Indians Bury Saints 9-2 Behind Priester's Punchouts and 17-Hit Attack
April 15, 2023 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
Quinn Priester pitched into the fifth inning and struck out nine, Nick Gonzales tied his career high with four hits - three for extra bases - and Endy Rodríguez and Miguel Andújar both cranked home runs to carry the Indianapolis Indians to a 9-2 win over the St. Paul Saints on Saturday night at Victory Field. The triumph marked the 1,000th regular season win all time at the Vic.
Trailing 1-0 midway through the second inning, the Indians (6-8) scored in five consecutive frames to back Priester, who racked up nine punchouts - the third-highest mark of his four-year career.
Indianapolis plated three runs in the second off Simeon Woods Richardson (L, 0-2) to grab its first lead of the homestand. Andújar and Ryan Vilade scored on a two-out double by Chavez Young, who then stole third and touched home on a three-bagger by Gonzales.
Rodríguez opened the bottom of the third with a towering home run to right, his second of the season. St. Paul (8-5) tallied its final run in the fourth off Priester, but Cal Mitchell dumped a run-scoring single into left field to score Gonzales and chase Woods Richardson in the bottom half, pushing Indy's advantage back to three.
The Indians then added a pair of two-run frames, highlighted by Andújar's two-run homer in the sixth to cap the scoring.
John O'Reilly, Daniel Zamora, Cody Bolton and Yerry De Los Santos held the Saints scoreless after Priester departed at 86 pitches (56 strikes). Zamora (W, 2-1) struck out three over 1.1 innings of work.
Indy recorded 17 hits, its most in a game at Victory Field since Aug. 7, 2018, when Kevin Newman and Jacob Stallings both hit for the cycle in a 12-5 win over Lehigh Valley. The pitching staff also notched a season-high 16 strikeouts, tying the Indians' 2022 high of 16 set on Aug. 5 vs. Louisville.
Young drove in three runs from the bottom of Indy's lineup, and Vilade finished with three knocks after being reinstated from the development list prior to the game.
Indianapolis and St. Paul conclude their six-game series on Sunday at 1:35 PM ET at Victory Field. RHP Osvaldo Bido (0-0, 1.29) gets the nod for the Indians against Saints RHP Jose De León (0-0, 6.14).
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