IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (2-3) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (2-3)

Published on May 11, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #6 / Home #1: Indianapolis Indians (2-3) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (2-3)

PROBABLES: RHP Chase De Jong (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Matt Manning (0-0, 9.00)

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

TV: MiLB TV / My-INDYTV 23

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Four Iowa Cubs pitchers combined to throw the first no-hitter against the Indians since April 18, 2018 (1) at Syracuse (7.0 innings) and the last 9.0-inning no-no since June 10, 2002 against Columbus. Shelby Miller, Tommy Nance (W), Brad Wieck and Ryan Meisinger (S) combined with 15 strikeouts and held the Indians to three baserunners (all walks) and only three balls hit to the outfield (Chris Sharpe, Cole Tucker and Kevin Kramer). The Cubs won, 2-0, as Miguel Yajure tossed the Indians second quality start of the season (L, 6.0ip, 4h, 1r, 1er, 2bb, 6k). It was the second no-hitter in the all-time series history between Iowa and Indianapolis, the first coming when Iowa Oaks' pitcher Homer Stinson no-hit the Indians on Aug. 25, 1974.

STRIKEOUTS ON STRIKEOUTS: The Indians pitching staff fanned 10 batters on Sunday for its fifth consecutive game with 10+ strikeouts, a feat that has never been accomplished to open a season in the Victory Field era. Through the first week of the season (six games, Indy played five), the Indians rank ninth in the league with 59 strikeouts and fourth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (12.16). Durham leads the league with a 13.19 K/9.0, followed by Worcester (12.78) and Louisville (12.20). In 2019, the Indians fanned double-digit batters in six consecutive games from July 11-16 with a total of 76 strikeouts in that span. The 2019 club ended the campaign with a franchise-record 1,244 strikeouts.

POST NO-NO: The Indians have been no-hit five times in the Victory Field era following Sunday afternoon's no-hitter at the hands of the Iowa Cubs. In the first game following each of the first four no-hitters (Apr. 18, 2018 (1) @ SYR; July 25, 2013 (1) @ CLT; June 10, 2002 @ COL; June 17, 2000 (1) vs. SYR), the Indians are a combined 2-2. Those four games to follow a no-hitter and their results are listed below.

4/18/18 (2) @ SYR - L, 7-0; five hits, three doubles (Jose Osuna, Christopher Bostick 2)

7/25/13 (2) @ CLT - L, 5-4; eight hits, three doubles (Alex Presley, Ivan De Jesus Jr. 2), one home run (Andrew Lambo)

6/11/02 @ COL - W, 3-1; six hits, two doubles (Jim Rushford, Brian Moon), one triple (Chris Jones); scored two in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie

6/17/00 (2) vs. SYR - W, 5-4; three hits, no extra-base hits; scored five runs in the third while down 2-0 for a comeback win

HOME SWEET HOME: The Indians return to Victory Field tonight for the first time in 619 days to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park opening its gates in 1996. Throughout the past 25 years (beginning on July 11, 1996), the Indians are 924-756 at the corner of West and Maryland Street. The team's best home record during that time came in the first full season at the new ballpark, when it compiled a 49-23 record. The worst record came just a season ago, when the Indians went 32-38 with it's first sub-.500 home record since 2003 (35-37).

TOE TO TOE WITH TOLEDO: The Indians and Mud Hens finished tied for second in the International League West division following a tight 13-12 head-to-head series in 2019. The Indians took the first six contests between the two teams before Toledo went 6-3 in August to tighten the series to a one-game Indy lead. In 2018, Toledo played one less game than Columbus and Indianapolis and finished 0.5 games ahead with the division title. Indianapolis leads the series since 1988, 245-203 (.547), with a strong advantage in the Circle City (135-92, .595).

BATTLE OF THE AVERAGES: Toledo (19th) and Indianapolis (20th) hold the two worst batting averages in the 20-team Triple-A East. After being no-hit by Iowa on Sunday, the Indians are hitting .153 (25-for-163) and Toledo is hitting .189 (28-for-148). The Indians also have the lowest runs scored in the league (14), while Toledo's 22 rank 16th among the 20 teams.

A GAME OF INCHES: After finishing tied for 10th out of 14 International League teams in stolen bases in 2019, the Indians are taking advantage of the rule change to expand the size of bases in the Triple-A East for the first half of the season and are tied for third with seven stolen bases. The Indians are 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts through the first four games and are one of two teams with more than five stolen bases and no caught stealing (Omaha, 8). Indianapolis' 69 stolen bases last season marked a Victory Field era low and the lowest bases swiped by the team since 1971 (66). The experimental rule change by MLB this season for Triple-A is as follows:

To reduce player injuries and collisions, the size of first, second and third base will be increased from 15 inches square to 18 inches square. The Competition Committee also expects the shorter distances between bases created by increased size to have a modest impact on the success rate of stolen base attempts and the frequency with which a batter-runner reaches base on groundballs and bunt attempts.

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