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Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (24-23) at Omaha Storm Chasers (24-23)

May 31, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


Indianapolis Indians (24-23) at Omaha Storm Chasers (24-23)

LOCATION: Werner Park

FIRST PITCH: 8:08 PM ET

GAME #48 / Road #25: Indianapolis Indians (24-23) at Omaha Storm Chasers (24-23)

PROBABLES: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (2-2, 5.34) vs. RHP Jackson Kowar (3-3, 6.19)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Indians overcame a two-run deficit to tie the game in the top of the ninth, but an RBI single by Jake Cave with two outs in the next half inning gave St. Paul its second walk-off win of the series on Sunday night, 8-7. Oneil Cruz put the Indians on the board first with his second homer in as many games, and two additional runs scored to give them a 3-0 lead through their first two offensive innings. Three consecutive multi-run frames by the Saints put the home team ahead through the fourth inning, 7-4. Trailing 7-5 in the top of the ninth, Mason Martin led off with his 11th home run of the season to bring the Indians within one run. With Canaan Smith-Njigba on first base and one out, Cole Tucker sent a towering fly ball off the right-field wall to tie the game. A two-out single by Mark Contreras and a passed ball to follow put the winning Saints runner in scoring position. On a 2-2 count, Cave roped a single into right field to hand Indy just its second walk-off loss of the season.

HEATING UP: Oneil Cruz launched his third home run of the series and his fourth in a seven-game span on Sunday night during his third consecutive multi-hit game. The 6-foot-7 shortstop has now hit safely in each of his last seven games with four multi-hit performances, good for a .355 batting average (11-for-31), .742 slugging percentage and 1.154 OPS since 5/22 vs. Toledo. In that time span, Cruz ranks among International League leaders in runs scored (T-1st, 9), home runs (T-2nd), total bases (T-3rd, 23), hits (T-4th, 11), slugging percentage (T-5th) and OPS (8th). Six of Cruz' seven home runs and 23 of his 36 total hits this season have come in 22 games during the month of May.

MARTIN MASHING: After going the first 10 games of May without a home run, Mason Martin now has seven home runs in his last 14 games, which is tied with Durham's Tristan Gray and Norfolk's Kyle Stowers for the most in the International League since 5/15. In that time frame, nine of his 12 hits have come for extra-bases, good for a .679 slugging percentage and .990 OPS. Martin hit four home runs in 20 April games and is tied for sixth in the league with 11 this season.

BAE ON BASE: Ji-Hwan Bae extended his on-base streak to a career-high 26 games and his hitting streak to a team-high nine games on Sunday with a two-hit performance. The 26-gamer - which bested his former career-high 25-game on-base streak from last season with Double-A Altoona - 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 21 of 26 games with a .350 average (35-for-100), .442 on-base percentage and 1.082 OPS. All five of his home runs and 16 of his 18 total extra-base hits this season have come in that time span. He has also struck out just 16 times compared to 18 walks.

BAE IN MAY: To go along with his on-base streak, Ji-Hwan Bae currently leads all Indians batters with a .337 batting average, 29 total hits, 25 runs scored, three triples, 12 extra-base hits, 50 total bases, five stolen bases, a .581 slugging percentage and 1.019 OPS in 23 May games. Of those categories, he ranks among International League leaders for the month in triples (2nd), runs (2nd), hits (T-5th), total bases (T-6th), OPS (7th) and average (10th). This season, Bae is hitting .301 (46-for-153) with an .884 OPS.

BLIGH GUY: Bligh Madris extended his hitting streak to eight games on Sunday night with an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning and has now reached base safely in his last nine games dating back to 5/20 vs. Toledo. Since that streak began, Madris is hitting .370 (10-for-27) with a .469 on-base percentage and 1.173 OPS. His streak has improved his average for May to .283 (17-for-60) with seven extra-base hits in 19 games.

STARTING AHEAD: The Indians have now scored first in six consecutive games but have finished with a 2-4 record. They are no stranger to jumping out to early leads, scoring first in 30 of 47 games this season. In games where they score first, the Indians are 18-12 and overall have surrendered 14 leads that have led to losses.

FLETCHER FIRING: Aaron Fletcher has been one of Indy's most reliable relief arms this month, surrendering just two runs (one earned) in 10.0 innings since being optioned by Pittsburgh on May 5. In seven appearances, the southpaw has gone 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA and has held left-handed batters to a .176 batting average (3-for-17) with no extra-base hits.

TONIGHT: After losing four of seven to St. Paul last week, the Indians will look to stay above .500 with their second series of the season against Omaha. The Indians welcomed the Storm Chasers to Victory Field for Opening Week and went 4-2 in the six-game series. In 2021, the Omaha dominated Indianapolis at Werner Park and went 9-2 with a six-game sweep from 5/25-30. Since the beginning of 2021 - which was the first season where the two teams faced off against each other since 1997 and the American Association era - Indy has gone 9-14. Tonight, RHP Jerad Eickhoff will face off against Omaha for the second time this season. Countering for the Storm Chasers is Jackson Kowar, who has not allowed a run in two career starts vs. Indy.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Tonight, the Indians begin the second half of their 13-game road trip with six games at Omaha with a 3-4 record in the stretch already. 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 2016: Jacob Stallings set a single-game Victory Field record with seven RBI in the Tribe's 9-3 win vs. Rochester. The catcher went 4-for-4 with a solo home run, three-run double, RBI triple and another home run to drive in two. Stallings had his contract selected by Pittsburgh just a few weeks later and made his major league debut on June 19.

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