth inning to seal the 10-8 victory at Norfolk. Through 14 innings of work, he has yet to allow a run. He has surrendered just eight hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts, recording a 0.93 WHIP and .174 average against (8-for-46). He ranks third in the league with his seven saves.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 16, 2018


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