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Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (30-29) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (37-22)

July 14, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #60 / Home #26: Indianapolis Indians (30-29) vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (37-22)

PROBABLES: RHP Luis Oviedo (0-2, 14.73) vs. RHP Brandon Barker (0-0, 54.00)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians came back from a 1-0 deficit early and held off the Storm Chasers offense in a tight, series-opening win on Tuesday night, 3-2. Omaha plated its first run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Indians knotted the game in the fourth. Three consecutive two-out hits, including an RBI single by Chris Sharpe to drive in Hunter Owen, tied the game at 1-1. Indy carried the momentum into the next frame and notched four consecutive two-out singles to extend the lead to 3-1. Christian Bethancourt and Owen each drove in a run. Omaha scored one more in the sixth inning when Tanner Anderson walked his first batter seen with the bases loaded.

KELLER'S K'S: Mitch Keller earned his first win since May 29 (2) vs. Colorado last night. He tossed 5.1 innings, his longest outing since May 4 at San Diego, and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits. He walked three batters but fanned eight for the second time this season (also: May 16 vs. San Francisco) to hold off threats by the Omaha offense. Keller has made six apperances (four starts) with Indianapolis since being optioned by Pittsburgh on June 12 and has compiled a 1.80 ERA (4er/20.0ip), 1.15 WHIP and .208 average against.

SLAM THE DOOR: Nick Mears converted his first save since Aug. 5, 2018 with High-A Bradenton last night vs. Omaha. He entered with a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning and surrendered a one-out walk before getting a flyout and a groundout from the top two batters in the Storm Chasers lineup. The scoreless outing added to Mears' strong stretch of relief appearances as of late. Since surrendering three earned runs in just 0.2 innings pitched on June 11 at Nashville, he has compiled a 2-1 record, 1.64 ERA (2er/11.0ip), 0.91 WHIP and .158 average against.

OPENING WITH A WIN: After losing their last three series openers against Louisville, Iowa and Columbus, the Indians returned to the win column for their first of six games vs. Omaha last night. Prior to those last three series, they were 6-1 in the first game of each series with their lone loss coming at Omaha on May 25. They were swept by the Storm Chasers in that series and are 0-4 when losing the first game of a series after dropping their last at Columbus, three games to two. When winning the first game of a series, the Indians hold a 4-1-1 record.

ONE AND DONE: The Indians 3-2 win over Omaha last night was their 11th one-run win this season. Dating back to 1988, the Indians are 24-25 in one-run contests against Omaha with a 19-7 advantage in the Circle City. Prior to last night, Indy's last one-run victory over Omaha came in walk-off fashion on June 22, 1997 when they came back from a 4-0 deficit to win, 7-6. Omaha beat Indianapolis, 6-5, on May 27 for the first one-run game between the two this season.

TONIGHT: Indianapolis will look to narrow Omaha's lead on the Triple-A East Midwest Division tonight in the second of a six-game series. RHP Luis Oviedo has a chance to improve upon his first two rehab starts with Indianapolis, both of which resulted in losses, as his pitch count continues to rise. For the Storm Chasers, RHP Brandon Barker will make his first start in Triple-A since 2017 with Norfolk. Barker was signed by Kansas City as a minor league free agent on July 11 and allowed two runs on four hits in 0.1 innings pitched that night out of Omaha's bullpen. In three career Triple-A starts, he owns a 3.14 ERA (5er/14.1ip).

HISTORY WITH OMAHA: Omaha last visited Indianapolis in 1997, the final year of the American Association. In Victory Field's first full season, the Indians won seven of their nine games vs. Omaha in the Circle City, one by a season-high margin of victory of nine runs (14-5, May 11). Omaha's last win in Indianapolis came on June 21 of that season, 9-3. Dating back to 1988, the Indians hold a 33-game advantage over the then-Omaha Royals with a 56-23 record in Indianapolis. The Indians' greatest margin of victory vs. Omaha in that range also came in Indianapolis, when they blanked the Royals 15-0 behind a 22-hit showing on Aug. 15, 1988.

WE'RE IN: Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball announced today that all Triple-A teams will play an additional 10 games, dubbed the "Triple-A Final Stretch," with the season now ending Sunday, Oct. 3. The Indians will visit Omaha for the second time this season from Sept. 22-26 before welcoming Nashville to Indianapolis for the first time since 1997 from Sept. 29-Oct. 3. A regular-season champion of the Triple-A East will be based on overall winning percentage through the end of the regularly-scheduled 120 games (ending Sunday, Sept. 19). The "Triple-A Final Stretch" champion will be named based on overall winning percentage of all 30 Triple-A teams in the final 10 games.

OCTOBER BASEBALL: The Indians new season finale date of Oct. 3 will be their latest to end a season since 1949. That year, they finished second in the regular season with a 93-61 record and went on to beat Minneapolis and Milwaukee en route to an American Association championship. In Game 6 of the Junior World Series on Oct. 8, Indianapolis bested Montreal to take home the title.

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