Indianapolis and Gwinnett play the middle game of a three-game series tonight at Victory Field. Indianapolis is 59-37 against the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate since 1998 in the Circle City.
Location: Victory Field
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
Game #54/Home #31: Indianapolis Indians (30-23) vs. Gwinnett Braves (27-26)
Probables: RHP Nick Kingham (2-1, 3.00) vs. RHP Patrick Weigel (1-1, 6.41)
Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 and AM 1260
TV: MiLB TV and Comcast channel 90
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Indianapolis Indians
Gwinnett Braves
- Ozzie Albies SS
- Jace Peterson 2B
- Mel Rojas Jr. RF
- Lane Adams CF
- Dustin Peterson LF
- Carlos Franco 1B
- Sean Kazmar Jr. 3B
- Anthony Recker C
- Patrick Weigel P
TRIBE NOTES
SAME JAMESON: Jameson Taillon allowed one unearned run over five innings with six strikeouts in a no-decision last night. The 25-year-old was locked in from the start, mixing and matching his fastball, changeup and devastating curve throughout the night. In seven career starts at Victory Field dating back to 2013, Taillon is 1-2 with a 2.23 ERA (10 ER in 40.1 IP).
FOUR-RUN SEVENTH: The Indians mounted their comeback in the seventh last night, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead and eventual victory. In the seventh, Erich Weiss singled and advanced to second on an error by former Tribe member Mel Rojas Jr. Weiss’ knock was the only hit in the frame as a wild pitch, walk, hit batsmen, throwing error, wild pitch and two sacrifice flies followed.
TRAILING AFTER SIX: The Indians have the best winning percentage among International League teams when trailing after six innings this season. Indy has trailed after six full frames in 18 contests, and they’ve come back to win five of those games, good for a .278 winning percentage. Toledo has the second-mark winning percentage when trailing after six, going 7-21 (.250) in 28 such affairs this season.
LEADING AFTER SIX: While the Indians own the best winning percentage when trailing through six innings, they have the second-worst percentage when leading after six frames at .724 (21-8). Toledo is the only other IL team with a lower winning percentage when leading through six, going just 13-6 (.684) in those contests.
PITCHING IN THE CIRCLE CITY: All three of Nick Kingham’s starts this year for the Tribe have come away from Victory Field. Between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Kingham went 2-5 with a 4.40 ERA (35 ER in 71.2 IP) in 12 home starts for Indy. Including this years three road outings, Kingham is 6-2 with a 2.88 ERA (21 ER in 65.2 IP) away from home.
GIFT RETURNS: Gift Ngoepe returned to Indy yesterday but was not in the starting lineup. The South African was recalled by Pittsburgh in late April and made his MLB debut on April 26 against the Cubs. He recorded a single in his first major league at-bat, grounding a single into center off Jon Lester. Ngoepe became the first player from the continent of Africa to play in the majors. With the Pirates, Ngoepe hit .222 (12-for-54) with two doubles, one triple, and six RBI in 28 games. Known for his glovework, Ngoepe did not commit an error in 77 total chances.