Indians Earn Series Split with Redbirds

INDIANAPOLIS – Behind standout performances from Ji-Hwan Bae and Travis Swaggerty, the Indianapolis Indians earned a series split with a 6-2 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Sunday afternoon.

Facing a 2-1 deficit in the third, the Indians (35-35) scored two runs to capture a lead they would not relinquish. After back-to-back line-drive singles by major league rehabbers Kevin Newman and Ben Gamel, a wild pitch by Jacob Bosiokovic (L, 0-1) put both runners into scoring position. Yoshi Tsutsugo – playing in the fourth game of his respective rehab assignment – sent home the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly. Bae then lined a two-out, run-scoring single into right field to give Indy a 3-2 advantage.

Memphis (41-31) grabbed an early 2-0 lead after Alec Burleson homered off starting pitcher Bryse Wilson (W, 4-0) in the first inning. Wilson settled in after the first and threw four consecutive scoreless innings before handing over to the bullpen. Cristofer Melendez, Aaron Fletcher and Eric Stout combined to throw 4.0 scoreless innings to shut down the Redbirds.

Mason Martin added an insurance run with a home run in the seventh, his first since May 29 and 12th on the year. Swaggerty followed suit with a two-run shot to center field in the eighth to extend the lead to 6-2.

Bae went 3-for-4 in his fourth consecutive multi-hit game and finished the series hitting .458 (11-for-24) with six RBI and three stolen bases. For a second consecutive game, Swaggerty made a spectacular catch at the wall to take away an extra-base hit from Memphis. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate, and his eighth-inning homer was his sixth of the season.

The Indians will travel to First Horizon Park for a six-game series with the first-place Nashville Sounds on Tuesday at 8:05 PM ET. Both clubs have yet to name starters.