Chandler Shines as Indians Win Series Opener Against Red Wings
INDIANAPOLIS – Pittsburgh Pirates No. 1 prospect Bubba Chandler yielded just one hit over 6.0 innings – punching out his 10th batter with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth – and the Indianapolis Indians offense came alive with eight runs in the eighth inning en route to
INDIANAPOLIS – Pittsburgh Pirates No. 1 prospect Bubba Chandler yielded just one hit over 6.0 innings – punching out his 10th batter with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth – and the Indianapolis Indians offense came alive with eight runs in the eighth inning en route to a 13-3 victory against the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night at Victory Field.
Chandler (W, 4-0) was lights out until the tail end of his outing, retiring his first 17 batters faced to take a perfect game through 5.2 innings. After allowing his first hit with two outs in the sixth and walking back-to-back batters to load the bases, he fanned Brady House with a 98.8 MPH heater to end his outing. Chandler, making his sixth Triple-A start, fired 55 of his 87 pitches in for strikes, with his fastball topping out at 99.1 MPH.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis (37-26, 70-66) offense got rolling early. Following a leadoff triple by Andrés Alvarez, Ji Hwan Bae and Jack Suwinski each singled home runs to give Indy an early two-run advantage. Between the second and fourth inning, the Indians’ added on two more runs off Andrew Alvarez (L, 4-6), the latter coming courtesy of a solo blast from Jason Delay.
After Chandler’s exit, Rochester (34-30, 72-65) logged a trio of runs in the seventh on a three-run homer by Trey Lipscomb against Josh Walker. Isaac Mattson (S, 3), entered with two outs in the eighth and held the Red Wings scoreless through the end of the game.
The Indians then exploded to score nine more runs between the seventh and eighth innings, including seven with two outs in the eighth, to extend their lead. Bae opened the scoring attack with a solo blast in the seventh. A Beer sacrifice fly was the second out of the eighth before a bases-loaded walk from Bae, pair of RBI singles from Nick Yorke and Malcom Nuñez, run-scoring error off the bat of Jack Suwinski and Liover Peguero triple buried the Red Wings.
Each batter in the Indians lineup recorded at least one base knock, with Peguero’s three hits – including a double and his eighth-inning triple – leading the charge. Bae led the Indians with three RBI. In total, the Indians outhit Rochester, 15-4.
The Indians and Red Wings continue their six-game series on Wednesday at 1:35 PM ET. RHP Thomas Harrington (3-1, 3.67) is scheduled to start for Indy against RHP Spenser Watkins (7-6, 4.49).