IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Indianapolis Indians (7-8) at Memphis Redbirds (10-5)

Published on April 18, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: AutoZone Park

FIRST PITCH: 7:45 PM ET

GAME #16 / ROAD #7: Indianapolis Indians (7-8) at Memphis Redbirds (10-5)

PROBABLES: RHP Luis Ortiz (0-1, 2.92) vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-0, 1.06)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT SUNDAY: Malcom Nuñez crushed a grand slam to straightaway center field and the Indianapolis Indians pitching staff racked up 17 strikeouts en route to a series-closing victory over the St. Paul Saints on Sunday afternoon, 7-0. Each team tallied just two hits through three scoreless innings before the Indians were lifted to a lead by Tyler Heineman's first home run since 2019 in the fourth. A leadoff single by Travis Swaggerty opened the inning before a walk to Nuñez and wild pitch set up a pair in scoring position with two outs. Heineman worked a full count before cranking a curveball off Cole Sands down the right-field line to plate three. The floodgates opened in the bottom of the seventh. Three consecutive two-out walks loaded the bases before Nuñez stepped to the plate and recorded his first extra-base hit of the season with a towering home run over the center field wall. Meanwhile, Indians pitching was making quick work of the Saints offense. Hunter Stratton opened the game with five strikeouts through 2.0 shutout innings before Osvaldo Bido took over in the third. Through 5.0 frames, Bido racked up nine strikeouts to finish one shy of his career high. Angel Perdomo fanned one in the eighth inning and Carmen Mlodzinksi closed the game with two punchouts in the ninth.

STRIKING 'EM OUT: Indianapolis' pitching staff leads all of Minor League Baseball in strikeouts (164) and is second in professional baseball behind the Minnesota Twins (165). 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 on Sunday were the most since punching out 18 on April 27, 2019 at Charlotte. Luis Ortiz and Quinn Priester lead the team in strikeouts with 17, followed closely by Osvaldo Bido (15) and Yohan Ramirez (14).

GRAND SALAMI: On Sunday with two outs and the bases juiced, Malcom Nuñez chose an opportune time to register his first extra-base hit of the season, blasting a grand slam onto the center field berm. It was his third career grand slam and first since June 28, 2022 with Double-A Springfield vs. Wichita. On April 14, the Indians' seven home runs on the season were the second-least in the International League. Over the last two games, they have hit four home runs - which is tied for the second-most home runs in the International League over that span.

SPEEDY GONZALES: Nick Gonzales is starting to catch fire, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two runs scored, two doubles, two triples, an RBI and a walk over his last five games. The 23-year-old was a home run short of the cycle last Saturday, going 4-for-5 with a single, two doubles and a triple to tie his career high in hits (6x) for the first time since Aug. 17, 2022 vs. Double-A Harrisburg. His recent numbers are a significant improvement from his first 10 games, when he hit .182 (6-for-33) with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and four RBI. His pair of triples already this season tie his 2022 total between FCL Pirates (1), Single-A Bradenton (0) and Altoona (1) and are halfway to tying his career-high set with High-A Greensboro in 2021 (4).

IMPROVEMENT IN THE PEN: Recent success from bullpen can be attributed to Cam Alldred, Yerry De Los Santos and Daniel Zamora. Cam Alldred made a spot-start last Thursday night after southpaw Caleb Smith was placed on the 7-day injured list early last week and put the team on his back, throwing 4.0 two-run innings with a career-high six strikeouts. Between his lone start and three relief appearances, he has 2.16 ERA (2er/8.1ip) with 10 strikeouts compared to three walks. Yerry De Los Santos has held the opponents scoreless over his last four appearances, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings and collecting two saves. Zamora is also riding a 4.1 scoreless innings over his last five appearances, allowing only two hits and one walk with seven punchouts.

THREE BAGS: The Indians currently lead the International League with seven triples this season. Nick Gonzales and Travis Swaggerty lead the team in triples with two and are also tied for the most triples in the IL with Gwinnett's Vaughn Grissom and Buffalo's Otto Lopez. Indy has now had a triple in three of its last four 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.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Redbirds will open their six-game series tonight at 7:45 PM ET at AutoZone Park. After dropping their first four contests of the season, the Indians are 7-4 since and have won their last two. Indianapolis and Memphis split a pair of six-game series in 2022. Tonight, RHP Luis Ortiz will take the bump for the Indians vs. Redbirds LHP Matthew Liberatore. 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.

FLAME THROWER: Luis Ortiz will take the mound today for his fourth start of the season and his first career appearance vs. Memphis. The 23-year-old is off to a good start to his 2023 campaign, owning a 2.92 ERA (4er/22.1ip), 11 hits allowed, 17 strikeouts, 1.05 WHIP and .159 average-against. He ranks among International League qualifiers in batting average against (3rd), strikeouts (5th), WHIP (7th) and ERA (10th). Ortiz has ascended from Pittsburgh's No. 22 prospect in 2022 to its No. 4 going 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 2010: Third baseman Neil Walker launched a leadoff home run as part of a game-high three hits, and Indianapolis scored seven runs through the first four innings en route to a 9-6 win over Toledo at Victory Field. Center fielder Jonathan Van Every and left fielder Brandon Moss both homered for Indy as well.

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International League Stories from April 18, 2023


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