IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (42-41) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (37-47)

Published on July 4, 2019 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians and Mud Hens open a five-game series this evening at Victory Field.

LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:15 p.m. ET

GAME #84 / HOME #40: Indianapolis Indians (42-41) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (37-47)

PROBABLES: RHP Mitch Keller (6-2, 2.82) vs. RHP Drew VerHagen (3-2, 3.08)

RADIO: Fox Sports 97.5 / AM 1260 / iHeart app

TV: MiLB TV / Comcast 90

LAST NIGHT: The Indians dropped their second straight game in Louisville and the three-game set overall with a 7-6 defeat on Wednesday night. The Tribe scored three runs in the first inning, one on a Will Craig bases-loaded groundout and two on a double by Trayvon Robinson. The Bats answered with six runs in their first three half innings at the dish to build a 6-3 advantage, and the two IL West foes exchanged single runs in the fifth that made it 7-4. The score remained that way until Darnell Sweeney hit a fly ball into the twilight in the eighth inning that Louisville's center fielder lost track of, resulting in a two-run double. Indy couldn't complete the comeback, however, leaving them with a seventh series loss in their last nine overall.

ALL BUT A CYCLE: Trayvon Robinson went 3-for-3 against Louisville last night for his second three-hit game of the road trip. He knocked in two runs with a double in the first inning and later added a single in the fourth and one-out triple off the top of the wall in right-center in the sixth. Unfortunately, he didn't get another official at-bat, walking on six pitches in his final plate appearance in the eighth to finish a home run shy of the cycle. He has hit safely in seven straight games (June 26-July 3), batting .478 (11-for-23) with two homers, one triple, two doubles and seven RBI during the stretch.

MULTI-HIT MARTIN: Since going 2-for-37 (.054) in a 10-game stretch from June 8-18, Jason Martin has hit safely in seven of his last nine Triple-A games (.400, 12-for-30), five being multi-hit contests. Since returning from Pittsburgh on June 28, he is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with a double and three RBI.

POINT THE FINGER: The Indians owned the league's best record at 34-23 following a 3-2 win at Toledo on June 6. Since then, the Tribe have gone 8-18 in their last 26 games to turn a two-game lead in the division to a 9.5-game deficit behind Columbus. The Tribe sit just one game over .500 at 42-41 and are in danger of falling back to .500 for the first time since they were 16-16 on May 9.

SINCE JUNE 7: Indy's 8-18 stretch has been a result of a struggling offense that is batting a league-low .232 with a league-low 194 hits (7.46 HPG) during the stretch. The Indians have scored just 85 runs in those 26 contests (3.27 RPG) with a league-worst 13 home runs. Norfolk's 23 home runs rank 13th in the league since June 7.

REINFORCEMENTS: The Indians added UTIL Pablo Reyes and 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes to their roster this afternoon. Reyes (L hamstring strain) and Hayes (L index finger dislocation) were both placed on the injured list on June 13, and the Tribe went 7-13 in the 20 games they missed. The duo recently completed minor league rehab assignments with Short-Season A West Virginia. Reyes hit .300 (3-for-10) with one double and one RBI in three games, and the 22-year-old Hayes batted .111 (1-for-9) with one double, two RBI and two walks in three contests.

GREGORY RETURNS: OF Gregory Polanco is back with the Tribe on another rehab assignment, his second of the season with Indy. In mid-April, he hit .300 (6-for-20) with five RBI in five games before being reinstated from the injured list by Pittsburgh. Polanco, 27, had offseason left shoulder surgery and hit .242 (37-for-153) with six homers, eight doubles and 17 RBI in 42 games for the Buccos before landing back on the injured list with posterior left shoulder inflammation.

KELLER TIME: Mitch Keller gets the nod for Indy tonight in the series opener for his second career start on the Fourth of July (also: 2017 with Bradenton at Palm Beach; W, 5.0ip, 4h, 1r, 1er, 1bb, 5k). Keller's last outing against Toledo was a doozy. He allowed the first three batters to reach safely in the first inning before striking out 12 of the next 13 batters he faced. He lasted 5.0 innings and struck out a career-high 13 with three walks and one hit surrendered.

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International League Stories from July 4, 2019


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