IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (21-17) vs. Memphis Redbirds (15-24)

Published on June 18, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #39 / Home #16: Indianapolis Indians (21-17) vs. Memphis Redbirds (15-24)

PROBABLES: RHP Max Kranick (1-1, 3.14) vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-3, 4.73)

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

TV: MiLB TV/ MyINDYTV 23

LAST NIGHT: Facing a 2-1 deficit and down to their last strike in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Indians tied the game and went on to beat Memphis in 11 innings, 3-2. Anthony Alford worked a seven-pitch walk to extend the bottom of the 10th inning, and T.J. Rivera came around to score when second baseman Irving Lopez bobbled a ground ball off the bat of Jared Oliva. In the bottom of the 11th, Wilmer Difo shot a single into center field to score Hunter Owen from second base as the winning run. Memphis got on the board first with a leadoff home run by Kramer Robertson and the Indians tied the game in the fifth inning off an RBI single by Alford.

CODY WAS QUALITY: Cody Ponce tossed seven one-run innings last night for his first quality start of the season. He fanned a season-high nine batters in the outing, his most since recording a career-high 12 strikeouts on July 9, 2016 at High-A Bradenton. His lone run allowed came on a leadoff homer to Kramer Robertson, and he surrendered six hits in the outing with no walks. Ponce now ranks ninth among Triple-A East qualifiers with a 1.31 WHIP. He exited the game in a 1-1 tie and took the no-decision as the Indians improved to 2-1 in extra innings.

DIFO'S DEBUT: Last night's walk-off single in the 11th inning was Difo's first hit in his first game with Indianapolis since joining the team on Wednesday. He appeared in 44 games with the Pirates to begin the season and hit .244 (20-for-82) with six extra-base hits, six RBI and seven runs scored before being designated for assignment on June 8 and outrighted to Indianapolis. The 29-year-old last appeared in Triple-A in 2019 with Fresno and hit .300 (70-for-233) in 61 games. He owns a .279 (79-for-283) career Triple-A average with 16 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 32 RBI in 73 games.

PITCHING PERFORMS: The Indians are one of two teams in the Triple-A East with a 3-0 lead over their opponents to begin the current series, and it's thanks in large part to their pitching staff. Indianapolis pitchers own a 0.93 ERA (3er/29.0ip) over the past three games with a 0.76 WHIP, .160 average against (16-for-100) and a 5.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Last night, five Indians pitchers combined for 11.0 innings with two runs (one earned) on seven hits. They allowed no walks in the game and struck out 13 en route to the win. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away for Memphis in the top of the 11th inning, Kyle Keller closed out the game and earned the win with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

ALFORD ON BASE: With an RBI single last night, Anthony Alford has extended his hitting streak to six games and has reached base safely in 12 consecutive contests since June 1 vs. Columbus. This month, Alford owns a .417 average (15-for-36), .553 on-base percentage and 1.359 OPS. Dating back to June 10 at Nashville, the beginning of his hitting streak, Alford has gone 8-for-19 with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI and seven runs scored.

VICTORIES AT THE VIC: With the win vs. Memphis last night, the Indians are now 12-3 (.800) at Victory Field for their best start to a home campaign since the 2013 season. In 2013, Indy began the season with a 17-3 (.850) record at home through May 12 and had a 27-11 (.711) overall record in that span. The Indians ended that season 41-31 (.569) in the Circle City. The best Victory Field record in a single season came in 1997, the Indians first full year at the corner of West and Maryland Street, when they went 49-23 (.681).

TONIGHT: The Indians will play for the series victory vs. Memphis tonight at 7:05 PM ET. With a win tonight, the Indians would extend their winning streak to six games and tie their longest such streak since April 7-13, 2019. Tonight also begins a streak of Indianapolis facing three consecutive left-handed starters to round out the series vs. the Redbirds, beginning tonight with RHP Max Kranick vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore.

KRANICK: Max Kranick will make his fourth start with the Indians and his third at Victory Field tonight vs. Memphis. Last time out on June 12 at Nashville, Kranick tossed a gem and allowed just one hit through five innings to earn his first Triple-A win. The 23-year-old also tied a career high with nine strikeouts for the first time since June 16, 2018 vs. Single-A Delmarva. In his three Triple-A starts, Kranick is 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA (5er/14.1ip) and 16 strikeouts. He entered the season rated as Pittsburgh's No. 30 prospect by Baseball America. He was also rated as Pittsburgh's No. 28 prospect with a Control grade of 55 by MLB Pipeline prior to the season.

BATTLE OF PITCHING PROSPECTS: Max Kranick will face off against southpaw Matthew Liberatore in a battle of top prospects in the Pirates and Cardinals systems. Liberatore entered the season rated as St. Louis' No. 2 prospect and No. 45 overall by Baseball America. Liberatore is 1-3 this season with a 4.73 ERA (14er/26.2ip) and 25 strikeouts in five starts. He is coming off his first win of the season on June 12 vs. Gwinnett when he surrendered one earned run on four hits in 5.1 innings.

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