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IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (53-53) vs. Columbus Clippers (61-45)

July 30, 2019 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians seek a two-game series split with Columbus tonight in the Circle City.

LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 p.m. ET

GAME #107 / HOME #53: Indianapolis Indians (53-53) vs. Columbus Clippers (61-45)

PROBABLES: RHP James Marvel (3-0, 1.90) vs. RHP Aaron Civale (3-1, 2.29)

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

TV: MiLB TV / Comcast 90

LAST NIGHT: In the first of seven remaining games between the top two teams in the IL West, it was first-place Columbus who extended its IL West lead to eight games with a 10-6 win over the Tribe on Monday night. The big blow came in the top of the sixth inning. With the Indians leading 5-4 and Luis Escobar inheriting a bases-loaded jam from Eduardo Vera, Ka'ai Tom smoked a 3-0 pitch into the right-center gap for a three-run triple. Tom roped another run-scoring triple in the eighth that set up a second three-run frame for the visitors. Brandon Barnes and Bobby Bradley clubbed two-out solo shots in the first but the Tribe rallied to take 4-3 and 5-4 leads midway through the contest. Jason Martin hit an RBI single which Clippers RF Daniel Johnson misplayed into a two-base error, allowing an additional run to score. Christian Kelley homered and also had a sacrifice fly in the defeat.

TIME TO TURN IT ON: Indy has 34 games remaining in the regular season and trail Columbus and Durham both by 8.0 games in the IL West and IL Wild Card races. Only nine of the Tribe's last 34 games are against teams over .500 -- six at home vs. Columbus (61-45) and three at Durham (62-46). The combined records of Indy's five remaining sub-.500 opponents (10 vs. TOL, 3 vs. NOR, 3 vs. ROC, 4 vs. LHV, 5 vs. LOU) is 235-298 (.441).

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S A CHANCE: Indy's largest deficit in the IL West this season was 11.0 games as recently as July 12. Over the Tribe's 118-year history, Indy has won or shared a division title 26 times, last taking home the IL West crown in 2017. The top five division deficits the Tribe faced and still managed to win their respective divisions are listed below:

1. 12 games back on May 30, 1978: Indy was 20-18 but Evansville got off to a 34-8 start to the season. The Tribe won the division by a half game thanks to a win on the last day of the regular season coinciding with a doubleheader split for Evansville.

2. 10 games back on July 10, 1956: Indy was 43-40 and had to jump Minneapolis (45-41) and Denver (56-33) to win the American Association pennant.

3. 8 games back on June 18, 1963: Indy was 34-35 and rallied to top Atlanta (40-25) for the IL Southern Division title. The two teams played a one-game playoff for the division crown on September 3 that year and Indy won 1-0 at old Victory Field behind a 9-inning two-hitter thrown by Fritz Ackley, who finished 18-5 in the regular season.

4. 7.5 games back on June 5, 1995: Indy was 30-27 but sat in fourth place in the American Association, trailing Louisville (36-18), Omaha (32-20) and Buffalo (32-26). The Tribe went 58-29 in their last 87 games to win the pennant by six games over Buffalo.

5. 6.5 games back on June 2, 1961: Indy was 22-25 and was tied for fourth place out of six teams in the American Association. Louisville (26-16) led the division at the time, but the Indians went 64-39 in their final 103 games to win the pennant by six games over Louisville.

1956 ALL OVER AGAIN?: In 1956, Indy's last of a five-year run as the Cleveland Indians' top minor league affiliate, the Tribe overcame a 10.0-game division deficit 83 games into the season. At the 106-game mark (number of games Indy has played this season), the Tribe stared an 8.5-game division deficit in the face before going 34-14 in their last 48 games to finish 92-62 as pennant winners. This year at the 106-game point, the Tribe are 8.0 games back of Columbus but only have 34 games to make up ground rather than the 48 the 1956 Indy Indians had at their disposal. The 1956 team was managed by Kerby Farrell and was headlined by players like Roger Maris, Team MVP Larry Raines, Ted Beard and Joe Altobelli.

KELLEY AT HOME: Christian Kelley belted his fourth homer of the season last night in the third inning to put Indy on the board. The long ball was his first since July 18 vs. Syracuse and third of the month (also: July 4 vs. Toledo). All four of his home runs have come at Victory Field, where he owns a .675 OPS in 27 games compared to a .462 OPS in 31 road affairs. Kelley also logged a sacrifice fly last night to give him two RBI in a game for a third time this summer (also: April 11 vs. Charlotte, May 31 vs. Gwinnett).

MULTI PABLO: Pablo Reyes logged his second straight two-hit performance last night, the fourth time he's tallied two consecutive multi-hit games this season (also: May 24-25, June 5-6 and July 12-13). He hasn't recorded three straight multi-hit games since a four-game stretch from Sept. 12-18, 2018 with Pittsburgh; he had two hits in each contest during that streak. Since the All-Star break, Reyes has hit .352 (19-for-54) with five homers, three doubles and 11 RBI in 15 games. Reyes is a lifetime .295 hitter with an .846 OPS after the break and just a .262 hitter with a .712 OPS prior to the break.

VERA ROUGHED UP: Eduardo Vera was charged with seven earned runs on eight hits (three home runs) and two walks with two strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work last night, falling to 5-9 on the season. He is tied for the league lead in innings pitched but also owns the highest qualifying ERA in the IL at 6.95, the third-highest WHIP (1.52) among qualifying pitchers and has surrendered a league-most 140 hits. He has also beaned 12 batters, more than any other pitcher in the league. Over his last four starts, he has given up 28 earned runs in 16.2 innings (15.12 ERA).

HOOSIER HOSPITALITY: Hunter Owen, a native of Evansville, Ind. and former Indiana State Sycamore, enters tonight's contest riding a six-game hitting streak dating back to July 18, his longest in Triple-A and the longest active streak for the Indians. During the stretch, the 25-year-old has hit .364 (8-for-22) with two homers, four RBI and four runs scored.

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