IL Memphis Redbirds

Memphis Redbirds Game Notes: June 20, 2021

Published on June 20, 2021 under International League (IL)
Memphis Redbirds News Release


Sunday, June 20th 12:35 p.m CT Memphis Redbirds (16-25) at Indianapolis Indians (22-18) Game 6 of 6

Victory Field / Indianapolis, IN Game #42 of 120 / Away Game #18 of 60

LHP Zack Thompson (0-5, 9.55 ERA) vs. RHP Steven Wright (3-2, 4.05 ERA)

MiLB First Pitch App: Evan Stockton & Justin Gallanty

Last Time Out: The Redbirds suffered an 11-5 defeat at the hands of the Indianapolis Indians on Saturday night. The 'Birds got off to a good start when Kramer Robertson hit a solo home-run in the first inning. Indianapolis took the lead with three runs in the fourth, but Memphis battled back in the next half inning. Justin Williams launched a three-run home run in the fifth to give the Redbirds a 4-3 advantage. The Indians exploded for six runs in the sixth inning and eventually won the game 11-5.

Memphis Starter: Zack Thompson will make his eighth appearance and seventh start of the year for the Redbirds this afternoon. It will be Thompson's second start of the series. He started the series-opener on Tuesday and took the loss, allowing four runs in 3.2 innings of work. The 23-year-old has hit a bit of a rough patch, losing each of his last four starts. Thompson was the Cardinals' first round pick (19th overall) in 2019 out of the University of Kentucky. He is ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the St. Louis organization by MLB Pipeline.

Indianapolis Starter: Steven Wright will get the ball for Indianapolis this afternoon. It will be his eighth outing and sixth start of the season. Wright also started the series-opener on Tuesday and earned the win, allowing just on run on two hits in five innings. Wright has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his seven appearances in 2021. The 36-year-old has pitched in parts of seven MLB seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox. He was named an American League All-Star in 2016. Wright is in his first season in the Pirates' organization after signing to a Minor League contract in March.

Starting Hot: The Redbirds offense has hit a home run in the first inning in three consecutive games. Kramer Robertson hit a leadoff home run in the game Thursday, Lars Nootbaar launched a two-run blast on Friday night and Robertson hit another first inning homer on Saturday.

Red Hot Robertson: Kramer Robertson has been on fire over his last eight games. During that stretch, Robertson has four multi-hit games, two home runs, two doubles, one triple, eight RBI and has walked eight times. That run has raised his batting average from .224 to .257 and his on-base percentage from .356 to .397. Robertson's on-base percentage is .451 during the month of June.

Welcome Back, Lars: Lars Nootbaar has picked up right where he left before his multi-week stint on the injured list. During this series in Indianapolis, Nootbaar is 7-16 (.438) with a home run and three RBI. For the season, Nootbaar has an elite .448 on-base percentage and 1.043 OPS.

Racking up the K's: The Redbirds struck out a season-high 17 batters in the game at Indianapolis Thursday night. Angel Rondón and Austin Warner each struck out five batters, Connor Thomas struck out four, Connor Jones fanned two batters and Jesús Cruz picked up the final K of the night.

A Welcome Addition: Grant Black has been a very reliable arm for the Redbirds since joining the team on June 6. Black had one tough outing, but in his other three, the 26-year-old has pitched 7.1 scoreless innings and struck out eight batters.

Keeping up with Jones: Connor Jones has authored a very strong stretch out of the Memphis bullpen. Jones has not allowed a run in any of his last four appearances and seven of his last eight outings have been scoreless. For the season, Jones has not allowed a run in 10 of his 16 outings and has struck out 20 batters in 20.0 innings.

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