IL Indianapolis Indians

Game Information: Toledo Mud Hens (23-29) vs. Indianapolis Indians (25-27)

June 1, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Victory Field

FIRST PITCH: 6:35 PM ET

GAME #53 / ROAD #23: Toledo Mud Hens (23-29) vs. Indianapolis Indians (25-27)

PROBABLES: RHP Garrett Hill (1-1, 5.01) vs. LHP Cam Alldred (2-0, 4.18)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT YESTERDAY: The Indianapolis Indians' offense exploded courtesy of Nick Gonzales' fourth career grand slam and back-to-back jacks by corner outfielders Cal Mitchell and Canaan Smith-Njigba in a rout of the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night at Victory Field, 13-1. With one run already in and two outs in the second inning, Gonzales ripped an opposite-field homer over the right-field wall to clear the bases and effectively put the game out of reach as Toledo only plated one. Big innings were the name of the game for the Indians, who followed up their five-run second with an explosive eight-run sixth. The first eight batters of the frame reached base safely - six via base knock - and 13 total batters were sent to the plate. Jumpstarted by Endy RodrÌguez's third triple of the season, Indianapolis hit for the cycle as a team in the first five batters of the sixth inning. Following a Miguel Andújar RBI single, Smith-Njigba and Mitchell blasted their back-to-back shots on consecutive pitches. A Jared Triolo double to completed the feat, still with no outs. The Indians went on to score four additional runs in the frame. After starter Caleb Smith exited the game through 2.0 no-hit innings, Carmen Mlodzinski entered for the next two frames to earn the win.

SCORING IN BUNCHES: The Indians have tallied 25 runs between their first two games of the week, which is the second-most runs scored in all of professional baseball, behind only Triple-A El Paso (35). The Indians' eight runs on eight hits in the sixth inning last night was their new single-inning high. Indy had only scored 10 runs in one contest through their first 37 games and have since scored 10-plus runs in five of its last 15. During this 15-game stretch, they have scored the third-most runs in the International League (110).

MIGGY CAN'T BE STOPPED: Miguel Andújar is riding a seven-game hitting streak with Indy since being outrighted by Pittsburgh on May 22. Last night, he tallied four hits, tying his career high for the first time since May 6, 2021 with Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre at Syracuse. He has registered five multi-hit games during this span. During his seven games since returning to Indy, he is 14-for-32 with seven runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. In 30 games with Indy, he is hitting .325 (39-for-120) with 18 runs, 11 doubles, a triple, five homers and 22 RBI.

CLEAR THE DECK: Prior to last night, the last time the Indians hit back-to-back home runs and a grand slam in the same game was July 5, 2007 vs. Norfolk. Michael Ryan and Brad Elldred went back-to-back with one out in the bottom of the first inning, and Yurendell De Caster hit a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the seventh

TRIP TRIP TRIPLES: Endy RodrÌguez notched his third triple of the season and the Indians second of the week in Wednesday night's rout. The Indians now have 17 triples this season, which leads the International League. Of the 17 triples, 12 different players have notched a three bagger this season. Nick Gonzales and RodrÌguez lead the team with three triples apiece - tied for the third-most in the IL - followed by Travis Swaggerty and Chavez Young who both have two. 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.

RUFFLED FEATHERS: After dropping their first matchup at Toledo on May 3 (1), the Indians have won their last seven games against the Mud Hens in convincing fashion. The Indians have outscored the Mud Hens 66-22 while out-hitting them 95-49. See below for the series splits for each team through their first eight games:

Indians Hitting: .333 AVG, 66 R, 95 H, 25 2B, 4 3B, 11 HR, .407 OBP, .565 SLG, .972 OPS Mud Hens Hitting: .201 AVG, 22 R, 49 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, .290 OBP, .320 SLG, .610 OPS

Indians Pitching: 2.96 ERA, 67.0 IP, 49 H, 22 ER, 28 BB, 77 K, 1.15 WHIP

Mud Hens Pitching: 8.18 ERA, 66.0 IP, 95 H, 60 ER, 31 BB, 81 K, 1.91 WHIP

ENDY IS HEATING UP: Switch-hitting catcher Endy RodrÌguez is starting to heat up, as he is 5-for-9 with four runs, a triple, RBI and walk in two games this week. After finishing last week 0-for-21, he bounced back with his first four-hit performance in Triple-A on Monday night. It was his first four-plus hit performance since tallying a career-high five on Aug. 3, 2022, with High-A Greensboro at Bowling Green.

MR. RELIABLE: Outfielder Cal Mitchell has been a steady force in Indianapolis' offense. The 24-year-old has reached base safely in 20 of his last 22 games and capped an excellent month of May with sixth home run of the season on Wednesday night. In May, he hit .329 (28-for-85) with five doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI, 16 walks, four stolen bases, .442 OBP and 1.007 OPS. Mitchell led the Indians offense in average, RBI, OBP, hits, walks and runs last month.

TONIGHT: The Indians and Mud Hens will continue their six-game set at Victory Field tonight at 6:35 PM ET. The Indians can clinch a share of the series with their eighth consecutive win against Toledo tonight. This week is the Indians and Mud Hens second meeting of the season, their first meeting came at Fifth Third Field from May 3 (1)-7. Tonight, southpaw Cam Alldred (2-0, 4.18) will make his fourth spot start of the season against Toledo's right-hander Garrett Hill (1-1, 5.01).

THIS DATE IN 1997: On a Saturday afternoon at Bush Stadium, Dick Baney hurled a one-hit shutout to lead the Indians to a 1-0 win over Oklahoma City. He walked one batter and struck out one. His counterpart was left-hander Brent Strom, who took the loss despite striking out 11 over 8.0 innings of one-run ball. Joel Youngblood singled in Tom Spencer for the only run of the game in the sixth inning after Spencer had doubled. The game was completed in a tidy 1 hour and 49 minutes.

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