IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (42-44) vs. St. Paul Saints (46-40)

August 13, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #87 / Home #40: Indianapolis Indians (42-44) vs. St. Paul Saints (46-40)

PROBABLES: RHP Steven Wright (4-6, 6.67) vs. LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-2, 6.35)

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

TV: MiLB TV / MyINDY TV 23

LAST NIGHT: As a light rain fell, the Indians lost their second consecutive game at Victory Field, 3-2. The Saints took an early lead in the top of the first inning off an RBI double by Mark Contreras. With the bases loaded and no outs, James Marvel held St. Paul to just one run in the third inning to extend the lead to 2-0. The roles then reversed, with the Indians scoring just one run with no outs on a bases-loaded walk to Taylor Davis. In the top of the fifth inning, Nick Gordon hit a long home run out to right-center field to score an insurance run needed for the Saints win as the Indians scored one additional run in the sixth.

HITTING THE TEAM HIGH: With a walk last night, Tucupita Marcano extended his on-base streak to 11 consecutive games with Indianapolis while snapping his career-high tying 10-game hitting streak. Marcano's hitting streak passed Anthony Alford for the longest streak by an Indians player this season. Marcano, who joined Indianapolis on July 28 after being traded to Pittsburgh from San Diego in a deal that sent Adam Frazier to the Padres, went 0-for-7 in his first two games with Indianapolis before hitting safely in each of his next 10 with a .295 average (13-for-44). In his first 10-gamer from April 28 (2)-May 10, 2019 with Single-A Fort Wayne, Marcano hit .439 (18-for-41).

MACIAS MASHING: Fabricio Macias went 2-for-3 last night for his third multi-hit performance in seven August games. The game increased his average for the month to .368 (7-for-19) and his season clip to .311 (23-for-74) in 23 games. In 13 games with a hit, eight of those performances have featured multiple base knocks.

YOU DOWN WITH OPS (YEAH YOU KNOW ME): Cole Tucker has had nine months in his career where he's posted an OPS over .800. He recorded an .881 OPS over 12 games with Indy in July and currently has an .817 OPS in August through 11 games. Tucker has never had consecutive months with an OPS at .800 or above.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to break a two-game losing skid against St. Paul tonight at Victory Field. They have not lost a series to their former American Association opponents yet this season, going 4-2 from May 18-23 and splitting their last six games from July 27-Aug. 1. RHP Steven Wright will make his fourth appearance (second start) vs. the Saints this season. He has allowed runs in just one of his outings vs. St. Paul this season, combining for 5.0 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts between the other two. For the Saints, LHP Lewis Thorpe will make his first appearance against the Indians after being activated from the injured list (left shoulder strain) on Aug. 8. Outside of his rehab assignment, Thorpe has split the season between St. Paul and Minnesota.

THE WRIGHT WAY: In his last outing against the Saints on July 31, Steven Wright earned his first save since Sept. 16, 2018 vs. New York (NL). 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).

PLAYER OF THE MONTH: The Indians announced today that relief pitcher Shea Spitzbarth has been named their July Player of the Month after his performance for the month led to him making his major league debut with Pittsburgh on Aug. 2. He allowed four runs (three earned) in July to hold his season ERA under the 2.00 mark (1.41, 5er/32.0ip). Compared to his first two months of the season, Spitzbarth upped his strikeout count from 6.33 strikeouts per nine innings in May and June combined to an 8.44 K/9 rate in July.

UNDEFEATED AT HOME: During the 1948 season, the Indians went 11-0 against St. Paul at old Victory Field (later named Bush Stadium) in the regular season. Indianapolis went on to win 100 games that season, their only 100-win campaign in franchise history. After finishing with an 11.0 game lead in the American Association, the Indians faced off against St. Paul in the American Association semifinals and lost the series, 4-2, with a pair of losses in extra innings. That 1948 team featured the American Association MVP, Les Fleming, who hit .323 (170-for-527) and led the league with an Indianapolis franchise record 143 RBI.

HOME SWEET HOME: With the 10 Triple-A Final Stretch games added onto the end of the schedule, the Indians are home for five of their final eight series in 2021. The remaining home schedule features nine more games vs. St. Paul (Aug. 10-15, Sept. 14-19), six games vs. Louisville (Aug. 24-29) and Iowa (Aug. 31-Sept. 5), and a final five games vs. Nashville (Sept. 29-Oct. 3). The Indians are currently 22-17 at Victory Field this season.

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