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Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (6-3) at St. Paul Saints (6-3)

April 16, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: CHS Field

FIRST PITCH: 3:07 PM ET

GAME #10 / Road #4: Indianapolis Indians (6-3) at St. Paul Saints (6-3)

PROBABLES: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-0, 2.45) vs. LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-0, -.--)

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

TV: MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Indians saw their five-game winning streak snapped last night with a 6-4 loss at St. Paul. After two scoreless innings to open the game, the Saints put up four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take an early lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Royce Lewis drove in one run with a sacrifice fly and Mark Contreras followed with a three-run shot to center field. In the bottom of the sixth inning, a two-run homer off the bat of Curtis Terry extended the lead, putting them beyond striking distance. Indy tallied three runs in the top of the seventh inning to cut the deficit in half. With two outs, Jared Oliva knocked his second double of the game to put the first run on the board, and Jason Delay followed with a single to score two. The Indians tacked on another after a leadoff triple by Mason Martin in the top of the ninth, but the threat ended there.

OLIVA'S OFFERING: Jared Oliva led the Indians offense last night with a 3-for-4 showing, two doubles and an RBI to raise his average from .091 (1-for-11) to .267 (4-for-15) for the season. He drove in his first RBI of the season with a seventh-inning double to spark a three-run frame and break up St. Paul's shutout bid. The right-handed outfielder spent the majority of the 2021 season with Indianapolis and hit .249 (56-for-225) with 18 extra-base hits and 23 RBI in 64 games.

MARTIN MASHING: Mason Martin roped his league-leading third triple this season and is just one three-bagger away from tying his single-season career high (2019: 4) after just eight games. He has recorded at least one extra-base hit in six of his eight games this season to rank among International League leaders in XBH (3rd, 8), slugging percentage (T-4th, .767), total bases (T-7th, 23) and OPS (8th, 1.122). He is currently hitting .333 (10-for-30) with four doubles, three triples, one home run and six RBI to begin the season. In 15 career Triple-A games dating back to last season, the hard-hitting first baseman owns a .291 batting average (16-for-55), 11 extra-base hits and 12 RBI. In 2021, he led all Pirates minor leaguers with 25 home runs between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis.

STREAK BREAKERS: Along with the Indians five-game winning streak being broken last night, Ji-Hwan Bae and Cal Mitchell both had their respective streaks snapped by the Saints. Cal Mitchell entered last night with a seven-game RBI streak which was tied with six former Indy players for the longest such streak since 2005. Ji-Hwan Bae entered the game on a seven-game hitting streak, the longest to begin a season in his career since being signed by the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent.

IN THE IL: After throwing the first no-hitter of the Minor League Baseball season on Wednesday, the Indians currently rank first among Triple-A teams and ninth among all 120 MiLB teams with a 2.88 ERA (23er/72.0ip) in nine games. Last night's contest was their first game surrendering more than two earned runs since last Thursday, April 7. At the plate, the Indians rank sixth in the International League with a .257 batting average (70-for-272) for the season.

TODAY: The Indians will look to return to their winning ways today at 3:07 PM ET at St. Paul. With a win, the Indians could clinch a victory in the weather-shortened five-game series. Last year, Indianapolis' second road trip began with six games in St. Paul and they went 4-2 with three consecutive wins from 5/20-22. In 12 games at CHS Field, the Indians went 7-5 with a 5-7 record vs. the Saints at Victory Field. Indiana native RHP Jerad Eickhoff will take the mound for his second outing with the Indians this season. For St. Paul, LHP Lewis Thorpe will make his season debut. In 2021, Thorpe made one start at Indianapolis and earned the win with one run surrendered in 5.2 two-hit innings.

WELCOME HOME: RHP Jerad Eickhoff earned the win in his Indians debut on Sunday vs. Omaha. He entered the game in relief of starter Osvaldo Bido and surrendered one earned run on three hits in 3.2 innings. In 46 career Triple-A games (44 starts) dating back to 2015, Eickhoff is 24-8 with a 4.15 ERA (112er/242.2ip) and 219 strikeouts. The 31-year-old is a graduate of Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind. where he played baseball and basketball. He was signed by Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent on Nov. 28, 2021.

THAT'S A NO-NO: On a chilly night in St. Paul on Wednesday, three Indians pitchers - Chase De Jong, Austin Brice and Yerry De Los Santos - iced the Saints offense from start to finish en route to a 5-0 shutout for Indianapolis' 15th no-hitter in franchise history and the first since 2012. De Jong retired the first seven batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk in the third inning. His only blemish over his final four innings pitched was another walk - a two-out free pass to Jake Cave in the fourth inning. He finished his 7.0 no-hit innings with nine strikeouts, six coming in his last 10 batters faced. Through 80 pitches, De Jong was relieved by Austin Brice for the eighth and Yerry De Los Santos closed out the feat in the ninth. The Saints threatened to break up the effort with sinking liners in each of the final two frames, but strong defense by Cal Mitchell and Canaan Smith-Njigba saved the no-no. De Los Santos caught Jose Miranda looking for the final out of the game.

THE LAST TIME: Indy's last no-hitter came on Aug. 9, 2012 against Charlotte at Victory Field. Justin Wilson threw 8.0 innings and issued just one walk in the rain-shortened, 3-0 triumph. The last combined no-hitter for Indianapolis occurred at Durham on April 29, 2012 when Wilson, Jose Diaz and Doug Slaten silenced the Bulls. Five of the 15 no-hitters in franchise history are combined efforts.

THIS DATE IN 2002: For a second consecutive game at Victory Field, left fielder Ryan Thompson clubbed two home runs against Louisville, the latter performance lifting Indy to a 5-1 win. Right fielder Izzy Alcantara and catcher Lance Burkhart both homered as well, giving the Indians four long balls off Louisville starting pitcher Paul Darnell who lasted just three innings.

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