IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (2-2) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (2-2)

April 9, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:35 PM ET

GAME #5 / Home #5: Indianapolis Indians (2-2) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (2-2)

PROBABLES: LHP Nathan Kirby (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Marcelo Martinez (1-0, 5.40)

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

TV: MiLB TV / MyINDY-TV 23

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: With the winning run standing on third base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Travis Swaggerty roped a single into left field to walk off the Storm Chasers last night, 3-2. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Cal Mitchell tied the contest with his second home run of the season out to right field. In the fifth, the Indians then took the lead when Oneil Cruz scored on an error by catcher MJ Melendez. After Omaha tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, the Indians took advantage of small ball to put runners in scoring position for Swaggerty. Hunter Owen was hit by a pitch to open the inning and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and Ji-Hwan Bae single. Swaggerty then worked a full count before the game-winning hit.

WELCOME TO WALK-OFF SZN: Last night, the Indians notched their first walk-off win since Sept. 29, 2021 vs. Nashville. The Indians won 10 games in walk-off fashion last summer to tie the team's single-season high dating back to 2005 (also: 2015). Yesterday's April 8 walk-off is Indianapolis' earliest in a season by date since Chris Aguila lined a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning on April 8, 2007 (1) vs. Columbus. Only twice in Victory Field history has a walk-off win occurred before April 8, on April 5 and 7, 2001 vs. Toledo.

MITCHELL MASHING: Cal Mitchell continued a season-opening hot streak with his second home run in four games last night. Facing a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the second inning, he parked a long ball into the right-field corner to extend his active hitting and RBI streaks to four games. Three of his five hits to begin the season were for extra bases. He is no stranger to beginning seasons with hitting streaks, hitting safely in six consecutive games to begin the 2018 campaign with Single-A West Virginia and five games in 2019 with High-A Bradenton. Mitchell, who entered the season rated as Pittsburgh's No. 32 prospect by Baseball America, has now hit safely in seven consecutive games against the Storm Chasers after going 3-for-12 with a double and RBI in three games at Omaha last season. He was originally promoted to Indianapolis from Double-A Altoona on Sept. 20, 2021 and went 5-for-20 with a double and RBI in his first seven Triple-A games. He launched 12 home runs in 108 games with Altoona while batting for average, and ended the season ranked among Double-A Northeast leaders with 107 total hits (4th), .280 batting average (8th) and 61 RBI (9th).

BAE ON BASE: Ji-Hwan Bae has hit safely in his first four career Triple-A games to begin the 2022 season. With just 14 at-bats under hit belt, he has hit .375 (3-for-8) against right-handed pitchers and .167 (1-for-6) vs. lefties. Rated as Pittsburgh's No. 25 prospect by Baseball America, the South Korean native spent the majority of the 2021 season with Double-A Altoona and hit .278 (89-for-320) in 83 games. He ranked among Pirates farmhands in triples (T-4th, 5), stolen bases (T-5th, 20), runs (T-7th, 66) and average (7th, .281).

WELCOME TO THE SPACE CAM: Cam Alldred made his season debut last night and stunned the Storm Chasers offense with just one hit allowed and a career-high tying five strikeouts in 3.2 innings. The southpaw made his Triple-A debut after being promoted to Indianapolis on Sept. 8, 2021 and registered a 0.71 ERA (1er/12.2ip), seven walks and 10 strikeouts in five appearances to end the season. He was a standout reliever in 28 appearances with Double-A Altoona, going 4-0 with a 2.53 ERA (15er/53.1ip), 1.05 WHIP and .176 average against (33-for-188).

CRUZING: Oneil Cruz notched his first multi-hit game of 2022 last night with a pair of singles and scored the tie-breaking run on an error in the fifth inning. The 6-foot-7 shortstop entered the 2022 campaign rated as Pittsburgh's No. 1 prospect and No. 14 overall by Baseball America. After spending most of the 2021 season with Double-A Altoona, he was promoted to Indianapolis on Sept. 20. He homered in five of his six games in an Indianapolis jersey and compiled a .524 batting average (11-for-21), .665 on-base percentage, 1.286 slugging percentage and 1.941 OPS, all of which led Triple-A East batters from Sept. 22-Oct, 2, before being recalled by Pittsburgh. On Sept. 30, his final game played with Indianapolis prior to being promoted, he became the first Indians batter since Adam Boeve in 2008 to homer in four consecutive games, a stretch that included a two-run, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sept. 29 vs. Nashville. In two big-league games, he went 3-for-9 with a home run and an 118.2 mph single, which ranks as the 14th highest exit velocity by a rookie in the Statcast era.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to take their first series lead of the season tonight in a 6:35 PM ET start at Victory Field vs. Omaha. In 2021, the Indians began the season strong at home and notched series wins against Toledo, Columbus and Memphis en route to a 16-5 home record through July 1. LHP Nathan Kirby is set to make his first start since 2018 tonight after making 34 relief appearances in Double-A last season. For the Storm Chasers, RHP Marcelo Martinez will take the mound for his second appearance against Indy this week. Martinez earned the win on Tuesday after surrendering one earned run in 1.2 innings out of the bullpen.

PLANET POPSTAR: After making his Triple-A debut on Tuesday with 1.0 scoreless inning in relief, Nathan Kirby will retake the mound today for his first start since June 2, 2018 with High-A Carolina. Kirby spent all of the 2021 season in Double-A between Biloxi and Altoona, and compiled a 4.26 ERA (18er/38.0ip) and 56 strikeouts in 34 games. He was selected by Milwaukee as the 40th overall pick in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft and has been sidelined with injuries for three of the past seven years. After splitting time as a starter and reliever in High-A, he spent the entire 2019 season on the injured list.

BLIGH IS BACK: OF Bligh Madris is set to make his season debut for the Indians tonight after a stellar MLB Spring Training. Madris earned his first non-roster invite to the Pirates camp in March and slashed .368/.429/.947 in 14 games. He spent the majority of 2021 in Triple-A and was named Indy's Rookie of the Year after hitting .272 (91-for-334) with a team-high tying 25 doubles, nine home runs and 55 RBI in 104 games.

THIS DATE IN 1996: The Indianapolis Indians officially announce that "Victory Field" will be the name of the new ballpark under construction in downtown Indianapolis.

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