IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (34-35) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (39-30)

Published on July 25, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET

GAME #70 / Home #36: Indianapolis Indians (34-35) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (39-30)

PROBABLES: RHP James Marvel (3-2, 4.85) vs. RHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 0.00)

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

TV: MiLB TV / MyINDYTV 23

LAST NIGHT: The Indians fell short in their comeback attempt against Toledo last night to lose, 6-4. The Mud Hens put up two runs in the third inning and strung together scoring plays in the next three frames to take a lead. They capitalized off errors and miscues from the Indians defense, most coming in the outfield, to go up 6-0 through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Indians offense heated up to attempt a comeback through the final innings. Ethan Paul, who had led the bats all day with their lone hit through five, led off the frame with a double. Anthony Alford reached on a walk, and with two outs Christian Bethancourt doubled down the right-field line to put Indy on the board, 6-2. The rally continued in the ninth, when Alford and Bethancourt hit a pair of solo home runs to bring Toledo's lead within two runs, but the Indians comeback attempt fell short.

DOWN TO THE WIRE: Anthony Alford and Christian Bethancourt attempted a ninth-inning comeback with a pair of solo home runs last night to cut Toledo's lead to two runs. It was the eighth time this season that the Indians have hit two home runs in an inning and the second this series (also: B2 on Tuesday, July 20). When hitting two or more home runs, the Indians are now 16-2, with their only two losses coming at Victory Field against the Mud Hens (also: May 13, two home runs).

START A NEW STREAK: Anthony Alford was back in Indy's starting lineup on Friday night after going 0-for-5 on Wednesday, a performance that snapped his on-base streak at 25 games. Alford wasted little time to start a new streak as he singled off Pedro Payano in the first inning on Friday and then extended it with a walk and home run last night. Alford's 25-game on-base streak dated from June 1-July 20, and he hit .415 (34-for-82) with six home runs, seven doubles, 17 RBI, 20 runs scored, 21 walks, a .538 on-base percentage, .720 slugging percentage and 1.258 OPS.

BETHANCOURT'S BOMB: With a solo home run out to right-center field in the ninth inning, Christian Bethancourt recorded his fifth multi-hit contest in eight games and drove in his third RBI of the night. With a two-run double in the sixth inning and his long ball in the ninth, Bethancourt drove in three of the Indians four runs. Since July 9, he has hit safely in 10 of 13 games with a .302 average (16-for-53), five extra-base hits and nine RBI. His home run last night was his first in 20 days and sixth overall on the season, all coming at Victory Field. His three RBI tied a season high, all four games of which have come at Victory Field (also: June 19-20 vs. Memphis, July 1 vs. Iowa).

KELLER K'S THE MUD HENS: With nine strikeouts of the Mud Hens lineup last night, Mitch Keller now has 39 strikeouts in five outings against Toledo in his career. Against former International League West Division opponents, Keller has the highest average of strikeouts per nine innings against Toledo (13.00) than Columbus (10.05, 35 strikeouts in 31.1ip) or Louisville (9.57, 50 strikeouts in 47.0ip). It was his highest strikeout count since he fanned nine batters on Aug. 23, 2019 vs. Cincinnati. On June 7 of that season, Keller fanned a career-high 13 batters in five one-hit innings at Toledo.

TODAY: After splitting a six-game set with Omaha, the Indians will now look to split the series with Toledo today at 1:35 PM. RHP James Marvel will take the mound for the Indians as he looks to bounce back from his start vs. the Mud Hens on Tuesday. In that outing, he surrendered seven runs in 4.1 innings to take a no-decision when the Indians won, 12-11, in 10 innings. For Toledo, RHP Michael Fulmer will make his first rehab start and his second appearance against the Indians this series. On Thursday, Fulmer came out of the bullpen and allowed one hit, one walk and registered one strikeout.

WELCOME HOME: Indianapolis native and Cathedral High School grad (2011) Dillon Peters was activated on the Indians roster on Friday and is scheduled to pitch one inning today after being traded from Los Angeles (AL) to Pittsburgh and optioned on July 19. He was a standout prep in the Indianapolis area, registering a 29-2 record, sub-1.00 ERA (205.1ip) and 344 strikeouts during his first three high school seasons. He was the starting pitcher for Cathedral in both the 2010 and 2011 Indiana High School Athletic Association 4A Baseball State Finals at Victory Field.

THIS IS OUR HOUSE: The Indians' 2-1 win on Friday night guaranteed an above-.500 record against Toledo at Victory Field for the 2021 season. Since 1988, Indy has finished over .500 against the Mud Hens in the Circle City 16 out of 27 seasons.

INDY VS. 500: The series vs. Toledo marks the second of three consecutive for the Indians vs. opponents currently with a .500-plus record. Against teams with a winning record this season, the Indians are 10-16. Their last two matchups against winning teams came at Nashville (June 8-13) and vs. Omaha (last week); in those 12 games, Indianapolis went 6-6.

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