Game Information: St. Paul Saints (69-73) vs. Indianapolis Indians (72-70)
September 21, 2022 – International League (IL) – Indianapolis Indians News Release
LOCATION: Victory Field
FIRST PITCH: 1:35 PM ET
GAME #143 / Home #72: St. Paul Saints (69-73) vs. Indianapolis Indians (72-70)
PROBABLES: RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-6, 7.47) vs. RHP Quinn Priester (0-0, -.–)
RADIO: FoxSportsIndy.com / Fox Sports 1260 / iHeart app
TV: MiLB TV
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Endy Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a double in his Triple-A debut and Jose Godoy went yard as the Indianapolis Indians defeated the St. Paul Saints last night at Victory Field, 7-3. After surrendering one unearned run in the top of the first inning, Osvaldo Bido shut down the Saints offense with 10 strikeouts. After Bido exited the game, the Indians took the lead in the sixth on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Brendt Citta and Rodriguez. An inside-the-park home run by Dalton Shuffield plated two to give St. Paul the lead back, 3-2, but Jose Godoy countered with a homer over the wall to tie the game. The Indians offense then boomed for four runs in the bottom of the eighth, with a two-run single by Citta breaking the tie. Jared Oliva followed with a single and Godoy capped the scoring with a two-out double.
OSVALDO ON STRIKEOUTS: Osvaldo Bido dazzled over 5.2 two-hit innings last night, registering his second career-high 10-strikeout performance (also: June 5, 2019 with Single-A West Virginia vs. Charleston). The right-hander now is tied for the fifth-most strikeouts this season at 119, and since the All-Star break he leads all International League pitchers with 57 punchouts. He has been dominant over his last 11 games (eight starts) in that time frame, going 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA (12er/46.2ip) and has given up one earned run or less in eight of those total appearances.
CITTA FOR THE WIN: With the game tied at 3-3 in the eighth inning, Brendt Citta lined a single into center field to plate two and score Indy’s eventual game-winning runs. After going hitless and snapping his six-game hitting streak on Sunday afternoon, Citta has continued his hot streak in September by going 3-for-6 with a double, home run, three runs scored and five RBI over his last two games. In the month of September, he is hitting .349 (15-for-43) with nine runs scored, four doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. His nine total homers this season split between Indy and Double-A Altoona (4) are a career high, besting his 2019 total of three between Rookie-Advanced Bristol and Short Season-A West Virginia.
ENDY IN INDY: Pittsburgh’s No. 6 prospect and No. 100 in all of Minor League Baseball, Endy Rodriguez, stunned with a single, double and RBI in his Triple-A debut last night at Victory Field after an impressive season with High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. He led off the two-hit performance with a single in the second inning, followed with a double roped down the left-field line in the fourth and drove in one on a sacrifice fly in the sixth. The 22-year-old currently leads all Pirates farmhands with 88 RBI, A .583 slugging percentage, .989 OPS, 140 total hits, 38 doubles, 65 extra-base hits, 256 total bases and 90 runs scored.
GODOY IS GOOD: After hitting three home runs through his first 49 games between St. Paul and Indianapolis this season, Jose Godoy has now went yard in three of his last four games. He’s currently working a six-game hitting streak since Aug. 30 at Louisville, and in those games he owns a .391 average (9-for-23), with one double, three home runs and nine RBI, good for a whopping .826 slugging percentage and 1.249 OPS. In 10 total games with Indy, he is hitting .333 (13-for-39) with a .947 OPS.
TODAY: The Indians will look to build on their winning ways as they continue the six-game series with St. Paul to conclude their 2022 home schedule. The two squads are meeting for the fourth time this season and the second time at Victory Field. They first met at CHS Field on April 12-17 and then May 24-29, with the Saints taking seven of those 12 games and the Indians take four of five games at Victory Field with four games remaining. Taking the mound for Indianapolis today is RHP Quinn Priester (0-0, -.–), who is making his Triple-A debut after being officially added to Indy’s roster today. Countering for the Saints will be RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-6, 7.47), who has surrendered nine earned runs in 6.0 innings across two starts against the Indians this season.
THROWING AN ACE: Quinn Priester, who is rated as the No. 47 prospect in Minor League Baseball and No. 3 in the Pirates organization, will be making his Triple-A debut at Victory Field today in a start against St. Paul. In 15 starts with Altoona, his season shortened by an oblique injury to begin the campaign, the 22-year-old went 4-4 with a 2.87 ERA (24er/75.1ip), 75 strikeouts and 1.19 WHIP. In his first full professional season in 2021, Priester led Greensboro and High-A East qualifiers with a 3.04 ERA (33er/97.2ip), 1.24 WHIP and .225 average against in 20 starts. He also ranked among league leaders in games started (T-2nd), innings pitched (3rd), wins (T-8th, 7) and strikeouts (10th, 98). The Glendale Heights, Ill. native was selected by Pittsburgh as the 18th overall pick of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Cary-Grove (Ill.) High School.
THIS DAY IN 2000: Just three years into joining the International League, the Indians fought their way to the top of Triple-A baseball. Horacio Estrada – the IL leader with 14 wins that season – tossed 8.0 two-run innings in Game 4 of the Triple-A World Series in Las Vegas vs. Memphis to clinch the championship, 3-1. The Indians single-season record holder with 35 saves, Bob Scanlan, closed out the title game with a dominant ninth inning.
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