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Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Indians (16-16) at Nashville Sounds (23-9)

June 11, 2021 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOCATION: First Horizon Park

FIRST PITCH: 8:05 PM ET

GAME #33 / Road #21: Indianapolis Indians (16-16) at Nashville Sounds (23-9)

PROBABLES: RHP Cody Ponce (0-1, 5.40) vs. RHP Bowden Francis (1-1, 3.60)

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

TV: MiLB TV

LAST NIGHT: A five-run seventh inning by the Sounds, sparked by a bases-clearing double off the bat of former Indians catcher Christian Kelley, lifted Nashville over the Indians last night, 6-3. The Sounds took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI single off the bat of Keston Hiura, but the Indians came right back in the top of the fourth. Will Craig knocked in one run with a single, and with the bases loaded Anthony Alford roped his own RBI single to drive in two more and take a 3-1 lead. The lead held until the seventh inning, when the Sounds plated five. The inning began with three consecutive walks by Austin Davis before Kelley drove in three on his base-knock off Tyler Bashlor. Two doubles by Jake Hager and Jamie Westbrook then extended the Sounds lead to 6-3.

THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY: Will Craig, in his return to the Indians cleanup spot after being designated for assignment and outrighted by Pittsburgh, went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI last night. The first baseman last appeared with Indianapolis on May 12 vs. Toledo, and with the performance last night notched his third consecutive multi-hit game with the Triple-A club (May 11, 2-for-3; May 12, 3-for-3). Craig was designated for assignment on June 4 after hitting .217 (13-for-60) in 18 games with Pittsburgh this season. In eight games with Indianapolis, he is hitting .267 (8-for-30) with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.

ALFORD ON A ROLL: Anthony Alford went 2-for-3 last night with a two-run double to give the Indians a 3-1 lead over Nashville. In seven games in the month of June, he is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with a double, two home runs and seven RBI with three multi-hit performances. Since recording his first hit with Indianapolis on May 13, Alford is hitting .306 (19-for-62) with a pair of doubles, four home runs, 17 RBI and 10 runs scored. He began the season 0-for-12 through the first six games before recording back-to-back multi-hit games on May 13-14 vs. Toledo.

INDIANAPOLIS IN THE EAST: Nashville is the first opponent outside the Triple-A East Midwest Division that the Indians have faced so far this season. Following this six-game series, the Memphis Redbirds will visit Victory Field for the first time in history and another inter-division series, Indy's final of the season. After five series within the Triple-A East Midwest Division, the Sounds are just the second team Indy has faced this season with a winning record. Against teams at or above .500, the Indians are 3-9 after being swept by Omaha and splitting games with Iowa, who toed the .500 line during the first series of the season.

SHARPE ON THE LEADERBOARD: After entering as a pinch hitter in the top of the fifth inning on Wednesday night, Chris Sharpe walked twice and scored two runs to tie for the seventh most runs scored in the Triple-A East this season (20). Sharpe's highest league ranking comes in the doubles category, where he is tied for the lead (10) with Columbus' Nolan Jones and Oscar Mercado.

TONIGHT: The six-game series continues tonight at First Horizon Park as the Indians look to tie the series vs. the Sounds. RHP Cody Ponce is coming off a no-decision effort vs. Columbus on June 5, when he surrendered two earned runs with a season-high seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings. He will face RHP Bowden Francis, who took a loss at Charlotte on June 5 with two earned runs and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings.

PONCE FROM MIL TO PIT: Cody Ponce will face his former organization tonight for the first time after being traded from Milwaukee to Pittsburgh on July 29, 2019 in exchange for Jordan Lyles. He was orignally drafted by the Brewers in the second round (55th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft and last appeared with Double-A Biloxi (1-3, 3.29 ERA in 38.1ip) before being traded. Ponce made only three apparances with Double-A Altoona in 2019 before being promoted to Indianapolis to close out the 2019 season with the Pirates organization.

CIRCLE CITY VS. MUSIC CITY: Indianapolis and Nashville played each other as members of the American Association from 1985, when the Sounds entered their first season as a Triple-A affiliate, until 1997. Indianapolis holds the all-time record between the two teams, 149-141, with Nashville holding the advantage in the Music City, 78-70. In 1997, Nashville jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the season series before Indy took 13 of the next 17 matchups to win the series, 13-11.

1994 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION CHAMPS: The Indians were crowned the 1994 American Association champions after besting Nashville, three games to one, in the championship series from Sept. 11-14. Willie Greene gave Indy the series-opening win on the road with a two-homer performance in a 5-3 victory. The Sounds tied the series, but back in the Circle City the Indians notched back-to-back wins for the championship. Greene had two doubles in Game 3 and the Indians fought off a late comeback effort by the Sounds in Game 4, 7-5.

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