IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (27-19) at Columbus Clippers (27-20)

Published on May 27, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians have won 12 of their last 15 games and look to finish the seven-game road trip with another series victory.

Location: Huntington Park

First Pitch: 2:05 p.m. ET

Game #47 / Road #24: Indianapolis Indians (27-19) at Columbus Clippers (27-20)

Probables: LHP Cam Vieaux (Triple-A debut) vs. RHP Cody Anderson (0-0, 0.84)

Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 / AM 1260 / iHeart app

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians guaranteed themselves a series split and chance at a series win with an 11-5 triumph over Columbus yesterday afternoon. The Tribe fell behind 1-0 in the first on an Adam Rosales home run but rallied with seven unanswered en route to victory. JB Shuck tied the game with a two-out RBI double in the second and the Tribe tacked on three more in the third, two coming in on singles by Corey Dickerson and Will Craig. Pablo Reyes pushed Indy's lead to 5-1 in the fifth with a run-scoring double, and Eric Wood made it 6-1 with a leadoff blast in the sixth. In the following frame, Craig powered his 14th home run of the season out to left. The Clippers scored three times after the stretch, but Indy put away its IL West rival with four runs in the eighth, two touching home on a Craig double. Luis Escobar was strong in his second start for Indy, tossing 4.0 innings and allowing just one run while striking out six.

SCRATCH THE STARTER: The Indians have gone with a starter-by-committee approach this weekend in Columbus. RHP Rookie Davis was scratched from Saturday's start and the Indians instead started RHP Keone Kela for a 1.0-inning rehab appearance. Yesterday, Indy scratched Mitch Keller from his turn in the rotation and went with Escobar for 4.0 innings. Today, the Tribe scratched Alex McRae, who had his contract selected by the Pirates this morning. Indy will go with left-hander Cam Vieaux today for his Triple-A debut.

THE 26TH MAN: RHP Richard Rodriguez was recalled by Pittsburgh as the 26th man for its doubleheader today in Cincinnati. Rodriguez had converted one of two save opportunities with Indy, including 2.0 scoreless frames with three punchouts in Friday night's win at Columbus.

MORE MOVEMENT: Indy's flurry of roster moves over the weekend continued today. In addition to RHP Alex McRae being selected by Pittsburgh, the Pirates' intention of recalling RHP Mitch Keller for Game 2 tonight in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh adding RHP Richard Rodriguez as the 26th man for its twin bill, the Indians reinstated C Steven Baron from the 7-day IL (L ankle sprain), transferred LHP Cam Vieaux from Double-A Altoona to Indy and added RHP Michael Feliz to their roster after he was optioned by Pittsburgh on May 25.

JUNG HO: Pirates 3B Jung Ho Kang joined the Indians on a rehab assignment today. He also rehabbed with Indy in 2016 and 2018. Kang, 32, signed a one-year deal with the Pirates this offseason and is hitting .133 (12-for-90) with four homers, three doubles, eight RBI and 31 strikeouts in 31 games for Pittsburgh this year.

CRAIG CRUSHING: Will Craig has homered in two consecutive games entering play today, the fifth time he's homered in back-to-back games this season. Craig's 14 long balls are tied for third most in the IL. He's also fifth in the league with 36 RBI and 10th with 93 total bases. It took Craig 44 games to reach 14 homers this season; last year, he didn't hit his 14th homer until July 18, game No. 88 with Altoona. Craig is just one home run shy of matching Kevin Kramer's team-leading 15 from 2018.

AS OF LATE: Craig is hitting .340 (17-for-50) with five homers, three doubles and 12 RBI over his last 13 games dating back to May 11. Over his last 10 contests, his average sits at .378 (14-for-37) with five homers and 11 RBI.

KEVIN IN MAY: Kevin Kramer has hit safely in six consecutive games and is batting .342 (25-for-73) with four homers, nine doubles and 19 RBI in May after hitting just .211 (12-for-57) with one homer, five doubles and four RBI in April. His 19 RBI this month is tied for the second-highest monthly total (also: August 2016) of his career, trailing only June 2018 (23).

NO FREEBIES: Through six games this road trip, Indy pitchers have combined to walk just 10 batters while fanning 54. After issuing 113 walks in 214.2 innings pitched in April (4.74bb/9.0ip) -- the second-most walks in the IL -- Indy hurlers have issued a league-low 60 walks in May over 196.0 innings pitched (2.76bb/9.0ip).

100-WINS CLUB: Tribe manager Brian Esposito became the 26th skipper in franchise history to reach 100 wins with yesterday's 11-5 victory. The Indians went 73-67 in his first year at the helm and have a 27-19 record thus far in 2019. He owns a .538 winning percentage with Indy (100-86).

MEMORIAL DAY: The Indians are 9-11 on Memorial Day in the Victory Field era (1996-present), with their last win coming in 2015 at Buffalo. Indy is 6-6 on the road on Memorial Day and has never played Columbus on the holiday.

4.60 ERA: Indy's pitching staff is second in the league with a 4.60 team ERA, trailing only Gwinnett (4.18). Exactly half of the 14 teams in the league own collective ERAs below 5.00. Indy's 4.60 ERA this year would rank dead last in the league in 2018; Columbus had the worst team ERA in '18 at 4.34. Nine of the 14 teams had sub-4.00 ERAs in 2018, as well.

BY THE NUMBERS - 11: Indianapolis' 11 runs scored yesterday marked a new season high, with nine being the previous high seven different times. Indy's single-game high for runs scored has come at Columbus each of the last two years (21 in 2017, 17 in 2018).

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 27, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central