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Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (60-66) vs. Nashville Sounds (69-57)

October 1, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #127 / Home #63: Indianapolis Indians (60-66) vs. Nashville Sounds (69-57)

PROBABLES: RHP James Marvel (6-7, 5.46) vs. RHP Alec Bettinger (3-6, 4.76)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: Oneil Cruz hit his fifth home run in six Triple-A games, but the Indians fell behind early and could not overcome an early eight-run deficit to lose their first game of the series vs. Nashville, 8-3. The Sounds sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the third inning and scored five runs on five hits to take the early 5-0 lead. They scored three more runs in the top of the fourth inning to extend their lead before Indy got on the board with Cruz's two-run shot to straightaway center. Indy plated one more run in the eighth inning with a ground ball from Canaan Smith-Njigba.

CRUZ CONTROL: Pittsburgh's No. 3 and MiLB's No. 53 prospect, Oneil Cruz, hit his fifth home run in six games with Indianapolis last night to continue his domination over Triple-A pitching. It was his fourth consecutive game that he has homered with Indy, making him the first Indians batter since Adam Boeve in 2008 to hit a home run in four straight games. Since being promoted to Indy from Altoona prior to the Triple-A Final Stretch, he has hit .524 (11-for-21) with five home runs, one double and seven RBI. His average, 1.286 slugging percentage and 1.941 OPS rank second among Triple-A East batters in the since Sept. 22. The 22-year-old spent the majority of the season with Altoona and hit .292 (73-for-250) with 15 doubles, 12 home runs and 40 RBI before being promoted to Indy on Sept. 20.

END OF SEASON AWARDS: The Indianapolis Indians today announced Christian Bethancourt, Shea Spitzbarth, Bligh Madris and Hunter Owen as the recipients of their end of season awards. All four awards are listed below:

MVP - Christian Bethancourt called game in walk-off fashion five time at Victory Field this summer, the msot by an Indians player in the last five seasons, to earn himself the Indians Team MVP honor. The 30-year-old made his debut with the team on May 13 and four games later he hit his first walk-off for the club. Bethancourt has appeared in 91 games this season and leads team qualifiers with a .278 batting average (91-for-327), has a team-high 58 RBI and the third-most home runs with 13. On Sept. 26 at Omaha, he recorded the fourth two-homer game of his 13-year professional career and his first-ever five-RBI performance.

Pitcher of the Year - Shea Spitzbarth was named the Indians Pitcher of the Year after being one of their most consistent relievers for the entirety of the season, compiling a 2.12 ERA (11er/46.2ip) with 41 strikeouts. The right-hander did not allow an earned run in 18.0 consecutive innings pitched from May 23-July 6. He dominated opposing batters with a 1.41 ERA (5er/32ip), 1.03 WHIP and .179 average against (20-for-112) through July 29, leading to him having his contract selected by Pittsburgh for his major league debut on Aug. 2.

Rookie of the Year - With a single last night, Bligh Madris extended his on-base streak to 25 games dating back to Aug. 27 during his Rookie of the Year campaign with Indianapolis. 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 (30-for-96) with a .370 on-base percentage and .829 OPS with eight doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI. It ties the longest on-base streak by an Indians player this season with 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.

Silver Slugger - Hunter Owen was named Indy's Silver Slugger after launching a team-high 20 home runs this season. He hit his 20th home run on Sept. 26 at Omaha to set a new career-high, topping his previous best of 19 home runs in 2019. His 2021 campaign included his major league debut with Pittsburgh in San Diego on May 5, a pair of two-home run games and his second career grand slam, hit on June 19 at Victory Field. In 96 games, Owen has hit .235 (77-for-328) and leads the team with 55 runs scored, ranks second with 148 total bases and is third in extra-base hits (31), RBI (53) and total hits.

ROLLER COASTER LUMBER CO: Of the Indians 17 home runs during the first seven games of the Triple-A Final Stretch, ten have come off the bats of Oneil Cruz (PIT No. 3/MiLB No. 53; MLB Pipeline), Mason Martin (PIT No. 17) and Rodolfo Castro (No. 25), who were all promoted from Double-A Altoona on Sept. 20. Cruz leads the pack after sending his fifth home run into the center field batter's eye last night. He roped three home runs during the series with Omaha, including one in his Triple-A debut on Sept. 22 and one on Wednesday night at Victory Field. Castro follows with three after he launched a pair of home runs last Thursday. Martin then hit a pair last Friday.

TONIGHT: After the 8-3 loss to Nashville last night, Indy will look to bounce back and retake the series lead tonight at 7:05 PM at Victory Field. RHP James Marvel will make his third start vs. Nashville this season with the last coming on June 13. He will face off against RHP Alec Bettinger, who will make his second start vs. Indy.

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