IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (7-13) at Memphis Redbirds (15-5)

Published on April 23, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: AutoZone Park

FIRST PITCH: 3:05 PM ET

GAME #21 / ROAD #12: Indianapolis Indians (7-13) at Memphis Redbirds (15-5)

PROBABLES: RHP Luis Ortiz (0-1, 2.08) vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-0, 2.38)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Despite a two-run homer by Miguel Andújar that gave the Indianapolis Indians an early lead, the Memphis Redbirds scored seven unanswered runs to take Saturday's contest at AutoZone Park, 7-2. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Redbirds quickly answered and took the lead with a four-run frame. A walk to Moises Gómez and a Luken Baker single set up a three-run blast by Tres Barrera off Indians starter Osvaldo Bido. Later in the inning, Juniel Querecuto notched an RBI double after Óscar Mercado singled and stole second base, making it a 4-2 Memphis advantage. The Indians nabbed their first and only lead of the game with Andújar's two-run blast off Memphis start Gordon Graceffo. It was his second home run of the season and scored the Indians only runs of the game. Memphis extended its lead with three runs in the sixth. Gómez tripled and scored on a Baker RBI single and Querecuto later hit a two-run homer to wrap up the scoring and take a 7-2 lead.

ANDÚJAR KEEPS HITTING: Miguel Andújar logged another two-hit performance on Saturday afternoon, going 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBI. Following up his Friday night, when he went 2-for-3 with a run scored, a triple and RBI. He has logged a hit in 12 of his last 15 games - including six multi-hit games. During this 14-game stretch (4/6 (2)-4/22), he is hitting .333 (19-for-57) with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 RBI, seven walks drawn and .413 on-base percentage. Since April 6, he is tied for the most doubles in the International League and tied for the second-most extra-base hits (10).

STRATTON PUTS UP ZEROS: Right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton posted 2.0 scoreless innings yesterday, allowing only one hit, no walks and three punchouts. After allowing three earned runs between his first two appearances of the season, he hasn't allowed an earned run over his last five games (8.0ip). He has been excellent against Memphis this week, allowing only one hit in 3.0 innings and recording six of his nine outs via strikeout. Stratton's 19 strikeouts currently rank second on the the pitching staff behind only right-hander Quinn Priester (20).

THREE-BAGGERS: Miguel Andújar smacked a two-out triple in the sixth inning on Friday night. With Andújar's triple, the Indians have now tallied nine three-baggers total this season. Indy leads the International League in triples and ranks second in professional baseball, trailing only the Reno Aces (10). Nick Gonzales and Travis Swaggerty lead the team in triples with two apiece and are also tied for the most triples in the IL alongside seven others. Indy has now had a triple in five of its last seven games. The Indians led the IL in triples in 2022 with 44, led by Swaggerty (8) and Ji Hwan Bae (6). The team clubbed 26 of its 44 triples last season at Victory Field.

K'S FOR DAYS: Indianapolis' pitching staff leads all of professional baseball in strikeouts (216). Indians' pitchers have recorded double-digit strikeouts in 14 of their 20 games. The Indians struck out 14 batters in Friday night's loss. On Wednesday, J.C. Flowers (5), Hunter Stratton (3) and Daniel Zamora (1) combined to strike out nine consecutive Redbirds. The pitching staff recorded 16 and 17 strikeouts in the final two games of its series against St. Paul, respectively, to mark the first time Indy has racked up 16-plus strikeouts in consecutive games dating back to 2005. The team's 17 strikeouts last Sunday was the most since punching out 18 on April 27, 2019 at Charlotte. Quinn Priester leads the team with 20, followed by Hunter Stratton (19), Osvaldo Bido (18) and Luis Ortiz (18).

TODAY: The Indians and Redbirds will wrap up their six-game series today at 3:05 PM ET at AutoZone Park after Memphis clinched the series and took the first five games of the six-game series. The Indians will look to avoid being swept on the road for the first time since 5/25-30/21 at Omaha. Despite having lost all five games, the Indians have owned leads in four of the five contests. Indianapolis and Memphis split a pair of six-game series in 2022. Today, in a rematch of Tuesday night, RHP Luis Ortiz (0-1, 2.08) will take the mound for Indy vs. Memphis' starter LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-0, 2.38). Liberatore made his first start against Indy on June 18, 2021 and pitched 5.0 one-run innings. In his following two starts against the Indians in 2022, he was tagged for five and six runs. The southpaw had only allowed two runs in his first 17.0 innings of the season for the Indians brought across four runs in his 5.3 innings on Tuesday night. Liberatore is currently rated as St. Louis' No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

FLAME THROWER: Luis Ortiz will take the mound today for his fifth start of the season and his second appearance against Memphis this week. He was excellent on Tuesday night, pitching 5.0 shutout frames, allowing four hits with a walk and strikeout. The 23-year-old is off to a good start to his 2023 campaign, owning a 2.08 ERA (4er/17.1ip), 11 hits allowed, 18 strikeouts, 1.04 WHIP and .180 batting average against. He ranks among International League qualifiers in ERA (T-3rd), batting average against (7th) and WHIP (7th). Ortiz has ascended from Pittsburgh's No. 22 prospect in 2022 to its No. 4 entering into the 2023 season - Pittsburgh's highest rated pitching prospect - according to Baseball America. Ortiz was promoted to Indianapolis on Sept. 1 and made two starts, allowing eight runs (four earned) in 10.0 innings with 12 strikeouts. Pittsburgh selected his contract on Sept. 13, and he debuted with 5.2 scoreless frames at Cincinnati later that day.

THIS DATE IN 2004: Right-hander Pedro Liriano earned the win after striking out seven batters in 5.0 innings while allowing one earned run on five hits in a 6-2 triumph at Toledo. It was Liriano's first win of the season. Offensively, future 2020 Indians hitting coach Jon Nunnally went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in the fourth inning that put Indy on top for good.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from April 23, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central