2017 Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis and Gwinnett play the final game of a three-game series today at Victory Field. Indianapolis is 59-38 against the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate since 1998 in the Circle City.

Location: Victory Field
First Pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET
Game #55/Home #32: Indianapolis Indians (30-24) vs. Gwinnett Braves (28-26)
Probables: RHP Clay Holmes (3-1, 3.20) vs. RHP Matt Wisler (1-3, 5.20)
Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 and AM 1260
TV: MiLB TV and Comcast channel 90

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Indianapolis Indians

Gwinnett Braves

TRIBE NOTES

EXTRA-INNING BITS: The Indians rallied to force extras last night, but ultimately fell in 11 innings in game two of the series to Gwinnett, 6-4. The loss dropped Indy to 3-6 in extra-inning games, while Gwinnett improved to 3-2.

WORK THE COUNT: The Indians had 18 three-ball counts yesterday against Gwinnett, but they went just 1-for-11 with a double, seven walks and five strikeouts in those at-bats.

EXTRA EFFORT: After hitting just .217 (13-for-60) in April, Danny Ortiz has batted .299 (20-for-67) since, raising his average to .260 (33-for-127). He has totaled eight extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple) on the season. In his first 30 games, he notched four doubles — over his last five games, he has doubled three times and tripled once.

FOURTEEN AND COUNTING: Over the first seven starts for catcher Jacob Stallings, the Indians went just 1-6 as a team. Over his last 14 starts, the Tribe is a remarkable 14-0. Stallings hit .286 (6-for-21) through his first seven contests and threw out 33% of base stealers (2-for-6). In his last 14 games, he’s hit .275 (14-for-51) and thrown out 50% of base stealers (5-for-10).

UNFAMILIAR EDGAR: After recording a 21.2 scoreless streak earlier this season, Edgar Santana has seen his 0.36 ERA rise to 1.80 over his last four appearances. In his last four outings, he has yielded five earned runs on 11 hits (two home runs) over 4.2 frames, equating to a 9.64 ERA. The two-run shot he gave up last night to Ozzie Albies was just the 11th home run he has surrendered in 171.2 career innings pitched.

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

1. Ozzie Albies SS
2. Jace Peterson 2B
3. Mel Rojas Jr. RF
4. Lane Adams CF
5. Dustin Peterson LF
6. Carlos Franco 1B
7. Sean Kazmar Jr. 3B
8. Anthony Recker C
9. 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.

Indianapolis and Gwinnett play game one of a three-game series tonight at Victory Field. This is the first meeting between the two clubs in 2017.

Location: Victory Field
First Pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET
Game #53/Home #30: Indianapolis Indians (29-23) vs. Gwinnett Braves (27-25)
Probables: RHP Jameson Taillon (MLB Rehab) vs. LHP Sean Newcomb (3-2, 2.96)
Radio: Fox Sports 97.5 and AM 1260
TV: MiLB TV and Comcast channel 90

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Indianapolis Indians

Gwinnett Braves

TRIBE NOTES

ADIOS MAY, HELLO JUNE: After a 7-15 April, the Indians posted a 21-8 record in the month of May, their first 21-win month since Aug. 1998, when they went 21-7. That year, the Tribe also went 21-9 in the month of June. The Tribe entered play on May 6 in fourth place in the IL West, five games back of Tole­do. Entering play tonight, Indy has a 5.5-game lead in its division. Indy opened June with a 5-0 shutout of Lehigh Valley to take the three-game set, 2-1.

TAILLON’S BACK: Jameson Taillon underwent testicular cancer surgery May 8 but is already near a return to the big leagues. The 25-year-old right-hand­er tossed three scoreless innings with Double-A Altoona on Sunday at Erie, and he gets the nod tonight for the Tribe. Taillon had made six starts for Pittsburgh before being placed on the disabled list, going 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA (13 ER in 35.1 IP) and 30 strikeouts against 13 walks. In 16 career starts for Indianapolis during the 2013 and 2016 campaigns, Taillon is a combined 5-5 with a 2.74 ERA (30 ER in 98.2 IP). He was the second overall pick by the Pirates in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, being selected after Washington took Bryce Harper.

RETURNING THE FAVOR: The Indians were blanked for a fifth time this season in Wednesday night’s 6-0 loss to the IronPigs, only to return the favor with a 5-0 shutout win in the series finale last night. Last year, Indy followed shutout losses with a shutout victory on two occasions. They opened the season by splitting a doubleheader at Columbus on April 10, losing Game 1, 1-0, before winning the nightcap, 4-0. The Indians followed a shutout defeat with a shutout win again on July 20 and July 21, losing 2-0 to Lehigh Valley before blanking Charlotte, 1-0.

TWO TRIPS: Eric Wood and Erich Weiss both tripled in last night’s game, the third time Indy has collected two triples in a single game this season. The Indians also accomplished the feat on April 28 at Scranton/W-B and April 12 vs. Columbus.