Crowe pitched 6.0 shutout innings in the win
By Brody Tisdale
INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Owings roped a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple as the Indianapolis Indians earned a come-from-behind victory over the Rochester Red Wings on Friday night at Victory Field, 8-7.
Facing a two-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, the Indians rallied for their 12th last at-bat win of the season. Vinny Capra hit a lead-off single, and walks issued to Josh Bissonette and Grant Koch by Anthony Banda (L, 2-5) loaded the bases. Owings followed with a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple into the left-center field gap to make it 8-7.
The Indians (69-77, 36-36) got on the board in the first. Canaan Smith-Njigba extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-out double in the first inning. He came around to score courtesy of a Vilade RBI single.
Indianapolis built a lead with solo home runs in three consecutive innings to accumulate a four-run lead. Nick Gonzales lifted his sixth home run of the month in the third inning before Joe Perez homered for the second time in his last three game in the following frame. Ryan Vilade bookended the blasts with a 425-foot home run past the left field berm.
Rochester (65-79, 31-40) rallied for seven runs on six hits in the seventh inning. The Red Wings tied the game at four apiece with four RBI singles before a Matt Adams bases-clearing double off Travis MacGregor (W, 2-2) gave them a three-run lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Indians rallied for a run in bottom half of the frame on a Vilade RBI double and plated the winning run on Owings’ triple in the eighth. Osvaldo Bido (S, 3) earned his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Starter Wil Crowe tossed 6.0 shutout frames, allowing just four hits and a walk with two strikeouts. It was Crowe’s first quality start since Oct. 1, 2021, with Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati.
The Indians offense had 14 hits and hit three home runs as team for the time in a single game since July 25 vs. Louisville. Six Indians hitters had multi-hit nights, led by Vilade’s 3-for-4 with three RBI.
The Indians and Red Wings continue their six-game set on Saturday night at Victory Field at 6:35 PM ET. RHP Roansy Contreras (0-0, 4.71) will take the mound for Indianapolis. Rochester has yet to name a starter.
Originally posted on milb.com