9.24.22 Game Information: St. Paul Saints (70-75) vs. Indianapolis Indians (74-70)
September 24, 2022 – International League (IL) – Indianapolis Indians News Release
LOCATION: Victory Field
FIRST PITCH: 6:35 PM ET
GAME #146 / Home #75: St. Paul Saints (70-75) vs. Indianapolis Indians (74-71)
PROBABLES: RHP Ariel Jurado (2-2, 3.54) vs. RHP Tyler Beede (0-0, -.–)
RADIO: FoxSportsIndy.com / Fox Sports 1260 / iHeart app
TV: MiLB TV
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Endy Rodriguez recorded his third multi-hit performance in just four Triple-A games as the Indianapolis Indians dropped their first game of the series to the St. Paul Saints last night at Victory Field, 4-1. The Saints got on the board with a pair of solo home runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back. They continued the scoring in the third and fourth innings with a run-scoring groundout and additional home run, respectively. The Indians were inches away from tying the game with Blake Sabol’s hot bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. Tucupita Marcano took a one-out walk and back-to-back singles by Rodriguez and Malcom Nunez loaded the bases for the left-handed slugger. Sabol rocked the second pitch of his at-bat high into the sky, but it was caught against the right-field wall by Andreoli to only plate one.
TRENDY ENDY: Endy Rodriguez has made himself a prospect to remember throughout his outstanding season, currently ranked Pittsburgh’s No. 6 prospect and No. 100 in all of Minor League Baseball. Rodriguez has shined in his first four Triple-A games at Victory Field after an impressive season with High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. Last night, he registered his third multi-hit performance with Indianapolis, leading the team with a pair of singles. In four games with Indy, he is hitting .533 (8-for-15) with a run scored, two doubles, a triple, a sacrifice fly and seven runs batted in. He has an extra-base hit in three of the four games he’s played. The 22-year-old currently leads all Pirates farmhands with 94 RBI, A .588 slugging percentage, .996 OPS, 146 total hits, 39 doubles, 67 extra-base hits, 265 total bases and 91 runs scored. This season, he has more multi-hit games (40) than hitless games (32).
TONIGHT The Indians will look to finish off their home slate of games with a win tonight at 6:35 PM ET against St. Paul. At Victory Field this season, they currently own a 41-33 record at home, which will mark their 14th season as a Pirates affiliate (since 2005) that they have finished the home schedule above .500 and 21st winning season in Victory Field history. Tonight is expected to be one of Indy’s largest attended games of the season as welly and the franchise currently rank third in all of minor league baseball with a total home attendance of 521,524 and fourth with a 7,345 average in 71 openings. Taking the mound for Indianapolis tonight will be RHP Tyler Beede (0-0, -.–) in making his Indians debut. Countering for St. Paul is RHP Ariel Jurado (2-2, 3.54), who came out of the bullpen vs. Indy on 7/24 and tossed 3.1 hitless innings.
2022 TEAM AWARDS: Pregame today, the Indians honored six members of their roster as 2022 Team Award recipients. Please see below for information on each award winner:
Most Valuable Player – Ji-Hwan Bae was an everyday difference maker for the Indians. Rotating between second base (57 games/53 starts), third base (1 game/0 starts), shortstop (24 games/20 starts), left field (8 starts) and center field (20 games/19 starts) over 108 total games, he consistently performed at a high offensive level and leads all Indians qualifiers with a .289 average, .362 on-base percentage, .430 slugging percentage, .792 OPS, 121 hits, 81 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. Of those categories, he ranks among International League leaders in triples (T-5th, 6), runs scored (T-7th) and stolen bases (T-8th).
Pitcher of the Year – Cody Bolton excelled in a hybrid role with the Indians in his first Triple-A campaign coming off a season-ending knee injury in 2021. The right-hander, who entered the season as Pittsburgh’s No. 30 prospect by Baseball America, went 4-2 with a 3.01 ERA (25er/74.2p) and 81 strikeouts over 29 games (14 starts). After strictly working as a starting pitcher through the first three seasons of his career, Bolton shined out of the bullpen, going 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA (9er/33.0ip) and 39 strikeouts.
Gold Glove – Jared Oliva has strung together a streak of 87 consecutive games without an error since April 16 – tied for the second-longest streak in the International League this season – to be named Indy’s Gold Glove Award recipient. The streak is the longest by an Indians fielder since Will Craig (89 games) in 2019 and is Oliva’s longest since not committing an error over his entire 2019 season with Double-A Altoona (114 games).
Most Improved – Osvaldo Bido has been a strikeout phenom since the All-Star break, compiling a 2-1 record, 2.31 ERA (12er/46.2ip) and 57 strikeouts in his last 11 games (eight starts). He has struck out seven-plus batters six times this season, five of which have come since July 24, including a career-high tying 10-strikeout performance on Tuesday night at Victory Field. In that time, he has registered a 2.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio, an improvement from his 1.48 mark (62 strikeouts, 42 walks) over his first 63.1 innings (20 games/16 starts).
Unsung Heroes – Jerad Eickhoff and Taylor Davis were virtually extensions of the coaching staff. As players with years of experience, Eickhoff and Davis embraced the opportunity to provide clubhouse leadership, guiding a mix of journeymen and young prospects on the Indians roster to always put their best foot forward and to work tirelessly day in and day out to help the team win. On the field, Eickhoff, a right-handed starting pitcher from Evansville who played at Mater Dei High School, is just 1.2 innings shy of ranking among International League leaders with a 1.15 WHIP (3rd) and .236 average against (5th). In his second season with Indy, Davis hit .273 with a .355 on-base percentage in 40 games.
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