IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (26-27) vs. Scranton/W-B RailRiders (25-29)

Published on June 3, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians and RailRiders play the rubber game of their series this afternoon at The Vic. Indy is seeking its first series win in the regular season over Scranton/W-B for the first time since 2013. T

Location: Victory Field

First Pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET

Game #54 / Home #29: Indianapolis Indians (26-27) vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (25-29)

Probables: RHP Tyler Eppler (4-2, 3.14) vs. LHP Josh Rogers (5-3, 2.48)

Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 / AM 1260 / iHeart app

TV: Comcast 90 / MiLB TV / WNDY 23

From the Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Indians scored five runs with two outs in the first en route to an 8-0 shutout over Scranton/W-B last night. Jacob Stallings hit a two-run single to plate both Kevin Newman and Max Moroff who had doubled and walked to start the frame. Kevin Kramer then lofted a three-run blast just beyond the right-field wall to give Indy its largest inning since a six-run fourth inning on May 19 at Durham. Clay Holmes used the early run support to his advantage, facing two over the minimum through the first five innings. The RailRiders didn't have a runner reach second base until the sixth, but Holmes caught both Brandon Drury and Mike Ford looking at strike three to escape the threat. Josh Smoker and Johnny Hellweg each tossed a scoreless inning to complete Indy's sixth shutout win of 2018. Holmes fanned eight and scattered six hits over seven innings pitched. Justus Sheffield suffered the loss after allowing six earned runs on four hits and three walks in five innings of work.

SKID SNAPPED: Indianapolis snapped its six-game slide with last night's win, avoiding a potential seven-game slide for the first time since May 4-10, 2014. The Tribe's eight-run effort eclipsed their homestand total of six through the first four games (1.5 runs per game). Clutch hitting returned to the offense, as well; Indy went 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position last night after going just 5-for-32 (.156) through the first four contests of the homestand.

HOLMES RIGHTS THE SHIP: Clay Holmes matched a career high with seven innings last night, the fifth time he's reached that threshold in his career. The 25-year-old fanned a season-high eight batters, as well, eclipsing his previous high of seven accomplished three times. The seven-inning start was just the second by a Tribe pitcher in 2018; Alex McRae tossed seven innings on May 20 at Durham.

HANGING IN THE BALANCE: The Indians have struggled against the RailRiders since 2014, failing to win all eight of their home/road series en route to a 9-20 record. The Indians have a chance to win the series today, however, in the rubber match of a three-game set. Indianapolis' last regular-season series win over the RailRiders was from July 30-Aug. 2, 2013, when the Tribe took three of four at Victory Field. That series was tightly contested, with the final scores being 3-2, 3-1, 1-2 and 3-2.

KEEP IT UP, KEVIN: After recording a team-leading 39 hits en route to a .361 average in May, Kevin Newman opened the month of June with a 2-for-4 performance Friday and a 1-for-3 showing last night. He has swiped three bases in the current series, moving his season total to 13, tied with Durham's Andrew Velazquez for most in the International League. Newman is batting .337 (33-for-98) with nine extra-base hits at home this season; on the road, he's hitting .287 (27-for-94) with just four extra-base knocks.

STALLINGS STEADY: Jacob Stallings went 3-for-4 with three singles, two RBI and three runs scored in last night's 8-0 win. His three knocks gave him four games this season with three or more hits, joining Christopher Bostick (four 3-hit games) and Kevin Newman (four 3-hit games, one 4-hit game) as the only Tribe players to have that total. His .298 average ranks 12th in the IL, slightly below his .301 average in 62 games for the Tribe in 2017. He has scored three runs apiece in two games this year after doing so just twice in 439 career games entering the season.

THREE-HOMER GAME: On June 3, 1986, Mike Hocutt clubbed three home runs as Indy's designated hitter in a wild 16-15 win over Oklahoma City at Bush Stadium. The three-homer effort was the fourth in franchise history, with three more happening since that date. The Tribe scored in six of their eight trips to the plate that day, scoring two in the first, four in the second and five in the third to build an 11-2 lead. The 89ers scored five in the fourth to make it an 11-7 ballgame, and after Indy pushed its lead back to seven at 14-7 with a run in the fourth and two in the sixth, the visitors scored four times in both the seventh and eighth innings to take a 15-14 lead. Indy scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to go up 16-15 before David Tomlin finished off the thriller with a scoreless ninth. Luis Rivera, Billy Moore (2x), and Tom Nieto all homered for the Tribe in that game, as well.

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