IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (22-25) at Columbus Clippers (24-23)

Published on May 26, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Huntington Park

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #48 / ROAD #28: Indianapolis Indians (22-25) at Columbus Clippers (24-23)

PROBABLES: LHP Cam Alldred (2-0, 4.58) vs. RHP Zach Plesac (1-1, 4.02)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Aaron Shackelford blasted two mammoth home runs out of Huntington Park, but the Columbus Clippers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Indianapolis Indians in walk-off fashion on Thursday night, 5-4. The Clippers were down to their final out with the bases juice, down 4-3. On the 0-1 pitch from Yerry De Los Santos, Oscar Gonzalez roped a two-run single into straight-away right field to walk it off against the Indians. Each team's first run of the night came way of solo home runs. Designated hitter Zack Collins homered first, and Shackelford followed in the Indians following at-bat. Both teams brought home a additional run in their next plate appearance following the homers to square the contest at two apiece. Shackelford put the Indians in front in a big way in the fifth, crushing a two-run homer well over the right-field wall, his second home run of the game off major league rehabber Triston McKenzie. Columbus was able to cut its deficit in half in the sixth inning. Micah Pries hit a sacrifice fly to plate Gonzalez and chip away before they completed the comeback in the ninth inning.

SHACK ATTACKED: Aaron Shackelford crushed two baseballs out of the stadium at Huntington Park on Thursday night, he now has six homers on the season, which leads the team. He finished his night 2-for-2 and was responsible for two of Indy's six hits with his pair of homers, two runs scored, three RBI and a walk. During the month of May, the 26-year-old is hitting .296 (16-for-54) with 11 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, five home runs, 11 RBI, 12 walks, .441 on-base percentage and 1.108 OPS.

BOMBS AWAY: Indianapolis' offense has showcased its power through the first three games of the series at Huntington Park. Following the Indians season-high four home runs in their 12-9 victory Wednesday night, Aaron Shackelford tallied two more dingers last night. Indy's four-homer performance was the team's most since Sept. 26, 2021 at Omaha. The Indians have now clubbed seven homers in their last three games, which is tied for the most in the International League this week, alongside Louisville and Worcester.

NUNEY KEEPS HITTING: Malcom Nuñez extended his hitting streak to nine games on Wednesday night with a base hit in the sixth inning. The corner infielder is hitting .357 (20-for-56) with four doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI, a .478 on-base percentage, .536 slugging-percentage and 1.014 OPS in 16 games this month. The 22-year-old leads the team with 25 RBI, he has driven in a run in seven of his last 12 games - including three three-RBI games. Since May 6, he ranks among International League qualifiers in average (3rd, .405) and OBP (4th, .519). He leads the team in average, RBI, OBP, slugging-percentage and OPS this month.

CSN GET'S GOING: Canaan Smith-Njigba has hit safely in his last five games, and seven of his last nine games. He is hitting .333 (11-for-33) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and a 1.086 OPS. Prior to this eight-game stretch, he was hitting .129 (4-for-31) in his first eight games with Indianapolis. On Wednesday night, he ripped his fourth home run of the season in his 16th game with the Indians this season, an improvement from his lone homer in 2022 in 52 games with Indy. Last season in Indy, he hit .277 (51-for-184) with 15 doubles, and three triples before being recalled by Pittsburgh on June 13 to make his major league debut the following day.

THAT'S A BAD MAN: Reliever Carmen Mlodzinski picked up his first win of the season on Wednesday night with 1.2 innings. The 24-year-old recorded four of his five outs via strikeout, his four punchouts was a season-high. Bolton has a 1.04 ERA (1er/8.2ip) over his last eight outings. The right-hander has only been scored upon once in his last seven outings with 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. He was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (31st overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina (Columbia).

BOLT SHOW: Cody Bolton closed out Wednesday night's contest - earning his first save of the season - with two no-hit innings with three strikeouts. The right-hander has made 17 relief appearances this season, he is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA (4er/17.1ip), 19 strikeouts, 0.98 WHIP and .208 batting average against. Bolton has been most effective on the road this season, he hasn't allowed a run in 10.2 innings while punching out 14 hitters, 0.66 WHIP and .147 AVG. Between two seasons with Indianapolis, Bolton owns a 2.90 ERA (30er/93.0ip) with 101 strikeouts. Pittsburgh selected his contract on April 26 and made his major league debut on April 29 (2) at Washington with 2.0 scoreless frames, he was optioned to Indy on May 9.

TONIGHT: Tonight, the Indians and Clippers will continue their six-game set at Huntington Park at 7:05 PM ET. The Clippers have a 2-1 edge in the series after their walk-off win on Thursday night. The two club's first matched up first at Victory Field from April 25-29, Columbus took three of five games in the rain-shortened series. Tonight, LHP Cam Alldred (2-0, 4.58) will take the mound for the Indians against Columbus' right-hander Zach Plesac (1-1, 4.02). Alldred will be making his third start of the season and the fifth of his career, all of which have come with Indianapolis. Plesac's only career start against Indy came on July 11, 2019, he took the loss at Victory Field after allowing three runs on four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. Mitch Keller took the mound against Plesac that day, tossing 6.0 scoreless frames with eight strikeouts.

THIS DATE IN 2001: The Indians raked 18 hits in a 10-2 triumph at McCoy Stadium against Pawtucket. Center fielder Lou Collier went 4-for-6 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored from the leadoff spot for Indy.

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International League Stories from May 26, 2023


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