IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (5-2) at St. Paul Saints (5-2)

April 13, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:37 PM ET

GAME #8 / Road #2: Indianapolis Indians (5-2) at St. Paul Saints (5-2)

PROBABLES: RHP Chase De Jong (0-0, 2.25) vs. RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 0.00)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Two Oneil Cruz extra-base hits, a triple off the bat of Mason Martin and Beau Sulser's first career complete game propelled the Indians to a series-opening win at St. Paul in a rain-shortened, five inning contest last night, 5-1. With one out in the top of the first inning, Cruz roped his first triple of the season down the right-field line and was brought in on an RBI single by Rodolfo Castro. RBI singles by Ji-Hwan Bae and Travis Swaggerty with two outs in the second inning extended Indy's lead to 3-0 before St. Paul could get on the board. Cal Mitchell drove in one run in the third, and Martin capped the scoring for the Indians with his RBI triple in the fourth inning to score Cruz from second base. The game was called due to inclement weather following the completion of the fifth inning.

SULSER SLINGS IT: Beau Sulser recorded his first career complete game in the rain-shortened game last night at St. Paul. His complete game was the first tossed among all 30 Triple-A teams this season. He earned his first win of the season after surrendering one unearned run with no walks and seven strikeouts. The right-hander has made 38 starts in his career and last season tossed a team-high five quality starts. In addition, he notched a team-high 20.1-inning scoreless streak from June 27-July 17 (2) spanning four appearances (three starts). He also ranked fifth among Triple-A East leaders with 122.2 innings pitched.

IN THE IL: After last night's stellar performance both at the plate and on the mound, the Indians now rank first among all 20 International League teams with a .275 batting average (57-for-207) and second with a 2.78 ERA (17er/55.0ip) through their first seven games. In their four-game winning streak dating back to last Friday, the pitching staff owns a 1.13 ERA (4er/32.0ip) with no more than two earned runs allowed in a single game to lead the league.

GOING STREAKING: After winning their fourth consecutive games last night at St. Paul, the Indians have the chance to tie their season-high five-game winning streak from a year ago (2x: 6/12-17, 8/5-10) tonight. In the last four games, Indy has an advantage against its opponents in hits (36-26), extra-base hits (14-8) and runs scored (22-6). The Indians have won three of the of the four games decisively, with the streak-opening win on Friday, April 8 vs. Omaha being the only one-run game (Indians won via walk-off in the bottom of the ninth). The largest margin of victory during the four games was on April 9 vs. Omaha, 7-1.

MARTIN MASHING: Mason Martin roped his second triple in just six games this season last night after recording seven career triples in the first four seasons of his career. On Sunday, he went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI to lead the Indians to a series-clinching win over Omaha on Sunday. It was his third career performance with three extra-base hits, with the most recent coming on June 30, 2019 vs. Single-A West Virginia. He tied the game with his first home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning, and smacked a two-run, two-out double to score Canaan Smith-Njigba and Oneil Cruz in the fifth. Through five games to begin the season, Martin owns a .364 average (8-for-22) and ranks among league leaders with two triples (T-1st), six extra-base hits (T-2nd), a .818 slugging percentage (3rd), 18 total bases (T-5th), and 1.209 OPS (9th). In 13 career Triple-A games dating back to last season, the hard-hitting first baseman owns a .298 batting average (14-for-47), nine extra-base hits and 11 RBI. In 2021, he led all Pirates minor leaguers with 25 home runs between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis.

BLIGH IS BACK: Indy's 2021 Rookie of the Year, OF Bligh Madris, made his season debut for the Indians on Saturday night and has reached base safely in each of his three games played with two doubles and a walk. Last season, he tied for the team lead (also: Chris Sharpe) with 25 doubles. Dating back to Aug. 27, 2021 when he began a 26-game on-base streak to end the season, Madris has reached base safely in 29 consecutive Triple-A games. The 26-year-old earned his first non-roster invite to the Pirates camp in March and slashed .368/.429/.947 in 14 games. He spent the majority of 2021 in Triple-A and hit .272 (91-for-334) with a team-high tying 25 doubles, nine home runs and 55 RBI in 104 games.

MITCHELL MASHING: Cal Mitchell extended his RBI streak to a league-high six games to begin the season with an RBI single last night, already breaking the Indians 2021 team-high RBI streak of five games (Christian Bethancourt and Colin Moran). It is the longest streak by an Indians batter since Adam Frazier and Jordan Luplow in 2008 and is his longest to begin a season since being selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. Mitchell, who entered the season rated as Pittsburgh's No. 32 prospect by Baseball America, was first promoted to Indianapolis from Altoona on Sept. 20, 2021 and went 5-for-20 with a double and RBI in seven Triple-A games. He launched 12 home runs in 108 games with Altoona and ended the season ranked among Double-A Northeast leaders with 107 total hits (4th), a .280 batting average (8th) and 61 RBI (9th).

BAE ON BASE: Ji-Hwan Bae extended his hitting streak to a league-high tying six games to begin his Triple-A career on last night with an RBI single in the second inning. On Saturday, Bae reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances and scored two of the Indians' seven runs in the win. His six-game hitting streak is his longest to begin a season since being signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent. Rated as Pittsburgh's No. 25 prospect by Baseball America, the South Korea native spent the majority of the 2021 season with Altoona and hit .278 (89-for-320) in 83 games. He ranked among Pirates farmhands in triples (T-4th, 5), stolen bases (T-5th, 20), runs (T-7th, 66) and average (7th, .281).

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to tie their 2021 season-high winning streak of five games tonight at St. Paul after taking the series-opener last night in five innings, 5-1. Last year, Indianapolis' second road trip began with six games in St. Paul and they went 4-2 with three consecutive wins from 5/20-22. In 12 games at CHS Field, the Indians went 7-5 with a 5-7 record vs. the Saints at Victory Field. RHP Chase De Jong will take the mound for his second career start at St. Paul tonight vs. RHP Cole Sands.

THIS DATE IN 2019: After beginning the season 0-3, the Indians extended their winning streak to six games behind offensive contributions from every spot in the lineup. Each player nabbed at least one hit, with shortstop Cole Tucker and eventual Team MVP Jake Elmore leading the charge with three hits apiece. Indy trailed 3-0 after the top of the first but managed to put up nine runs on 16 hits to win its third game of the four-game series with Charlotte, 9-7.

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