IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (58-65) at Omaha Storm Chasers (69-55)

September 26, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Werner Park

FIRST PITCH: 4:15 PM ET

GAME #124 / Road #64: Indianapolis Indians (58-65) at Omaha Storm Chasers (69-55)

PROBABLES: RHP Osvaldo Bido (Triple-A Debut) vs. LHP Angel Zerpa (Triple-A Debut)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: The Indians couldn't overcome early home runs by Omaha en route to their third loss of the Triple-A Final Stretch, 12-3. A leadoff walk and four consecutive singles gave the Storm Chasers a 2-0 lead in the second inning before a grand slam off the bat of Angelo Castellano put them far beyond the Indians reach. The teams traded runs in the third inning with an RBI double by Cal Mitchell putting the Indians on the board. Facing a 10-1 deficit entering the fifth inning, Michael Chavis hit his 13th home run of the season with one runner on and two outs to trim the deficit.

MEET CAL: Pittsburgh's No. 18 prospect, Cal Mitchell, hit an RBI double last night for his first extra-base hit and run driven in since being promoted from Double-A Altoona on Monday. Mitchell has hit safely in all three of his games played with Indy after singling in his debut on Thursday at Omaha. The 22-year-old outfielder hit .280 (107-for-382) with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 61 RBI in 108 games with Altoona this season and ended the campaign ranked among Double-A Northeast leaders in hits (4th), average (8th) and RBI (9th). He's also an impressive corner outfielder, compiling a .984 fielding percentage (3 errors in 192 total chances) in 822.2 Double-A innings.

LOOKIN' GOOD, FEELIN' GOOD: With a two-run home run in the fifth inning last night vs. Omaha, Michael Chavis has hit safely in five of seven games since joining the Indians on a major league rehab assignment on Sept. 16. In that stretch, he has hit .375 (9-for-24) with a .464 on-base percentage and 1.131 OPS. His rehab assignment has featured two home runs, three multi-hit games and a pair of multi-RBI performances. Chavis was placed on the IL on Aug. 31 with a right elbow strain eight days after he was first recalled from Indy. In six games with Pittsburgh, he hit .364 (8-for-22) with three extra-base hits.

HAND PICKING HIS PITCHES: Diego Castillo has taken four walks in his last two games played with just one strikeout, upping his on-base percentage to .446 in 14 games with Indianapolis this season. Castillo walked in his first two at-bats last night and came around to score one of the Indians three runs on Michael Chavis' two-run homer. Since being promoted from Double-A Altoona on Aug. 31, Castillo has struck out nine times compared to 13 walks.

ROLLER COASTER LUMBER CO: Of the Indians nine home runs during the Triple-A Final Stretch, seven have come off the bats of Oneil Cruz (PIT No. 3/MiLB No. 54; MLB Pipeline), Mason Martin (PIT No. 17) and Rodolfo Castro (No. 25), who were all promoted from Double-A Altoona on Monday. Castro leads the pack with three home runs after hitting two on Friday night. Cruz and Martin have two apiece, with Cruz hitting one in his Triple-A debut on Wednesday and Martin launching a pair on Friday night. They combined for all four of the Indians home runs at Omaha on Friday, which marks the first time this season that they all homered in the same game.

BLIGH ON BASE: With a double on Friday night, Bligh Madris extended his on-base streak to 22 games dating back to 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 .313 (26-for-83) with a .376 on-base percentage and .846 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.

THIS AFTERNOON: The Indians will look to win their second game of the Triple-A Final Stretch this afternoon at 4:15 PM ET. The Storm Chasers clinched a win in the five-game series last night after winning the first two games of the season. The Indians 2021 campaign concludes with one more five-game series vs. Nashville from 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. In a battle of Triple-A Debuts, RHP Osvaldo Bido will face off against LHP Angel Zerpa to close out the season series between Omaha and Indy.

MAKE IT EIGHT: Today, RHP Osvaldo Bido will make his Triple-A debut as the Indians starter for the series finale at Omaha. Bido was promoted to Indianapolis from Double-A Altoona on Monday and went 4-8 with a 5.09 ERA (53er/93.2ip) and 91 strikeouts in 21 appearances (19 starts) with the Curve. The 25-year-old right-hander out of Los Hidalgos, Dominican Republic has been a full-time starter for his entire career, with his only two bullpen appearances coming with long relief outings this season with Altoona. in 71 career minor league starts, he is 20-27 with a 4.16 ERA (158er/342.0ip) and 282 strikeouts. He will be the eighth Indians player to make his debut in the past five games, following INFs Oneil Cruz, Rodolfo Castro and Mason Martin, OFs Cal Mitchell and Canaan Smith-Njigba, and RHPs Roansy Contreras and Yerry De Los Santos.

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