IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Toledo Mud Hens (20-17) vs. Indianapolis Indians (19-18)

May 20, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:05 PM ET

GAME #38 / HOME #21: Toledo Mud Hens (20-17) vs. Indianapolis Indians (19-18)

PROBABLES: RHP Chase Anderson (2-2, 3.90) vs. LHP Trey McGough (1-0, 3.95)

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

TV: MiLB TV / MyINDY-TV 23

ABOUT YESTERDAY - GAME ONE: Toledo scored in four of seven frames to clinch Game 1 of the doubleheader yesterday afternoon, 4-2. Three of the Mud Hens' runs were driven in by Kody Clemens, who roped an inside-the-park home run that jumped off the top of the wall in straightaway center field and finished a triple away from the cycle. The Indians snapped a potential shutout with a run-scoring groundout by Cal Mitchell following a triple off the bat of Mason Martin in the sixth inning.

ABOUT YESTERDAY - GAME TWO: Ji-Hwan Bae broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with a bases-clearing, pinch-hit triple to give the Indians a Game 2 win to split yesterday's doubleheader vs. Toledo, 8-4. The teams traded two runs each in the first inning with Indy tying the game on a two-run homer by Mason Martin. The Indians then took the lead with two in the third inning before Toledo tied the game with four consecutive hits in the fifth inning. A one-out single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Bae's go-ahead knock. Oneil Cruz then scorched an RBI double 112 MPH off the wall in center field to drive home Bae.

MARTIN MASHING: With a triple in Game 1 and first-inning two-run home run in Game 2, Mason Martin has now recorded extra-base hits in the last five contests of a six-game hitting streak dating back to 5/13 at Charlotte. The Indians' April Player of the Month had a slow start to May, going just 2-for-30 with one extra-base hit in his first eight games. Since, he's hitting .364 (8-for-22) with an .818 slugging percentage and 1.258 OPS. He now ranks first in Triple-A and tied for third among all minor league batters with five triples this season, which sets a new career high for the slugger (besting his four triples in 2019). In the International League, he now ranks second with 22 extra-base hits this season (behind Lehigh Valley's Darick Hall, 25), tied for fourth with 11 doubles and 10th with a .563 slugging percentage.

GOING STREAKING: The Indians now own two of the five longest on-base streaks in the International League this season, only three of which are still active. Canaan Smith-Njigba (21 games) and Ji-Hwan Bae (18) both reached base safely in both games of last night's doubleheader vs. Toledo, each of the streaks being extended on sixth-inning pinch-hit plate appearances in Game 2. Smith-Njigba, Bae and Cal Mitchell (16) all have notched at least a 16-game on-base streak in just 37 team games this season. In all of 2021, Bligh Madris (26), Anthony Alford (25) and Tucupita Marcano (16) were the only Indians batters to reach base safely in 16-plus consecutive games. More details about Smith-Njigba and Bae's active streaks are listed below:

Canaan Smith-Njigba - Smith-Njigba's 21-game on-base streak currently ranks as the longest in the IL this season and the third-longest active streak in Triple-A behind El Paso's Taylor Kohlwey (28) and Nomar Mazara (27). His streak began with a single on 4/22 vs. Columbus, and since he owns a .265 batting average (18-for-68) with a .425 on-base percentage. During that time, he has taken almost as many walks (19) as strikeouts (20). Smith-Njigba's longest career on-base streak came in 2017 with the GCL Yankees East, his first year in professional baseball, when he reached base safely in a GCL-leading 27 consecutive games with a .360 average (31-for-86) from 8/3-9/1.

Ji-Hwan Bae - Bae is currently working an 18-game on-base streak for the third-longest active streak in the IL. It is also ranked as tied for the third-longest streak in the league this season. Since his streak began on 4/27 at Iowa, Bae has hit safely in 13 of his 18 games with a .333 average (22-for-66) with a .439 on-base percentage and 1.030 OPS. He has struck out just nine times compared to 14 walks, and nine of his 11 total extra-base hits this season have come in that time span. Bae's longest career on-base streak lasted 25 games from 8/15-9/15/21 with Double-A Altoona, in which he registered a .348 average (31-for-89) with a .459 on-base percentage.

THE NEED FOR SPEED: After a pair of three-baggers yesterday by Mason Martin and Ji-Hwan Bae, the Indians now lead the International League, third in Triple-A and have tied their 2021 total with 14 triples in just 37 games so far this season. They have flashed their speed on the basepaths more often this year than in year's past, also racking up 56 stolen bases to rank second in the IL and third in Triple-A. They are now just 25 stolen bases away of tying their 2021 total of 71.

DELAY DISHING: After going 0-for-15 to begin the season, Jason Delay has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games dating back to 4/15. During that time frame, he is hitting .359 (14-for-39) with four extra-base hits, six RBI and five walks to six strikeouts. Indy's catching corps has hit it's stride as of late, hitting .317 (26-for-82) in their last 26 games.

TODAY: The Indians will look to build on an early lead in a six-game series with their long-time International League rival, the Toledo Mud Hens, in tonight's 7:05 PM ET game at Victory Field. The Indians and Mud Hens are no strangers to each other, facing off every year since 1998. In that time, the Indians have lost only five season series against Toledo, the last coming in 2014 (10-11). In 2021, the Indians went 7-5 vs. the Mud Hens at Victory Field but finished the year with a 9-9 record against the familiar foe. Southpaw Trey McGough will take the mound for the Indians today for his fifth start in eight appearances this season. Chase Anderson will take the mound for Toledo.

THIS DATE IN 1998: The first home run cycle ever recorded in a single inning by a professional baseball team occurred in the top of the fifth, when the Indians put up 10 runs at Pawtucket. Pete Rose Jr. hit a solo home run, Jason Williams tacked on a three-run homer, Glenn Murray cleared the bases with a grand slam and Guillermo Garcia finished it off with a two-run shot. Garcia finished the day with two home runs after hitting a solo shot in the ninth inning to give the Indians an 11-4 win.

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