Beer, Peguero and Fraizer each homered in the triumph
By Brooks Riley
LOUISVILLE, KY. – Matt Fraizer recorded a career-high five RBI and hit one of three home runs for the Indianapolis Indians en route to an 8-2 victory over the Louisville Bats in the second game of the split series on Tuesday evening at Louisville Slugger Field.
Fraizer’s 2-for-3 performance was highlighted by a tiebreaking three-run home run in the fourth inning off Christian Roa (L, 3-5) to give Indianapolis (3-5, 36-45) a lead it did not surrender. Capped by a two-run double in the eighth inning, the game marked his third career-high five RBI performance and first since June 1, 2023, with Double-A Altoona vs. Binghamton.
Louisville (3-5, 41-41) took one run back in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the threat stopped there as the Indians continued rolling. They tacked on four additional runs in the eighth inning, with a solo homer by Liover Peguero and RBI single by Grant Koch single sandwiching Fraizer’s two-bagger.
Seth Beer and Conner Capel traded home runs in the second and third innings, respectively, to plate the first runs of the contest.
Quinn Priester (W, 3-1) looked sharp in the second start of his rehab assignment, tossing 5.0 three-hit innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Indy turned to Geronimo Franzua, Justin Bruihl and Brent Honeywell to protect the lead as they combined for four strikeouts.
Ji Hwan Bae went 3-for-5 in the victory, leading five Indians batters with multiple hits. The Indianapolis offense outhit the Bats, 13-6.
Fraizer’s five-RBI performance is the second by an Indian this season, following Liover Peguero on April 5 vs. Memphis.
Indianapolis and Louisville will square off in the third game of the six-game set tomorrow at 7:05 PM before heading to the Circle City for the next three games of the split series. RHP Jake Woodford (1-4, 4.43) gets the nod for the Indians and RHP Julian Aguiar (0-0, 4.00) will counter for the Bats.
Originally posted on milb.com/indianapolis