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Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (27-25) vs. Iowa Cubs (20-30)

July 4, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:15 PM ET

GAME #53 / Home #24: Indianapolis Indians (27-25) vs. Iowa Cubs (20-30)

PROBABLES: RHP Luis Oviedo (MLB Rehab) vs. RHP Adrian Sampson (3-2, 5.56)

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

TV: MiLB TV/ MyINDYTV 23

LAST NIGHT: After a back-and-forth scoring battle through three, the Iowa bullpen got the best of the Indianapolis bats as the Indians dropped the fifth of the six-game series, 9-7. Down 4-0 after the first three outs of the game thanks to an Alfonso Rivas two-out grand slam to open the scoring, the Indians closed out the first inning with a 4-4 tie. Five consecutive batters reached base safely with two outs to help tie the game on RBI singles by Bligh Madris and Christian Bethancourt and a two-run double by Hunter Owen. Both teams traded runs in the third inning, the Indians tying the game 5-5 on Owen's seventh home run of the season. After three Cubs runs in the fourth and one in the seventh to extend the lead to 9-5, the Indians threatened in the ninth off Trevor Megill. Madris singled up the middle to drive in Cole Tucker and Will Craig to cut the lead to 9-7.

OWEN'S BIG NIGHT: Hunter Owen and Bligh Madris each recorded two hits and drove in three runs in the loss to Iowa last night. Owen drove in two runs to tie the game in the first inning with a long fly ball out to the deepest part of the ballpark and followed with his fifth home run in his last 16 games with at least one plate appearance. Madris singled in the first and ninth inning, the latter of which he drove in two runs to attempt a comeback of Iowa's four-run lead. It was his first three-RBI performance since May 26 at Omaha.

SPITZBARTH'S SHUTOUTS: With a scoreless ninth inning tossed last night, Shea Spitzbarth hasn't allowed an earned run in 14 consecutive appearances (17.0ip) dating back to May 23. In that span he has allowed just seven hits, one earned run, six walks and has fanned 13. On the season, he now owns a 0.81 ERA (2er/22.1ip), 0.94 WHIP and .169 average against.

TONIGHT: The Indians have the opportunity to win their first Fourth of July game since 2018 and level the series with the I-Cubs tonight at 6:15 PM ET. Former Indians hurler Adrian Sampson will take the mound for Iowa for the second time this week after earning the win on Tuesday with 5.2 two-run innings and six strikeouts. The Cubs backed him with nine total runs, six of which came in the third inning, for the win. The Indians will have MLB rehabber Luis Oviedo start in his first rehab appearance in Indy and his first career minor league appearance above Single-A.

OVIEDO ON A REHAB: The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that middle reliever Luis Oviedo will begin a rehab assignment with the Indians tonight. Oviedo, 22, made his major league debut on April 3 at Chicago (NL) (1.0ip, 1k) and appeared in 12 games with Pittsburgh before being placed on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain on June 10. Primarily a middle reliever, the Venezuelan went 1-1 with a 7.23 ERA (15er/18.2ip) and 19 strikeouts. He earned his first major league win on May 14 vs. San Francisco when the Pirates came back from a 2-1 deficit in the 11th inning. Prior to making his big-league debut, Oviedo had never pitched above Single-A.

RIVERA GRAND OPENING: After having just one pinch-hit at-bat last night, T.J. Rivera's hot bat returns to Indy's lineup in the leadoff spot tonight. In his career, Rivera has batted first in 92 games and owns a .287 average (109-for-380) in that spot. Of his nine career leadoff home runs, two come when he bats first. He hasn't batted in the first spot of the lineup since Sept. 24, 2016 with New York (NL) when he went 2-for-3 after coming off the bench, and hasn't started in that spot since July 1, 2015 with Triple-A Las Vegas. Dating back to June 15, Rivera has hit safely in 10 of 12 games with at least on official at-bat and is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with five extra-base hits, five RBI and seven runs scored.

FOURTH OF JULY: The Indians have played a home game on the Fourth of July each year in Victory Field's history, with the exception of 2009 (postponement due to inclement weather) and 2020. Since 1997, the Indians are .500 on the holiday. Prior to the postponement vs. Louisville in '09, the Indians held an 8-4 advantage on the Fourth, but since have won just three of their last 12 such contests. In 2019, the Indians lost to Toledo, 7-6, in front of their second largest crowd of the season of 14,436 fans. Indianapolis' last win on the date came vs. Louisville in 2018 with a score of 4-2.

RED, WHITE VS. BLUE: Indianapolis and Iowa played each other as members of the American Association from 1969-97 and faced off on the Fourth of July four times during that era. Iowa has won the last two holiday meetings, 10-6 (1988) and 7-1 ('78), both in Des Moines. The first time the two faced off on America's birthday was in 1969, the first year of their rivalry, with the Indians beating the then-Oaks, 3-2. Their lone meeting on the Fourth of July in the Circle City was with a doubleheader in 1975, when Patrick Zachry and Lorin Grow tossed back-to-back one-hit shutouts for the Indians sweep of two 1-0 games.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH: On Friday, the Indians announced Anthony Alford as their Player of the Month after a stellar 18-game on-base streak in June. He reached base in each game played in the month, leading to a .563 on-base percentage and 1.280 OPS. He hit safely in 15 of those 18 games, which included a team-high nine-game hitting streak from June 10-22. A minor injury suffered during a collision on June 24 at Louisville kept him off the league leaderboard, but his OBP, OPS and .415 average (22-for-53) would have led the Triple-A East had he qualified with 10 more plate appearances.

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