IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (6-4) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (3-7)

Published on May 16, 2021 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET

GAME #11 / Home #6: Indianapolis Indians (6-4) vs. Toledo Mud Hens (3-7)

PROBABLES: RHP Chase De Jong (1-0, 1.64) vs. RHP Matt Manning (0-0, 6.55)

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

TV: MiLB TV / My-INDYTV 23

LAST NIGHT: The Indians won in comeback fashion for the second night over Toledo last night to clinch their first series win of the season. Trailing 1-0 after the third inning, Dustin Fowler drove in three runs on his second home run of the season in the fifth to give the Indians an early lead. Despite a Toledo rally, an RBI double off the bat of Chris Sharpe put the Indians out of reach of the Mud Hens in the 5-4 win.

FOWLER HITTING FOURTH: Since moving to the cleanup spot in the Indians lineup, Dustin Fowler is hitting .364 (4-for-11) in three games. Last night, he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a triple, home run and three RBI. His three-run home run out to the right field corner gave the Indians the lead, and his two-out triple in the seventh put him on base to score the game-winning run off Chris Sharpe's seventh-inning double. Fowler moved to the cleanup spot after Will Craig was selected by Pittsburgh on Thursday.

BASHLOR BATTLING: Tyler Bashlor recorded his first save of the season last night when he stranded the bases loaded with back-to-back strikeouts of Renato Nunez and Aderlin Rodriguez in the ninth inning. He caught Nunez looking with an 0-2 curveball following a five-pitch walk to Christin Stewart, and Rodriguez went down swinging on a 1-2 curveball to end the game. Bashlor, who joined the Indians after being designated for assignment by Pittsburgh, has appeared in four games so far with Indianapolis and has yet to allow a hit in 4.1 innings. He currently holds a 0.92 WHIP.

SERIES FINALE: The Indians look to end the six-game series vs. Toledo in dominating fashion today at Victory Field. Last night's win clinched the Indians first series victory of the season, and with a finale win against Toledo and a Columbus win over Omaha, the Indians could share possession of first place in the Triple-A East going into their next matchup at St. Paul. The Indians are sending Chase De Jong to the mound for the second time this series after he allowed two runs in five innings of work to open the series on Tuesday.

COMEBACK WINS: Following the Indians back-to-back comeback wins over Toledo the past two nights, 246 of the team's 472 regular-season comeback victories dating back to 2005 have come when down just one run. Against Toledo, the Indians have put together three comeback victories of five runs, a high when facing that opponent. Those three games are listed below.

6/25/10 vs. TOL: Trailed 5-0 through the top of the third and scored six runs on five hits in the sixth inning. Jeff Clement went 2-for-5 with five RBI and the Indians won, 9-8.

6/12/08 at TOL: Trailed 6-1 through six innings and scored five runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth for an 8-6 win. Ronny Paulino hit a one-out grand slam in the seventh and Steve Pearce and Brian Bixler had three hits apiece.

7/2/06 at TOL: Trailed 5-0 entering the eighth inning, scored six runs on three walks and four hits in the ninth inning for a 7-6 win. The Indians batted around in the ninth inning and all runs crossed home plate with two outs.

THE HOME RUNS ARE HELPING: The Indians now have homered in five consecutive games, and the daily offensive surge has helped lead them to the series win over Toledo. Of the 25 runs scored this week, 15 have been scored via the long ball. The most home runs the Indians hit in a single homestand in 2019 was eight compared to the 10 they have through the first five games of the homestand vs. Toledo. This homestand is the first time dating back through the 2016 season that the Indians hit at least 10 team home runs during a stretch of games at Victory Field.

COLLECTING SAVES: Following Tyler Bashlor's converted save last night, the Indians are now tied for the Triple-A East lead with five saves, and stands alone atop the league with eight save opportunities. Along with saves, the bullpen has also collected a league-leading 13 holds compared to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's eight, which ranks second. Indians closer Jandel Gustave is tied for first in the league with three saves of his own, with Bashlor and Braeden Ogle adding to the team total.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Indians returned to Victory Field Tuesday for the first time in 619 days to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the park opening its gates in 1996. Throughout the past 25 years (beginning on July 11, 1996), the Indians are 928-757 at the corner of West and Maryland Street. The team's best home record during that time came in the first full season at the new ballpark, when it compiled a 49-23 record. The worst record came just a season ago, when the Indians went 32-38 with its first sub-.500 home record since 2003 (35-37).

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