Indians offense collected 14 hits as a unit in the winning effort
By Jack McMullen
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Behind yet another excellent night for left fielder Miguel Andújar, the Indianapolis Indians survived a late comeback effort from the Gwinnett Stripers to take the series opener on Tuesday night at Coolray Field, 7-5.
With an RBI single in the third, a two-run double in the fifth, and a two-run single in the eighth, Andújar accounted for the majority of Indy’s run production and tied Gwinnett’s output by himself. Andújar’s four-hit performance was his fourth of the season, with his last four-hit night coming on June 23 against Columbus. The leading hitter in the International League also collected his third five-RBI game on the year, with his last coming on July 14 in Omaha. With his 4-for-5 day, Andújar elevated his batting average to .361 and raised his OPS to an even 1.000.
The Indians (49-53, 16-12) jumped out in front thanks to an opposite field single from designated hitter Mason Martin against Stripers starter Jared Shuster (L, 3-4) to plate shortstop Chris Owings. Andújar supplied the second three runs for Indianapolis before right fielder Canaan Smith-Njigba extended the lead to 5-0 with an RBI single in the fifth.
Four unanswered runs followed for the Stripers (45-57, 12-15), kickstarted by an RBI single from center fielder Dalton Guthrie in the fifth and highlighted by doubles from shortstop Vaughn Grissom and first baseman Jesús Aguilar in the seventh. Andújar provided the insurance for Indy in the eighth to halt the stretch.
Six Indians pitchers combined in the winning effort, with right-hander Kyle Nicolas (W, 1-2) working a team-high 3.0 innings of one-run ball and three arms notching hitless outings before closer Colin Selby (S, 6) finished the job with a one-run ninth.
The Indians and Stripers play the second game of their six-game set on Wednesday night at 7:05 PM ET at Coolray Field. Right-hander Andre Jackson (0-0, 3.72) gets the ball for Indianapolis against Gwinnett right-hander and No. 7 Braves prospect Darius Vines (0-0, 1.93).
Originally posted on milb.com