Indians Tally Season-High 15 Runs in Series Finale vs. Saints
Published on May 14, 2023 under International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Indianapolis Indians offense exploded for a five-run fourth inning and a seven-run ninth inning en route to a series finale victory against the St. Paul Saints at CHS Field on Sunday afternoon, 15-3. With the win, the Indians return to Victory Field having won eight of 12 games on their road trip.
With St. Paul (21-16) leading 2-0, Nick Gonzales opened the fourth inning with a triple, and Canaan Smith-Njigba sent him home in the next at-bat with an RBI single. Following a walk issued to Endy Rodríguez, Cal Mitchell reached on a fielder's choice to score Smith-Njigba. Jared Triolo then smacked his first Triple-A double to left field, breaking the tie and giving the Indians (18-20) a lead they would not relinquish. The half-inning concluded with Grant Koch grounding into a run-scoring double play.
The Saints got one run back in the bottom half of the fifth inning on a solo shot from Matt Wallner to right field, but the Indians quickly countered with three consecutive singles from Mitchell, Triolo and Nuñez in the sixth. In the seventh, Chavez Young reached on a single then Gonzales was hit by a pitch. Young stole his tenth bag of the year to set up runners on the corners before Smith-Njigba smoked a two-run double to center, extending the Indians' lead to five.
Indianapolis dashed any hope for the Saints to rally in the top of the ninth, plating seven more runs before the afternoon was finished. Gonzales opened the inning with his second extra-base hit of the contest, a double to right field. A Smith-Njigba single, Rodríguez walk and Triolo ground-rule double put the Indians in double digits. A wild pitch by Josh Winder sent Triolo to third, and the second walk of the inning was issued to Koch after the Indians successfully challenged a strike call. Josh Bissonette reached safely on a single, and Young put the exclamation point on the victory with a three-run home run.
In his second appearance this series, Caleb Smith (W, 2-3) allowed three runs with a career-high tying nine strikeouts over 5.0 innings. It was his third career nine-strikeout performance, the last coming on June 12, 2021 at Nashville. St. Paul starter Jordan Balazovic (L, 0-1) threw 3.2 innings, yielding five runs on four hits with four strikeouts.
After two weeks on the road, the Indians will return home to Victory Field for a six-game tilt with the Iowa Cubs. Game one is set for Tuesday, May 16 at 6:35 PM ET. Neither team has named a starter.
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