IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (52-56) vs. Louisville Bats (46-62)

September 8, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Louisville Slugger Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:30 PM ET

GAME #109 / Road #55: Indianapolis Indians (52-56) vs. Louisville Bats (46-62)

PROBABLES: RHP Beau Sulser (6-5, 4.26) vs. RHP Reiver Sanmartin (6-2, 3.80)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians offense erupted for 11 runs on 14 hits, their most base-knocks since Aug. 7 at Iowa (18), in a series-opening win over Louisville last night, 11-4. Six runs in the fourth inning gave the Indians an insurmountable lead, and they continued to tack on as the Bats couldn't come back. The scoring began with four consecutive base hits off Hunter Greene in the fourth inning. With a 4-0 lead, Diego Castillo launched his second Triple-A home run over the berm in left field to extend the lead, 6-0. After each team scored one run in the fifth, Taylor Davis extended Indy's lead with a three-run homer in the seventh inning. The Bats countered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't overcome the deficit.

MAYOR OF LOUISVILLE: Both of Taylor Davis' home runs this season have come against Louisville; each has occurred within his last six games played. Davis entered last night's game as a replacement for catcher Christian Bethancourt (who departed with a hamstring injury and was placed on the 7-day injured list today) and sent a three-run homer out to straightaway center field in the seventh inning to extend the Indians lead to 10-1. His first home run of the season came on Aug. 25 at Victory Field vs. the Bats, also in a game started by Hunter Greene.

DIEGO ON A POWER TRIP: Diego Castillo launched his second Triple-A home run of the season over the left-field berm at Louisville Slugger Field last night to cap off a six-run fourth inning for the Indians. He is hitting .400 (8-for-20) with an .800 slugging percentage and 1.319 OPS, and has reached base safely in all six games played with Indianapolis since making his Triple-A debut on Sept. 1. Castillo, 23, has 18 home runs (11 with Double-A Somerset, five with Double-A Altoona, two with Indy) in 397 plate appearances combined, an average of one home run per 22.1 plate appearances. From 2015-19, Castillo launched eight home runs in 1,926 plate appearances combined (1 HR every 240.8 PA). Castillo's previous career high for home runs in a single season was four (2019 with High-A Tampa).

MAD MAX, FURY ROAD: Max Kranick continued his dominant streak of starts on the road, earning his third Triple-A win last night at Louisville with his second quality start. All three of his Triple-A wins have come in away contests (June 12 at Nashville, Aug. 20 at Toledo, Sept. 7 at Louisville). Last night, he allowed one earned run over 6.0 innings as the Indians backed him with 11 runs on 14 hits for the win. On the road against Triple-A East opponents this season, Kranick owns a 0.53 ERA (1er/17.0ip), 0.88 WHIP and .158 average against (9-for-57). His numbers on the road are in stark comparison to his stats at Victory Field, where he is 0-4 with a 6.89 ERA (24er/31.1ip), 1.63 WHIP and .316 average against (42-for-133) in eight starts.

EIGHT IS GREAT: With two singles last night at Louisville, Tucupita Marcano extended his hitting streak to eight games dating back to Aug. 28 vs. Louisville. It was his second consecutive multi-hit game and raised his average in that time frame to .344 (11-for-32) with a .432 on-base percentage and five walks to three strikeouts. Marcano's discipline at the plate and speed on the basepaths has paid off for the Indians; he has gone 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts in 33 games with the Indians compared to 4-for-8 in 44 games with Triple-A El Paso.

BLIGH'S GOT NINE: Also since Aug. 28, Bligh Madris is riding a nine-game hitting streak, extended last night with a pair of singles. In that span, he is hitting .406 (13-for-32) with a .594 slugging percentage and 1.066 OPS. He was named the Indians August Player of the Month on Friday and has continued that success through the first six games in September. Since Aug. 1, Madris owns a .303 batting average (27-for-89) with 13 extra-base hits, 21 RBI and a 1.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio (15 walks, 16 strikeouts).

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: After beginning the season with Indianapolis hitting just .167 (8-for-48) in his first 15 games, Jared Oliva has since strung together an impressive last 31 games since being optioned by Pittsburgh at the end of July. Since Aug. 3, Oliva is hitting .307 (35-for-114) with 11 extra-base hits and 20 RBI. Last night, he went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles for his first performance with multiple extra-base hits since Aug. 7 at Iowa (two doubles).

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series at Louisville tonight at 6:30 PM ET. After losing five straight contests vs. Louisville from June 26-Aug. 26, the Indians are on a four-game winning streak vs. the Bats. Louisville currently leads the season series, seven games to six, after going 4-2 over the first six games at Louisville Slugger Field from June 22-27. The Indians haven't finished below .500 against the Bats in the season series since 2016 and will have to win three of the remaining five games between the two teams to continue that streak. RHP Beau Sulser will make his fourth start vs. the Bats and third at Louisville Slugger Field. LHP Reiver Sanmartin will take the mound for the home team in his third outing vs. Indy this season.

HOLDING AN ACE: Beau Sulser is set to make his 20th start this season after tossing his team-leading fourth quality start of the season on Sept. 2 to earn the win against Iowa. He went 6.0 innings and allowed two unearned runs on just two hits. The performance lowered his season ERA from 4.53 to 4.26 (48er/101.1ip), which ranks eighth among Triple-A East qualifiers. Sulser, who is in his first season as a full-time starter, is also tied for third among league leaders with 19 games started and sixth in innings pitched.

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