IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (35-29) at Columbus Clippers (32-32)

Published on June 15, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians sealed their 11th series win of the season with a 7-3 win last night over Toledo, pulling within 3.5 games of first place in the IL West.

Location: Huntington Park

First Pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET

Game #65 / Road #32: Indianapolis Indians (35-29) @ Columbus Clippers (32-32)

Probables: RHP Tyler Eppler (6-2, 2.84) vs. LHP Adam Wilk (2-5, 3.44)

Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 / AM 1260 / iHeart app

TV: MiLB TV

From the Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Indianapolis secured a series win over Toledo with a 7-3 win last night, moving the Tribe to a season-high six games above .500. Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh and was backed by plenty of offense. The Indians raked 15 hits against five different Mud Hens pitchers, the fifth time this year Indy has reached the 15-hit threshold in a game. Jung Ho Kang gave the Tribe a 1-0 lead in the first with a sacrifice fly, and Max Moroff and Ryan Lavarnway launched back-to-back homers in the second off A.J. Ladwig to make it 3-0. Indy doubled its lead thanks to a Kevin Kramer two-run shot and Pablo Reyes RBI single in the fourth. Kramer added an RBI double in the seventh to complete the Indians' offensive burst. Five players recorded multi-hit games, highlighted by strong performances from Kevin Newman (3-for-5, 1 R, 1 SB) and Reyes (3-for-3, 1 RBI). Kingham surrendered just two hits over eight scoreless innings, fanning six and walking none.

CARBON COPY: Nick Kingham retired the first 19 batters he faced last night before surrendering an infield single to Dawel Lugo with one away in the top of the seventh. The Tribe right-hander matched his MLB debut performance from April 29, when he carried a perfect game into the seventh against the Cardi-nals at PNC Park before giving up a single to Paul DeJong. Kingham sat at an efficient 67 pitches through six innings before losing his bid at perfection; only five pitchers in the history of the International League have thrown 9-inning perfect games, the last being Columbus' Justin Germano on 7/26/11 vs. Syra-cuse. Kingham improved to 3-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.67 (7 ER/37.2 IP) in seven starts and became the first Tribe pitcher to pitch eight innings in 2018.

SIX THRU NINE GETS IT DONE: The bottom half of Indy's lineup did most of the damage last night. Kramer, Moroff, Lavarnway and Reyes combined to bat .600 (9-for-15) with three homers, one double, six RBI and four runs scored.

BOSTICK UP TO 10: Christopher Bostick is riding a season-high 10-game hitting streak entering play tonight. He went 1-for-5 with a run scored in last night's 7-3 win, extending his streak with a single to open the seventh. The Tribe outfielder is batting .375 (15-for-40) with two home runs, two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored during the stretch. He has hit safely in 46 of his 55 starts this season and is currently tied for the league lead in batting with a .323 average (70-for-217) and team-high 19 doubles.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Indians will play their 32nd road game of the season tonight. The Tribe are currently 16-15 away from Victory Field, making them one of six teams in the International League above .500 on the road. Rochester (20-12), Toledo (18-14), Durham (16-13), Lehigh Valley (17-15) and Norfolk (16-14) are also above .500 on the road this season. The Indians have finished at or above .500 on the road in five of the last seven years (2011-15).

CRUSHIN' COLUMBUS: The Indians are 5-4 against the Clippers this season, winning four of six at The Vic and dropping two of three at Huntington Park from April 27-29. The Tribe offense has mashed against Clippers pitching, batting .339 (109-for-322) with 35 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 58 runs scored (6.4 runs per game). The Indians are averaging 4.8 extra-base hits per game against Columbus. Indy blasted the Clippers on April 27 in Ohio, scoring 2018 single-game highs in runs (17), hits (23), doubles (8), extra-base hits (11) and RBI (15). Last year, seven different single-game highs were set by the Tribe in a 21-1 drubbing in Columbus: runs (21), hits (22), home runs (7), home runs in an inning (3), walks (13), extra-base hits (10) and RBI (21).

INDIANS VS. COLUMBUS PITCHING: The Indians' .339 average as a team against Columbus is their best against any single IL opponent so far this season. Four current Tribesmen are above that .339 mark against the Clippers: Max Moroff leads the way with a .556 average (5-for-9), two doubles, one triple and three RBI. Ryan Lavarnway is 6-for-11 (.545) with three doubles and one RBI. Kevin Newman has 19 hits in 42 at-bats (.452) with six doubles, one homer and six RBI. Jose Osuna owns a .353 average (6-for-17) with three doubles, one dinger and six RBI.

TAKE NOTICE: Indy's offense is in the top three of nine categories in the International League. They rank first in average (.274), hits (584), doubles (161), OBP (.336), and slugging (.424), second in stolen bases (52), total bases (902) and sacrifice bunts (19) and third in runs scored (287).

BY THE NUMBERS - 600: Indianapolis' 7-3 win last night marked its 600th against IL West opponents since rejoining the league in 1998. Indy is now 16-11 on the season against its own division and 600-568 (.514) against the West over the last 20-plus seasons. The Indians have finished above .500 against intradivision opponents in five of the last six years.

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International League Stories from June 15, 2018


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