Indians offense walked just once and struck out 10 times in the loss
By Jack McMullen
ST. PAUL, Minn. – An RBI double from right fielder Canaan Smith-Njigba was the only offense the Indianapolis Indians mustered in a 4-1 loss to the St. Paul Saints on Thursday night at CHS Field, snapping a four-game winning streak for Indianapolis.
The Saints (67-49, 24-18) wasted no time jumping on Indians starter Cam Alldred (L, 7-6). Alldred walked St. Paul two-hitter Brooks Lee, then allowed a single to third baseman Anthony Prato and an RBI double to first baseman Kyle Garlick to open scoring in the bottom of the first. Lee ripped a ground ball that snuck just inside the third base line an inning later, driving in two more. In the fifth, Prato finished the St. Paul effort by belting a solo home run to straight-away center field to lead off the inning.
The Indians (54-61, 21-20) were held scoreless through the first seven innings by the Saints bullpen trio of opener Blayne Enlow, middle-man Patrick Murphy (W, 6-2), and right-hander Ronny Henriquez. After Indians catcher Grant Koch walked against two-way player Andrew Bechtold, Smith-Njigba drilled a fly ball to the warning track in left-center to plate Koch. After the double, St. Paul left-hander Kody Funderburk (S, 4) entered and retired the four Indianapolis hitters he faced.
It’s been a stretch of streaks for the Indians over the past two weeks. After dropping six in a row to the Gwinnett Stripers and Nashville Sounds, they righted the ship by taking the back two against Nashville and front two in St. Paul this week before the loss on Thursday night.
The Indians and Saints continue their six-game set on Friday night at 8:07 PM ET at CHS Field, 15 minutes down the road from where the Pittsburgh Pirates are set to open a three-game weekend series against the Minnesota Twins three minutes later, in a battle of parent clubs. Right-hander Luis Ortiz (7-5, 5.14) starts for Indianapolis, while St. Paul has yet to announce a starting pitcher.
Originally posted on milb.com