IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (56-55) vs. Columbus Clippers (63-48)

August 4, 2019 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


The Indians look to salvage the finale of their weekend series against Columbus.

LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 p.m. ET

GAME #112 / HOME #56: Indianapolis Indians (56-55) vs. Columbus Clippers (63-48)

PROBABLES: RHP Alex McRae (6-6, 4.96) vs. RHP Shao-Ching Chiang (6-7, 5.67)

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

TV: MiLB TV / Comcast 90

LAST NIGHT: The Indians couldn't hold 3-0 and 5-4 leads in an 8-6 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night. Ka'ai Tom hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the sixth inning with two outs to put the visitors on top 6-5. He then scored on a Jake Bauers double. Columbus made it 8-5 on a Mark Mathias sac fly in the seventh, but Jason Martin brought Indy back within two with a bases-loaded single. The rally stalled in the Tribe seventh, however, as Steven Baron popped out in foul ground and JB Shuck went down swinging. Indy put two on with no outs in the ninth but a line drive double play erased the threat. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Will Craig smashed run-scoring singles in the third ahead of a Kevin Kramer sac fly that made it 3-0. After Columbus scored four times in the fourth, Hunter Owen launched a 426-foot, two-run homer in the fifth that put Indy back on top, 5-4. Brandon Waddell (L, 1-4) gave up six runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings of work to take the loss.

THE SEASON SERIES: After Indy took 3 of 4 in the first series out of the All-Star break in Columbus, the Clippers have returned the favor at Victory Field by winning 3 of 4 games to extend its division lead back to 7.0 games with 29 to play. The Tribe are just 2-7 against the Clippers in the Circle City and 9-12 in the season series with three meetings left. Since 1988, Indy has never lost eight games at home to Columbus in a season. The Tribe haven't won a season series over Columbus since 2014, winning 13 of 21 matchups.

SINCE JULY 14: Will Craig went 3-for-5 with an RBI, run scored and strikeout last night, marking his sixth three-hit game of the season (first at Victory Field) and first since May 26 at Columbus. Craig has hit safely in seven of his last eight, nine of his last 11 and 14 of his last 18 games dating back to July 14. Since that date, he's hit .295 (23-for-78) with three homers, four doubles, 11 RBI, four walks and 27 strikeouts. He has eight multi-hit performances since July 14, as well.

MARTIN MASHING: OF Jason Martin has hit safely in six straight games, including multi-hit performances in three of his last five. He has hit .400 (10-for-25) with three doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in his last six games overall. Martin is also riding an 11-game hitting streak at Victory Field dating back to July 6. It is the longest home hitting streak for a Tribe player this year and the third-longest active streak in the league, trailing only Norfolk's Mason Williams (17) and Buffalo's Andy Burns (13). He has hit .308 (24-for-78) with two homers, six doubles, 12 RBI, 10 runs scored and a .360 OBP in his last 11 games at home.

BACK ON TRACK: Hunter Owen has hit safely in 10 of his 14 games with Indy this season, including a 2-for-4 showing with a two-run bomb in last night's loss. the multi-hit game was his third in a Tribe uniform. He started 2-for-16 (.125) through his first four Triple-A games but has bounced back by going 11-for-31 (.355) over his last 10.

COLE COOLED: Cole Tucker's season-best eight-game hitting streak was snapped last night after he went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored atop the order. During the stretch he hit .303 (10-for-33) with eight walks and only four strikeouts. Tucker, 23, has been walked 16 times since the All-Star break, tied for fifth most in the league.

ELMO'S WORLD: Jake Elmore went 1-for-5 last night but came up empty in key situations. He left a total of seven runners on base, including two at-bats with the bases loaded. He went 0-for-5 in the series opener as well after tallying five hits in 10 at-bats in the two-game set at Toledo. The 32-year-old is still hitting .346 (92-for-266) with four homers, 24 doubles and 26 RBI. Elmore is narrowly on the outside looking in to qualify among league leaders (currently at 299 PAs, needs 300 PAs for 111 games currently played to qualify). Indy's last batting champion was Junior Noboa (.340) in 1989 and they have had just four batting titles since 1969 (also: Bernie Carbo in 1969, Gene Locklear in 1972, Dallas Williams in 1987).

STRIKEOUT CENTRAL: Indy's staff has racked up 1,001 strikeouts through 111 games (9.02 K/game) and are on pace for 1,263 strikeouts for the season, which would easily exceed the current franchise record of 1,153 set in 2013. Indy's current strikeout total is sixth in the IL.

MORE ON THE PITCHING: The Indians lead the IL in saves converted (36) and batting average against (.255) are have given up the second-fewest home runs in the league (126). The 126 long balls surrendered are the most in a season for Indy since giving up that exact amount in 2010. With 29 games remaining, the pitching staff is on pace to give up 159 home runs, which would be a franchise record dating back to 1953. The current record is 145 homers allowed in 2005.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: The Indians have played 79 of their 111 games (71.2 percent) within three runs this year, the second-highest volume of games decided by three runs or less in the IL to only Pawtucket (80 of 111, 72.1 percent). Eleven of Indy's last 13 games have been decided by three runs or less, as well (84.6 percent). This season's 71.2% rate of games decided by three or less for Indy would be the highest since the Tribe played 104 of their 143 games (72.7 percent) within three runs in 2009.

BELOW .500 AT THE VIC: The Indians are just 26-29 at Victory Field with 15 home games remaining. The Tribe have finished below .500 just two times in the 23-year existence of Victory Field. The only sub-.500 campaigns in the Circle City came in 2002 (35-38) and 2003 (35-37).

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International League Stories from August 4, 2019


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