Sports stats

IL Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Indians (15-17) at St. Paul Saints (18-13)

May 9, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: Fifth Third Field

FIRST PITCH: 7:37 PM ET

GAME #33 / ROAD #19: Indianapolis Indians (15-17) at St. Paul Saints (18-13)

PROBABLES: LHP Caleb Smith (1-2, 7.04) vs. RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-0, 2.45)

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

TV: Bally Live app / MiLB TV

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: A four-hit performance by Chris Owings and season-high seven extra-base hits by the Indianapolis Indians offense led to a 9-5 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens in the series finale at Fifth Third Field on Sunday afternoon. With the contest tied at four apiece in the top of the fifth, Ryan Vilade and Aaron Shackelford belted back-to-back jacks to put the Indians ahead 6-4, breaking the tie for good in Sunday's high-scoring affair. Toledo plated two runs in its first at-bat, scoring first for the first time this series. The Indians responded quickly with Owings' solo blast to dead-center field in the Indians following plate appearance. Indy then took its first lead of the game with three runs in the third inning. Chavez Young roped a leadoff double and Endy RodrÌguez drew a walk before Josh Palacios singled to plate Young. Owings later sprayed a two-run single into left field. The Mud Hens quickly tied the ballgame in the bottom half of the third inning before back-to-back homers by Vilade and Shakelford reclaimed Indy's lead. First basemen Michael Papierski had a homer of his own in the bottom half of the frame, it was Toledo's last run scored and put the game within one run. Indianapolis tacked on three additional insurance runs to its lead with one in the sixth inning and two in the seventh, extending their lead to 9-5. After J.C. Flowers allowed a run in the fifth, he combined with Colin Selby and Daniel Zamora to hold the Mud Hens scoreless in the final four frames with 11 combined strikeouts.

ROLLING ON THE ROAD: With Sunday's win, the Indians earned their fifth straight victory - tied for the team's longest of the year after also winning five in a row from April 6-9 - at Fifth Third Field against the Mud Hens in their second series win of the year. Indianapolis' starting pitching has dazzled throughout the week, allowing only five earned runs in 23.2 innings pitched during their five-game winning streak. Indy's offense has backed the strong starts with 41 runs scored, while hitting .319 (66-for-207) with 28 extra-base hits. The Indians belted eight home runs and hit .292 (21-for-72) with runners in scoring position. They outscored the Mud Hens 41-15.

SHACK ATTACK: Aaron Shackelford finished his excellent week at the plate on Sunday going 2-for-3 with his second homer of the week, two walks and a stolen base. Last week (5/2-7), he lead the International League in batting average (.533), on-base percentage (.667), slugging-percentage (1.200) and OPS (1.867). Since April 18, he is hitting .388 (19-for-49) with nine runs, four doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven RBI, 1O walks, .500 OBP, .694 SLG and 1.194 OPS. On Saturday night, his five-game RBI streak was snapped while going 2-for-4 with a double, but notched another RBI on Sunday. His RBI streak is tied for the longest this season by an Indians hitter with Endy RodrÌguez (4/6-11).

PERDOMO SITS 'EM DOWN: Angel Perdomo entered in relief of Osvaldo Bido on Saturday night and tossed 2.0 scoreless frames, allowing two hits, one walk and a season-high five strikeouts. After allowing three runs without recording an out on April 14 vs. St. Paul, he has strung together some strong outings. In his last seven relief appearances, he owns a 1.04 ERA (1er/8.2ip) with five hits allowed, five walks, 12 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP. Perdomo was signed by Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent on Feb. 9, 2023. He is tied with fellow southpaw Daniel Zamora for the most relief appearances by an Indians reliever this season (13).

FANNING THE OPPONENT: The Indians pitching staff fanned 16 batters in Sunday afternoon's victory, marking the 18th time in 32 games this season that it has racked up double-digit strikeouts. Indy had 45 10+ K games in 2022. The Indians pitching staff leads the International League in strikeouts with 320 - followed shortly by the St. Paul Saints (317) - and rank third in all of minor league baseball. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido leads the staff with 31 punchouts, which is tied for the 10th in the International League.

PALACIOS IS STREAKING: Josh Palacios extended his International League-leading hitting streak to 12 games with a 3-for-5 showing on Sunday. He is hitting .469 (23-for-49) with four doubles, a triple, four home runs, 20 RBI, .536 OBP, .837 slugging-percentage and 1.373 OPS during his current hitting streak. Since April 25, he leads minor league baseball in hits (22) and ranks among leaders in OPS (2nd, 1.478), RBI (T-2nd, 20), batting average (T-3rd, .500), total bases (5th, 40), SLG (7th, .909) and extra-base hits (T-10th, 9).

TONIGHT: The Indians and Saints will matchup for their second six-game set of the season tonight at 7:37 PM ET at CHS Field. In the first series of Indy's road trip, it took five of six games at Toledo and will look to build off that momentum. St. Paul took four of six games in their first meeting at Victory Field from April 11-16. Tonight, reigning IL Pitcher of the Week, southpaw Caleb Smith (1-2, 7.04) will take the mound against St. Paul right-hander Jordan Balazovic (0-0, 2.45). Balazovic tossed 2.1 scoreless relief innings against Indy on April 13.

IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Minor League Baseball and the Indianapolis Indians yesterday announced that left-handed pitcher Caleb Smith has been named the International League Pitcher of the Week after tossing a 7.0-inning complete-game shutout in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader at Toledo. Smith pitched the first complete-game shutout in all of minor league baseball this season. In his brilliant outing on Wednesday afternoon, he allowed three baserunners on three hits, striking out five Mud Hens. He became the first Indians pitcher to toss a complete-game shutout since right-hander James Marvel on July 5, 2019 (2) vs. Toledo. It was also Smith's second career complete-game shutout, following a rain-shortened one-hitter over 7.0 innings on June 18, 2017 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Buffalo.

THIS DATE IN 1963: Fritz Ackley threw 5.2 scoreless innings and Warren Hacker followed suit with 3.1 scoreless frames as the Indians blanked Jacksonville on the road, 6-0. Third baseman Don Buford, who was the 1963 Team and International League MVP, went 3-for-5 with one RBI atop the lineup. Second baseman Ramon Conde finished 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, as well.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics



International League Stories from May 9, 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.

Other Recent Indianapolis Indians Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central