IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (57-63) at Omaha Storm Chasers (67-54)

Published on September 23, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Werner Park

FIRST PITCH: 8:05 PM ET

GAME #121 / Road #61: Indianapolis Indians (57-63) at Omaha Storm Chasers (67-54)

PROBABLES: RHP John O'Reilly (0-1, 5.92) vs. RHP Brandon Barker (1-3, 8.74)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: A back-and-forth battle ended in the Storm Chasers favor last night, 4-3. With Omaha leading 1-0 in the top of the third inning, Oneil Cruz - in his second Triple-A at-bat - sent a fly ball over the left-field bleachers for his first home run with the Indians since being promoted from Double-A Altoona on Monday. Gabriel Cancel retook the lead for the Storm Chasers in the sixth inning with a solo home run, but the lead didn't last long. With one runner on and one out in the top of the seventh, Christian Bethancourt sent his 11th home run of the season out to right field to give the Indians their first lead, 3-2. Omaha responded with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and the Indians were held scoreless through the final two frames.

ROLLER COASTER LUMBER CO: Pittsburgh's No. 3 prospect and the No. 53 prospect in all of minor league baseball, Oneil Cruz, made his Triple-A debut last night at Omaha, batting leadoff and playing shortstop. After hitting a sharp line drive to left field in the first inning, he sent an opposite-field home run out over the left-field bleachers to plate the first Indians run. After reaching base safely with a walk in the seventh inning, he stole second base for his first at the Triple-A level. Outside of a stint on the injured list from July 6-Aug. 19, the 6-foot-7 shortstop spent the season with Altoona and hit .292 (73-for-250) with 15 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, 40 RBI, 18 stolen bases and an .882 OPS. His speed on the basepaths paid off for the Curve, and he ended the campaign tied for second among league leaders in triples and tied for ninth in stolen bases.

THROWING ACES: Against the club that leads the Triple-A East in home runs, Pittsburgh's No. 6 prospect (MLB Pipeline), Roansy Contreras, allowed just one run via a twilight-aided RBI double in 3.2 innings during his Triple-A debut last night. He threw 42 of his 65 pitches for strikes, and six of his 11 outs recorded came via strikeout. He exited the game with the score knotted at 1-1. Contreras was promoted from Altoona to Indianapolis on Monday. The 21-year-old right-hander put together a stellar Double-A campaign despite spending almost two months on the IL with a right forearm injury, and finished the season there with a 3-2 record, 2.65 ERA (16er/54.1ip), 76 strikeouts, 0.90 WHIP and .185 average against (37-for-200) in 12 starts.

MAKE IT FOUR: Mason Martin (PIT No. 17, MLB Pipeline) and Rodolfo Castro (No. 25) joined Roansy Contreras and Oneil Cruz in making their Triple-A debuts last night at Omaha. Castro went 1-for-4 with a third-inning double, and Martin was hit by a pitch, had a pair of long flyouts and grounded sharply into a 4-5-3 double play in the ninth.

LOOKIN' GOOD, FEELIN' GOOD: After beginning his rehab assignment with four consecutive games as the Indians designated hitter, Michael Chavis made his first appearance in the field last night at Omaha. The infielder has hit safely in the last four of his five rehab games with Indy, with the last three being multi-hit showings. Since being assigned to Indy on Sept. 16, he is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with a double, home run, four RBI and 1.108 OPS.

BLIGH ON BASE: Bligh Madris went 1-for-4 last night to extend his on-base streak to 21 games since Aug. 27. During that time frame he notched a team-high 15-game hitting streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 15, the longest of his career. Since Aug. 27, Madris is hitting .321 (25-for-78) with a .386 on-base percentage and .861 OPS. It is the second longest on-base streak by an Indians player this season, trailing Anthony Alford's 25 games from June 1-July 20. During that stretch, Alford hit .415 (34-for-82) with a .538 on-base percentage and 1.258 OPS.

TONIGHT: The Indians will look to earn their first Triple-A Final Stretch victory tonight as their 2021 campaign concludes with a pair of five-game sets at Omaha (Sept. 22-26) and vs. Nashville (Sept. 29-Oct. 3). The last time the Indians visited Werner Park (May 25-30), they entered the series with a one-game lead in the Triple-A East Midwest Division and were swept in the six-game set. RHP John O'Reilly will lead the Indians in a bullpen game tonight against RHP Brandon Barker, who will make his second start vs. Indy (first: 7/14 at Victory Field, 6.1ip, 4h, 1r, 1er, 3k).

BRING 'EM UP: The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Monday that eight players from Altoona, six of which are rated among their top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, were promoted to Indianapolis for the final 10 games of the Triple-A season. Cal Mitchell and Canaan Smith-Njigba are the two remaining prospects who have yet to make their Triple-A debuts. Their Double-A seasons are recapped below:

OF Cal Mitchell, PIT No. 18 - The lefty paired an impressive campaign at the plate with stellar defense to earn his promotion. Mitchell hit .280 (107-for-382), good for eighth in the league. His total hits ranked fourth, and he also had the league's ninth-most RBI (61). He compiled a .984 fielding percentage (3 errors in 192 total chances) in 822.2 innings as a corner outfielder.

OF Canaan Smith-Njigba, PIT No. 27 - Now one of three members on Indy's roster to come over in the Jameson Taillon trade with the Yankees (Jan. 24, 2021), Smith-Njigba had the later half of his Double-A season cut short due to leg injuries. In 66 games with the Curve, he hit .274 (60-for-219) with an .805 OPS. The outfielder also compiled a .991 fielding percentage (1 error in 109 total chances) in 505.2 innings.

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International League Stories from September 23, 2021


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