IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (52-58) at Louisville Bats (48-62)

September 10, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Louisville Slugger Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:00 PM ET

GAME #111 / Road #57: Indianapolis Indians (52-58) at Louisville Bats (48-62)

PROBABLES: RHP James Marvel (4-6, 5.45) vs. LHP Tommy Milone (0-1, 3.24)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: Thanks to a grand slam off the bat of Narciso Crook, the Indians lost their second game to Louisville in the six-game series, 6-3. With the Bats leading by one run entering the seventh inning, they loaded the bases with one out on a single, walk and hit batter. Crook then sent a 3-1 pitch over the left-field wall to extend the lead past the Indians reach. The Indians rallied with four consecutive one-out singles in the top of the eighth, capped by a bases-loaded, two-run knock by Phillip Evans.

ELEVENSES: With a single in the eighth inning last night, Bligh Madris extended his hitting streak to a team-high 11 games since Aug. 28. The streak surpassed Indy's previous team high of 10 games by Phillip Evans and Tucupita Marcano. The 11-gamer is also a career high for Madris (previous, 9 games with Short-Season A West Virginia; 8/2 (1)-11/17). In his current streak, he is hitting .375 (15-for-40) with a .525 slugging percentage and .957 OPS. He was named the Indians August Player of the Month on Friday and has since continued that success. In eight games so far in September, the Indians outfielder ranks seventh among Triple-A East leaders with a .393 batting average (11-for-28). Since Aug. 1, Madris owns a .299 batting average (29-for-97) with 13 extra-base hits, 21 RBI and a 1.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio (15 walks, 17 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 33 games since being optioned by Pittsburgh at the end of July. Since Aug. 3, Oliva is hitting .303 (37-for-122) with 13 extra-base hits (nine doubles, two triples, two homers) and 20 RBI. Four of Oliva's five hits over the first three games at Louisville have been two-baggers, with him hitting one double in each of the last two games for the Indians only extra-base hits of the contests. The streak of three consecutive games with a double is his longest since a streak of four games from June 14-18, 2019 with Double-A Altoona. Since Aug. 1, he is tied with Bligh Madris (nine doubles, four home runs) for the most extra-base hits by an Indians slugger.

BUT FIRST, THE BULLPEN: Connor Overton made his first appearance in an Indians uniform last night and tossed one hitless inning in relief of Tanner Anderson. The right-hander was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh from Toronto on Sept. 6, less than one month after making his MLB debut. He began the season split between Buffalo's rotation and bullpen, going 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA (13er/57.2ip) in 21 games (7 starts) before having his contract selected by Toronto on Aug. 11. Overton didn't allow a run in four appearances (6.2ip) with the Blue Jays.

DUTIES AS ASSIGNED: Tanner Anderson made his third start of the season last night with Indianapolis and tossed a season-high five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits in the first inning and followed with just two hits surrendered through his final four frames of work, keeping the Indians within striking distance of the Bats. Anderson has spent most of the season as a reliever with Indy and Triple-A Las Vegas and hadn't thrown five-or-more innings since Aug. 11, 2019 with Las Vegas at Omaha (5.2ip). In his career, he owns a 3.27 ERA (90er/247.1ip) in 134 relief appearances and a 4.82 ERA (129er/240.2ip) in 46 starts.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to tie the series at Louisville tonight at 7:00 PM ET. Louisville currently leads the season series, nine 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 all three of the remaining games between the two teams to continue that streak. RHP James Marvel will make his fourth start vs. the Bats tonight after taking a no-decision against them at Victory Field on Aug. 29. LHP Tommy Milone will make his second start vs. the Indians, his first coming on Aug. 28 when he tossed one scoreless inning.

GOOD FOR IT: After tossing his second quality start of the season on Sept. 5 vs. Iowa, James Marvel will take the mound tonight for his fourth start vs. Louisville. Against the I-Cubs, he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in 6.0 innings to take a no-decision. He has been one of the most consistent starters by innings pitched for the Indians this season, tossing at least five innings in 16 of his 21 outings. Marvel had the same consistency in his length of starts as Pittsburgh's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2019, with eight of his 11 starts lasting 5.0-or-more innings.

BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER: With nine games remaining in the second half of the Triple-A East regular season, the Indians surpassed their first-half total of stolen bases last night. They went 32-for-42 in stolen base attempts through July 11 and are currently 33-for-45 after that date. A new experimental rule change expanded the size of bases in the Triple-A East for the first half of the season from 15 inches square to 18 inches, shortening the length of the basepaths. The Indians are four stolen bases away from their 2019 total of 69, which marked a Victory Field era low, and the lowest bases swiped by the team since 1971 (66).

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