This Date In Indians History – May

The Indianapolis Indians have a rich history that dates back to 1902. Take a trip down memory lane as we highlight notable performances that occurred in the month of May for the Tribe.

May 2, 1989 – Mark Gardner improved to 5-0 on the season with a complete game shutout vs. Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old fanned 10 batters, issued two walks and allowed four hits as the Tribe offense got an early 3-0 lead. Gardner went on to make his major league debut with Montreal on May 16 vs. San Diego and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. In 24 Triple-A games (23 starts) for the year, he went 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA (43er/163.1ip).

May 4, 2009 – The Tribe set a franchise record with nine stolen bases during a 7-5 loss vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Victory Field. The running game was led by right fielder Jeff Salazar, who swiped two bases in the first inning and one in the third. DH Garrett Jones and first baseman Steve Pearce each tacked on a pair of their own, with Jones stealing home to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker each contributed one stolen base to the nine-swipe effort.

May 10, 1984 – Mike Stenhouse clubbed the Tribe’s third three-homer game in franchise history at Bush Stadium vs. Evansville. In a 17-4 win for the Indians, Stenhouse went 3-for-5 with a team-leading eight RBI. Ron Johnson hit a home run of his own, going 4-for-4 with two RBI and five runs scored. Stenhouse spent 27 games with Indianapolis in 1984, hitting .333 (31-for-93) with eight home runs and 27 RBI.

May 15, 2005 – Ian Snell went 9.0 hitless innings for the Indians’ first no-hitter since 1988 and 10th in franchise history. Snell walked one batter and struck out nine as the Tribe offense put up three runs in the second inning and another in the fifth for the 4-0 win over Norfolk. It was his only shutout of the season and his first complete game, the second coming in the opener of a doubleheader on Aug. 31 vs. Toledo. The only no-hitter of his career earned him his second International League Pitcher of the Week award. Snell went 4-0 in six May starts that year with a 2.04 ERA (9er/39.2ip).

May 16, 1964 – The Tribe set a franchise record by scoring 15 runs in the first inning of a doubleheader vs. Seattle en route to an 18-0 win in seven innings. Bruce Howard, Deacon Jones, Jose Valdivielso, Len Johnston and Marv Staehle all hit doubles and drove in a combined eight runs. Jim Hicks went 3-for-5 with six runs driven in to lead the team.

May 20, 1998 – The first home run cycle ever recorded in a single inning by a professional baseball team occurred in the top of the fifth, when the Indians put up 10 runs at Pawtucket. Pete Rose Jr. hit a solo home run, Jason Williams tacked on a three-run homer, Glenn Murray cleared the bases with a grand slam and Guillermo Garcia finished it off with a two-run shot. Garcia finished the day with two home runs after hitting a solo shot in the ninth inning to give the Tribe an 11-1 win.

May 24, 1974 – Tom Carroll tossed the sixth no-hitter in franchise history on a Friday at Omaha. Both starters went the distance, with Carroll improving to 3-2 on the season after issuing just two walks and striking out five. For Omaha, Dennis Leonard allowed two runs – both driven in by Ed Armbrister – on eight hits and four walks with six strikeouts.

May 29, 1970 – The Tribe won a 23-inning game at Oklahoma City that began on Thursday, May 28 and finished on Friday. The score was tied 5-5 through nine innings, and then both teams went scoreless for the next 10 innings before trading runs in the 20th. The Indians broke ahead in the 23rd inning with a four-run spot, and Oklahoma City rallied with one run in the bottom half to finish the game, 10-7. The total game time was 6 hours and 37 minutes.

May 31, 2016 – Jacob Stallings set a single-game Victory Field record with seven RBI in the Tribe’s 9-3 win vs. Rochester. The catcher went 4-for-4 with a solo home run, three-run double, RBI triple and another home run to drive in two. Stallings had his contract selected by Pittsburgh just a few weeks later and made his major league debut on June 19.