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IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (24-22) at St. Paul Saints (19-27)

May 29, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:07 PM ET

GAME #47 / Road #24: Indianapolis Indians (24-22) at St. Paul Saints (19-27)

PROBABLES: RHP Matt Eckelman (0-3, 12.89) vs. RHP Jake Faria (0-2, 7.67)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT LEGENDS DAY: Ji-Hwan Bae launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning to put Indy out of reach of the Saints and win the sixth game of a seven-game set last night, 7-4. The Indians got on the board first after the first three batters of the game hit safely, with Canaan Smith-Njigba scoring when Travis Swaggerty belted an RBI triple over the center fielder's head. Bae then shot a single to the opposite field to score Swaggerty and take an early 2-0 lead. St. Paul took the lead in the third frame with three runs off four hits, highlighted by Spencer Steer's go-ahead, two-run homer. The Indians plated four runs in the fifth to recapture the lead for good. After Hoy Park roped a leadoff double, Carter Bins grooved a single up the middle to tie the game at three. With two outs in the inning, Bae's fifth longball of the season gave Indy a 5-3 lead. Bligh Madris then doubled to score Mason Martin and tack on the fourth run of the inning.

GREEN FLAG: Bligh Madris now has a hit in seven consecutive games with an official at-bat and has reached base safely in his last eight dating back to5 5/20 vs. Toledo. Last night, he went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI double. Since that streak began, Madris is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with a .481 on-base percentage and 1.220 OPS. After appearing in just 10 April games with the Indians, the corner outfielder is hitting .286 (16-for-56) with seven extra-base hits and eight walks in 18 May games.

LEADING THE PACK: Ji-Hwan Bae extended his on-base streak to a career-high tying 25 games last night with an RBI single and two-run homer. His other 25-game on-base streak came last season with Double-A Altoona from 8/15-9/15, in which he registered a .348 average (31-for-89) and .459 on-base percentage. Bae's 25-gamer is currently the longest active streak in the International League and trails only teammate Canaan Smith-Njigba (28 games) for the longest in the league this season. Since his streak began on 4/27 at Iowa, he has hit safely in 20 of his 25 games with a .347 average (33-for-95), .443 on-base percentage and 1.075 OPS. All five of his home runs and 15 of his 17 total extra-base hits this season have come in that time span. He has also struck out just 15 times compared to 18 walks. The Indians utility man has now hit safely in his last eight games and has registered a .333 average (27-for-81) in 22 May games.

THE NEED FOR SPEED: Travis Swaggerty roped his second triple of the season last night to drive in Canaan Smith-Njigba as the first Indians run of the game. He went 2-for-5 for his second consecutive multi-hit game and his sixth in his past nine games. Swaggerty has now hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games and is hitting .386 (17-for-44) with a 1.017 OPS since 5/17. The center fielder has been on fire in the month of May, leading all Indians qualifiers with a .345 batting average (20-for-58) in 15 May games.

POLE POSITION: The Indians have now scored first in five consecutive games at St. Paul but have finished with a 2-3 record. They are no stranger to jumping out to early leads, scoring first in 29 of 46 games this season. In games where they score first, the Indians are 18-11 and overall have surrendered 13 leads that have led to losses.

CRUZING: Oneil Cruz launched his second home run of the series and his third in a six-game span on Friday night. The 6-foot-7 shortstop has now hit safely in each of his last six games and 10 of his last 11, good for a .304 batting average (14-for-46), .587 slugging percentage and .983 OPS since 5/15. After hitting just one home run in 19 games in April, Cruz now has five home runs in 21 May games and has raised his average to .244 (21-for-86) for the month.

GOT MILK?: With the seven-game series tied 3-3 following Indy's win last night, the Indians will look to leave St. Paul with a series win tonight at 6:07 PM ET at CHS Field. From 4/12-4/17, the Indians went 2-3 at St. Paul for their first series loss of the season. In 22 games in St. Paul since 2021 - which was the first season the Indians faced a team in St. Paul since 1960 - Indianapolis is 12-11. Tonight, Matt Eckelman will take the mound for the Indians against Jake Faria.

THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING: With the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 today, the Indians will look to improve to 9-7 in road games on race day dating back to 2005. Today marks the 16th consecutive season that the Indians have had a road game scheduled on race day and are coming off a 7-2 loss at Omaha last season. Since 2005, the Indians have not lost back-to-back contests on the day of the Indy 500, with 2017-18 marking the only time that they've won consecutive games on race day.

TURN ONE: Matt Eckelman will make his second start with the Indians today after being named the starter for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader. In that outing - his first start since 5/25 with Double-A Altoona at Portland - he surrendered a pair of hits in 2.0 scoreless frames. In 52 games (one start) with the Indians since making his Triple-A debut in 2019, Eckelman is 3-8 with a 6.61 ERA (61er/83.0ip) and 69 strikeouts.

(NOT) BACK HOME AGAIN: Following today's series finale at St. Paul, the Indians will travel south to Omaha for a six-game series vs. the Storm Chasers. It is Indy's first of two 12-plus game road trips this season, the next coming from 8/30-9/11 at Louisville and Omaha. The Indians had two stretches of back-to-back road trips in 2021 and went 11-14 in those games, including a six-game sweep to Omaha following a series loss at St. Paul from 5/18-30. The Indians will be back at Victory Field on June 7 for a six-game series vs. Columbus.

THIS DATE IN 1970: The Indians won a 23-inning game at Oklahoma City that began on Thursday, May 28 and finished on Friday. The score was tied 5-5 through nine innings, and both teams went scoreless for the next 10 innings before trading runs in the 20th. The Indians broke ahead in the 23rd inning with a four-run frame, and Oklahoma City rallied with one run in the bottom half to finish the game, 10-7. The game time was 6 hours and 37 minutes and remains the longest game by both innings and time in franchise history. Indy outhit OKC 22-16, led by a four-hit performance from 30-year-old right fielder George Kernek. Ross "Crazy Eyes" Grimsley threw the final 6.0 innings for Indy to earn the win.

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