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Indians Rally with Two Homers in Ninth to Defeat I-Cubs, 4-3

April 30, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


DES MOINES, Iowa - The Indianapolis Indians offense rallied in the top of the ninth inning with two home runs off the bats of Canaan Smith-Njigba and Brendt Citta to take a 3-2 series lead against the Iowa Cubs on Saturday night, 4-3.

With the Indians (12-10) down by one in the top of the final frame, Smith-Njigba led off with a towering solo shot over the center-field wall to tie the game at 3-3. Two batters later, Citta - entering as a pinch-hitter for catcher Jason Delay - followed with his first Triple-A long ball to score the go-ahead run.

After surrendering a one-out walk in the bottom half of the ninth, Cristofer Melendez (S, 1) induced back-to-back fly outs of Greg Deichmann and Cubs' top prospect Brennen Davis to clinch Indy's win.

The Indians tallied their first pair of runs in the top of the third inning. With two runners in scoring position, Mason Martin notched his team-leading 17th RBI on a groundout. Hunter Owen then lined an RBI single to give Indianapolis the 2-0 lead.

The I-Cubs (11-11) offense turned a 2-0 deficit into a one-run lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth frame. With runners at the corners and one out, Deichmann plated Iowa's first run with an RBI single. A wild pitch allowed runners to advance to second and third, and center fielder Brennen Davis followed on the next pitch with a game-tying sacrifice fly. Iowa then took the lead on a two-out RBI single by P.J. Higgins.

In his second Triple-A start of the season, Pirates top pitching prospect Roansy Contreras was solid on the mound. The right-hander fanned five batters and surrendered just one hit in 3.0 shutout innings. Trey McGough (W, 1-0) faced eight batters in 2.0 innings of relief, allowing only two hits with three strikeouts.

The I-Cubs pitching staff collected seventeen strikeouts in the game, marking the most strikeouts of Indians batters in a single game since Iowa fanned 18 at Victory Field on July 1, 2021. Eric Stout (L, 1-1) was responsible for the two home runs in the final inning, which were his only two runs surrendered in 11.2 innings this season.

The last time the Indians rallied in the ninth inning of a road game for a come-from-behind win was July 23, 2019 at Syracuse when Erik Gonzalez smacked a two-out, two-run ground-rule double to beat the Mets, 7-6.

The series finale between Indianapolis and Iowa is slated for 2:08 PM ET tomorrow afternoon. RHP Osvaldo Bido (0-1, 3.00) will be on the bump for the Indians and RHP Adrian Sampson (0-2, 4.30) will take the hill for the I-Cubs.

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