Peguero and Lamb Combine for Six RBI, Skenes Strikes Out Six in Indians’ 8-3 Win over Redbirds

INDIANAPOLIS – Paul Skenes steamed through 3.0 one-hit innings with six strikeouts, Liover Peguero collected three RBI and set a new career high with five hits, and Jake Lamb drilled a three-run home run to propel the Indianapolis Indians past the Memphis Redbirds, 8-3, on Friday night at Victory Field.

Making his second Triple-A start and first at Victory Field, Skenes needed just 12 pitches to strike out the side of César Prieto, Thomas Saggese and major league rehabber Lars Nootbaar in the first inning. Lamb’s second long ball of the season in the bottom half scored Canaan Smith-Njigba and Peguero, who walked and singled, giving Indianapolis (3-3) the lead for good.

In the second inning, Skenes yielded a leadoff single to Luken Baker and two-out walk to José Fermín during a 10-pitch at-bat but put away Matt Koperniak on three straight fastballs to escape the threat. He ended the night with a 10-pitch third and froze Saggese for his sixth punchout on a 100.5 mph four-seamer. He threw 32 of 44 pitches for strikes, topped 100 mph 13 times and maxed out at 101.3 mph during the battle with Fermín.

The Indians poured on runs in four of their next five trips to the plate. Consecutive singles by Peguero, Lamb and Malcom Nuñez in the third resulted in Indy’s fourth run, and Peguero tacked on a run-scoring double in the fourth and two-run single in the sixth to extend Indianapolis’ lead to 7-0. Following a Matt Gorski RBI single in the seventh, Peguero singled in his eighth-inning plate appearance for the 17th five-hit game by an Indian in the Victory Field era and first since Ryan Vilade on Sept. 19, 2023, vs. Rochester.

Eric Lauer (W, 1-0) took over for Skenes in the fourth and dazzled through 4.0 scoreless innings. He retired his first seven batters faced, surrendered one hit and struck out four. Major league rehabber Colin Holderman posted a scoreless eighth.

Memphis (3-3) broke through in the ninth to avoid the shutout. Former Pittsburgh Pirate Alfonso Rivas III laced a three-run double to complete the scoring.

Michael McCreevy (L, 0-1) gave up five earned runs on eight hits in 4.0 innings pitched.

Nick Gonzales singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to six games.

The Indians and Redbirds continue the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for Game 1 is at 5:05 PM, and the nightcap will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. Only one ticket is needed to attend both games. RHP Quinn Priester (1-0, 1.59) is the probable starter for Indy in the opener against RHP Adam Kloffenstein (0-0, 4.50). Memphis will send RHP Gordon Graceffo (0-1, 1.80) to the bump in Game 2 while Indy has yet to name its starter.