IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Louisville Bats (43-61) vs. Indianapolis Indians (50-52)

August 7, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET

GAME #103 / Home #51: Louisville Bats (43-61) vs. Indianapolis Indians (50-52)

PROBABLES: RHP Deck McGuire (2-2, 6.87) vs. RHP Jerad Eickhoff (5-4, 4.18)

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

TV: MiLB TV / WISH-TV 8

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Hoy Park homered for the second consecutive game to trim an early deficit for the Indians, but the Bats broke open the contest in the top of the ninth and never trailed en route to an 8-3 win at Victory Field last night. Following a three-run spot in the top of the third inning, Drew Maggi led off the bottom half of the frame with a double in his Indians debut. Park then followed up with a rocket into the right-field corner to cut Louisville's lead from three runs to just one. It didn't last long, however, and a two-out, solo home run by Michael De Leon in the top of the fourth inning extended the Bats lead back to two runs. After a run-scoring groundout following a leadoff single by Rodolfo Castro in the bottom of the eighth inning brought Indianapolis back within one, Louisville broke open the game with four runs in the top of the ninth. All four of the runs came on three consecutive two-out hits.

PARKING IT: Hoy Park launched a two-run rocket over the right-field wall last night to cut Indianapolis' deficit from three to just one run in the bottom of the third inning. It was his second home run in as many days, marking the first time since July 24-25, 2021 with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre that he has homered in back-to-back games. Park has now hit safely and driven in at least one run in all four of his games played in August, going 6-for-15 with six total RBI.

MULTIPLE BY MARTIN: Mason Martin went 2-for-4 last night for his fourth multi-hit performance in his past five games. Since Aug. 3 (1), Martin is 9-for-17 with three doubles, four runs scored and three RBI. He has hit safely in each of his last five games, which marks his longest hitting streak since hitting safely in seven consecutive games from May 13-20. Martin had five total multi-hit performances in 20 April games for his most in a single month this season, after which he earned Indianapolis' Player of the Month award. He now is just one multi-hit game shy of meeting that mark through just six games in August.

VICTORIES AT VICTORY FIELD: The Indians recorded their 998th win (regular season and postseason combined) at Victory Field since the ballpark opened on July 11, 1996 on Friday night, and are now just two wins away from 1,000 wins in the ballpark. They currently have a 986-808 record at the ballpark in the regular season and 12-12 record in postseason games.

GOING STREAKING: Rodolfo Castro extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a pair of singles last night and has now hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games. His 10-gamer is tied for the third-longest among Indians batters this season, trailing Kevin Newman's team-leading 12-game hitting streak from May 19-July 6. It is also the third-longest active streak in the International League, trailing Nashville's Brice Turang (16 games) and St. Paul's Caleb Hamilton (11). During that time, he owns a .364 average (16-for-44) with five extra-base hits and a .936 OPS with six two-hit performances. The switch-hitter has been on a tear dating back to July 1, and in his past 25 games he has 10 multi-hit performances, a .301 average (31-for-103) and .866 OPS.

TODAY: The Indians clinched their first series victory since July 4-10 vs. Iowa on Friday night and will look for their fifth win of the seven-game series against Louisville today at 1:35 PM ET at Victory Field. From May 3-8, the Bats took four of five games in a rain-shortened series, but the Indians have bounced back to take four of six games so far this week and now only trail the season-series between the two by one game. In a repeat of the series-opener on Tuesday, Jerad Eickhoff will take the mound for Indianapolis after allowing two runs across 7.0 innings in three appearances (two starts) against the Bats this season. Countering for Louisville will be Deck McGuire, who started the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader and allowed two runs over 3.0 innings.

JULY PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Jerad Eickhoff, who was named the Indians' July Player of the Month on Thursday, will make his second start of the series vs. Louisville today. The 32-year-old went 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA (7er/20.0ip) and just two walks to 18 strikeouts in July. He led all league qualifiers with a 0.90 WHIP and ranked 10th with a .213 average against (16-for-75). His month was highlighted by a dominant performance on July 6 vs. Iowa, when he spun 7.0 one-run innings with a season-high tying seven strikeouts and no walks. The veteran has ruled opposing batters all season, compiling a 1.04 WHIP and .214 average against (60-for-280) in 19 games (11 starts). With just a handful of additional innings to meet the league qualifying mark (minimum 0.8 innings pitched per team game), both of those season stats would rank second among league leaders.

THIS DAY IN 2018: The eighth inning vs. Lehigh Valley was historic in two ways for the Indians, as Kevin Newman and Jacob Stallings each recorded a hit to complete their respective cycles. As the third hitter due up in the bottom of the eighth, Newman capitalized on his final at-bat of the game with a two-run home run to left field. After Jason Martin struck out swinging for the second out, Pablo Reyes worked a walk to extend the inning for Stallings. An improbable triple to center field - just the sixth of his then-seven-year career - completed the catcher's cycle and extended the Tribe lead to 12-5 over the IronPigs. Newman and Stallings went a combined 9-for-10 and drove in six runs.

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