Breakout Offensive Performances Lead Indians Past Knights
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Oneil Cruz led the Indianapolis Indians offense with a home run and career-high five RBI, and Jason Delay tallied a career-high tying four knocks among Indy’s 15-hit attack in an 11-5 comeback victory over the Charlotte Knights on Sunday afternoon.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Oneil Cruz led the Indianapolis Indians offense with a home run and career-high five RBI, and Jason Delay tallied a career-high tying four knocks among Indy’s 15-hit attack in an 11-5 comeback victory over the Charlotte Knights on Sunday afternoon.
Down 5-3 after three innings, the Indians (17-17) scored eight unanswered runs to earn a come-from-behind victory and series split with the Knights (15-21). Mason Martin crushed a solo home run off Emilio Vargas (L, 0-3) to tie the ballgame at 5-5 in the fifth, and the Indians secured the lead for good in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Ji-Hwan Bae that scored Josh Bissonette.
The Indians added four insurance runs and hit for the cycle in a four-batter span as a team in the eighth. Delay began the inning with a double ahead of a Bissonette single, setting the stage for Cruz who roped an opposite field three-run home run to make it 9-5. Bae then tripled to right before scoring on a Cal Mitchell groundout.
Hoy Park doubled to start the top of the ninth and hustled home on Delay’s second double and fourth hit of the game, the third four-hit game of his career and first since May 19, 2019 vs. Harrisburg.
The Knights got on the board first with a two-run home run by Carlos Perez in the opening frame. The long ball was Perez’s eighth of the season and first of three home runs for Charlotte on the day – all of which came in the first two innings.
Indy grabbed a short-lived lead in the second inning on a bloop single by Delay that brought home Park and a two-run single by Cruz. In the bottom half, Indians starting pitcher Trey McGough gave up homers to Micker Adolfo and Mark Payton. Jerad Eickhoff (W, 2-2) entered in relief to close out the bottom of the second and went on to throw 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing only one hit and fanning five batters.
Cruz accounted for over half of the Indians runs on the day, scoring once and driving in five total runs on his second-inning single and eighth-inning homer.
The Indians will be back in action at Victory Field Tuesday night against the Toledo Mud Hens with first pitch at 6:35 PM ET. RHP Cody Bolton (0-1, 4.76) will toe the rubber for the Indians while Toledo has not yet named its starter.