IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (36-39) at St. Paul Saints (40-36)

Published on August 1, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 3:05 PM ET

GAME #76 / Road #40: Indianapolis Indians (36-39) at St. Paul Saints (40-36)

PROBABLES: LHP Dillon Peters (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Chandler Shepherd (5-4, 5.66)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: A trio of home runs lifted the Indians to a 6-5 win over St. Paul last night, their second win in five games of the series. Christian Bethancourt put the Indians on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the second inning, and Chris Sharpe followed up in the third with a two-run homer of his own. It didn't take long for the Saints offense to counter, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning after the first four batters of the frame reached base safely. After a sacrifice fly by MLB rehabber Colin Moran scored another Indianapolis run in the fifth inning, St. Paul took a 5-4 lead in the bottom half. Mark Contreras registered his second RBI with a double, the Saints only extra-base hit of the game, and Jimmy Kerrigan drove in the go-ahead run. With one out in the top of the seventh, Cole Tucker sent a two-run homer to right field to give the Indians the win.

TO THE MOON: Down 5-4 in the seventh inning, Cole Tucker sent a 3-1 pitch out of the ballpark to right field to score the game-winning run for the Indians. It was his first home run and first multi-RBI game since June 12 at Nashville, when he hit a pair of home runs and recorded three RBI.

THE WRIGHT WAY: Steven Wright earned his first save since Sept. 16, 2018 vs. New York (NL) last night. He recorded the final nine outs of the game, eight via strikeout, to shut down the Saints offense and seal the Indians one-run win. He gave up three hits, all in the seventh inning, but caught Ben Rortvedt looking with a knuckleball to strand the bases loaded and end the St. Paul threat. The eight strikeouts in three innings was his most since fanning nine on Aug. 5, 2016 at Los Angeles (NL).

SHARPE SHOOTING: Chris Sharpe went 2-for-4 last night with his fifth home run of the season. After Taylor Davis singled to lead off the third inning, Sharpe sent a fly ball out over the wall in right-center to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. The performance was his first multi-hit and multi-home run game since July 18 vs. Omaha, and the home run was his first since July 23 vs. Toledo. Two of his five home runs have come on the road (also: May 9 at Iowa).

WINS WITH INDY: With two runners in scoring position and one out, Tanner Anderson entered in relief of James Marvel and sat down his two batters faced to end the inning. He tossed 1.2 perfect innings to earn the win as the Indians came back to beat St. Paul. It was his first win since June 11 vs. Triple-A Reno and his first with Indianapolis since Aug. 29, 2018. Anderson has won his last three decisions with the Indians and is 4-2 during his career in the Circle City.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to leave St. Paul with a series tie today at 3:05 PM. It would be their first split in a road series since June 8-13 at Nashville. LHP Dillon Peters will make his first start with Indianapolis today vs. RHP Chandler Shepherd, who earned the win on Tuesday. In that game, Shepherd tossed a season-high 7.0 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed to lead St. Paul to a 16-1 win.

WELCOME TO THE ROTATION: Indianapolis native Dillon Peters will make his first start with the Indians today. Prior to being traded from Los Angeles (AL) to Pittsburgh, he made eight starts with Triple-A Salt Lake and compiled a 2-2 record, 4.35 ERA (20er/41.1ip) and 48 strikeouts. In 110 career starts, Peters has gone 39-31 with a 4.13 ERA (250er/545.0ip).

REHABBERS IN THE INFIELD: Colin Moran and Erik Gonzalez each joined Indianapolis on their respective rehab assignments this week. Moran was placed on the injured list with a pisiform bone fracture in his left wrist after being hit by a pitch on June 28 at Colorado, and Gonzalez was placed on the IL on July 2 with a right oblique strain. In two games with the Indians this week, Moran is 1-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Last night, Gonzalez went 0-1 and was hit by a pitch.

ALTOONA ARMS: John O'Reilly and Hunter Stratton are the latest bullpen reinforcements promoted from Double-A Altoona. O'Reilly was promoted yesterday after going 3-3 with a 5.09 ERA (20er/35.1ip) in 22 games with Altoona. He was signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent in 2017. Stratton, on the other hand, was promoted on July 23 after going 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA (4er/25.1ip) and 44 strikeouts in 20 outings. He made his Triple-A debut on Friday and tossed two scoreless innings.

THE HOT STOVE: Early on Friday, Pittsburgh announced that LHP Braeden Ogle was traded to Philadelphia in exchange for catcher Abrahan Gutierrez. Ogle appeared in 24 games out of the bullpen for Indianapolis this season and went 2-2 with a 3.13 ERA (11er/31.2ip) and 42 strikeouts. Since June 24 he has strung together 10 impressive outings, compiling a 2-0 record, 0.69 ERA (1er/13.0ip), 0.92 WHIP and .143 average against (6-for-42).

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