IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (48-53) vs. Iowa Cubs (42-60)

August 31, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #102 / Home #49: Indianapolis Indians (48-53) vs. Iowa Cubs (42-60)

PROBABLES: RHP Miguel Yajure (1-2, 3.51) vs. RHP Joe Biagini (2-6, 5.69)

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

TV: MiLB TV

SUNDAY: The Indians won their third consecutive game to escape the six-game series with Louisville in a split on Sunday, 7-6. They took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, all with two outs. Starting pitcher James Marvel led off the effort with his second hit of the series as the first of five consecutive singles for the Indians. With the bases loaded, Hoy Park drove in two and Bligh Madris followed to tack on another run. Louisville came back in the top of the fourth inning with two runs on a bases loaded single off the bat of Narciso Crook. The Bats then took the lead with one out in the top of the fifth inning with a three-run homer by Michael De Leon. Facing a one-run deficit after a sacrifice fly by Hoy Park in the bottom of the fifth inning, Evans singled with the bases loaded in the sixth to score a pair of runs and retake the lead, 6-5. The Indians scored an insurance run off a Fabricio Macias RBI single in the seventh inning to extend the lead before Louisville scored one in the eighth.

EVANS IS ON IT: In his past two games with Indianapolis, Phillip Evans is 5-for-9 with three doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. On Saturday, he went 2-for-4 with two doubles for his first multi-hit game since Aug. 10 vs. St. Paul. On Sunday in the win over Louisville, he went 3-for-5 to lead the team in hits and drove in a pair of runs in the sixth inning to give Indianapolis its second and final lead of the game. In 23 games with Indianapolis this season, he is hitting .280 (21-for-75) with seven doubles, six RBI and nine runs scored.

PARKING AT VICTORY FIELD: On Sunday, Hoy Park tied his season high with three RBI. In the series-ending win over Louisville, he went 1-for-3 with one walk, upping his season total to 53, which is third among Triple-A East leaders. Park collected two RBI in the bottom of the third inning with a single to left field and drove in his third run of the night in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Park has recorded three RBI five other times this season with the last coming with Pittsburgh on Aug. 3 at Milwaukee.

TONIGHT: The Indians begin a six-game series with the Iowa Cubs tonight at 7:05 PM ET. The Indians are currently 8-10 against the I-Cubs this season after winning their first of three series against them with four consecutive wins from Aug. 5-8. Tonight, RHP Miguel Yajure will take the mound for his first start against Iowa since May 9 when he allowed one earned run in 6.0 innings but took the loss as Indianapolis was no-hit. For Iowa, RHP Joe Biagini will make his fourth start and fifth outing against the Indians this season. In his first four outings, he is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA (6er/19.2ip) and 14 strikeouts.

SLUGGING VS. THE CUBS: In their last series against Iowa, the Indians combined for 13 home runs from Aug. 6-8 to set a Victory Field era record for homers in a three-game span. The Indians began the streak with six home runs on Aug. 6, their most since tying a Victory Field era high with seven home runs on July 6, 2017 at Columbus. They followed with five home runs on Aug. 7, marking the highest number of home runs in back-to-back games for the team in the past 25 years. Eight different Indians batters launched home runs over the three games, with Anthony Alford, Hunter Owen, Cole Tucker, Michael Chavis and Bligh Madris each hitting two homers over that span. Indianapolis scored 33 runs over 27 innings of baseball in that time frame, with 21 of those runs coming via the long ball.

NEWBIE: Diego Castillo was promoted to Indy today after playing in 28 games with Double-A Altoona. The 23-year-old infielder hit .282 (31-for-110) with three doubles and five home runs with the Curve. Castillo was traded to Pittsburgh from New York (AL) with Hoy Park in exchange for RHP Clay Holmes prior to the July 30 trade deadline. Split between Altoona and Double-A Somerset this season, Castillo is hitting .278 (93-for-334) with 16 home runs and 48 RBI in 86 games.

YOU KNOW YA-HOO: Miguel Yajure will make his second start at Victory Field with the Indians tonight vs. Iowa. On Aug. 25 vs. Louisville, he allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. Yajure tossed a quality start in his Triple-A debut against the I-Cubs on May 9, giving up just one run on four hits in six innings. It was his only career start against Iowa and he ultimately took the loss as the Indians were no-hit, 2-0. The 23-year-old is rated No. 24 among Pittsburgh's top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline and has been reliable for both Pittsburgh and Indianapolis this season. In five starts with Indianapolis, he owns a 3.51 ERA (10er/25.2ip) and 26 strikeouts, with five of those earned runs coming in one outing.

STATE OF THE ROSTER: Sixty-six different players have now appeared for Indianapolis, which ties the 2019 total with 30 games still to be played this season. Of the 66, 34 pitchers, five catchers, 16 infielders and 11 outfielders have appeared in an Indians uniform, with a handful of those coming on major league rehab assignments. Twelve members of the Indians Opening Day roster are currently active on the team, but only half of those have spent the entire season on Indy's roster while staying healthy.

HOME: The Indians are currently on a three-home winning streak at Victory Field, which is their longest at home since winning three straight against Memphis from June 15-17. They began the season with a 16-5 record at Victory Field before going 7-17 prior to this latest win streak. They have not won a series at home since facing Memphis from June 15-20.

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