PROBABLE PITCHERS
Sunday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. – RHP Sean Gallagher (5-12, 5.14 ERA) vs. RHP Thad Weber (5-10, 5.46 ERA)
Monday, Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. – RHP Nelson Figueroa (0-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. LHP Fu-Te Ni (5-2, 3.44 ERA)
TWITTER POST: Mud Hens look to avoid clinching losing season & worst 5/3 Field record in franchise history in 2-game series vs. Indianapolis Sunday-Monday
TRIBE TIDBITS: Indianapolis has been the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates since the 2005 season. … Their manager is Dean Treanor, who is in his first season in that position. … The Indians enter this series having lost at Columbus Saturday night and are 5-5 in their last 10 contests. ... Indianapolis enters this series with a 70-66 record and are tied with Louisville for second place in the IL’s West Division, 13 games behind first-place Columbus. The Tribe is five games in front of the Mud Hens in fourth. … Offensively, Indianapolis ranks fifth in the 14-team IL with a .263 team batting average. They have scored 577 runs in 136 games (4.42 runs per game) and rank seventh in the league in that category. … OF Alex Presley (who was promoted to Pittsburgh in July) leads the IL with a .336 batting average, while 1B Matt Hague is eighth with a .308 mark. … OF John Bowker leads the Indians with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs, while Hague is close behind with 12 homers and 71 RBIs. … OF Gorkys Hernandez is hitting .281 and leads the team with 19 stolen bases. ... Indianapolis ranks eighth in the IL with a 4.12 team ERA (Toledo is 11th at 4.24) and the Tribe is ninth in runs allowed with 599. … LHP Justin Wilson leads the team with 10 wins, and his 4.07 ERA is best among the pitchers on the team that would qualify for the league leaderboard. … LHP Brian Burres leads the team with 95 strikeouts, one more than RHP Sean Gallagher and four more than Wilson. … RHP Tim Wood is tied for first in the league with 23 saves.
HEN HIGHLIGHTS: Last year the Mud Hens finished with a 10-11 record against Indianapolis, including a 6-5 mark at Fifth Third Field. … Toledo entered this season with an 80-77 record against the Tribe since 2002, including a 45-33 record at Fifth Third Field since it opened in 2002; Toledo has a winning home record against Indianapolis in each of those years except 2004 and ‘09. … Indianapolis holds a narrow 9-8 lead in the season series, and the two teams have split eight games at Fifth Third Field. … Individually, 1B Ryan Strieby has hit .362 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 17 games against the Indians, while OF Ben Guez has batted .361 with six RBIs in 11 contests. … On the mound, LHP Andy Oliver is 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts vs. Indianapolis. ... As a staff, the Hens have a 2.98 ERA against the Indians. … As a team, Indianapolis has hit just .229 against the Hens so far this year. … On the mound, RHP Jared Hughes is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five relief appearances against Toledo. … The Indians have a team ERA of 4.38 against the Mud Hens.
NEWS WORTH NOTING: 2B Carlos Guillen is expected to begin a rehab assignment with the Mud Hens on Monday. … Indians LHP Justin Thomas is a Clay High School graduate who is 6-2 with three saves and a 4.29 ERA in 59 appearances for the Tribe. Thomas leads the IL in games pitched and in holds with 11. … Toledo IF Argenis Diaz played for Indianapolis in both 2009-10, while Hens newcomer Jeff Salazar player for the Indians in 2009. … Mud Hens SS Audy Ciriaco and Indianapolis IF Pedro Ciriaco are brothers.
TOP PROSPECTS: LHP Jeff Locke began this season as Pittsburgh’s eighth-ranked prospect, according to Baseball America. … IF Chase d’Arnaud ranked 10th on that list, but was promoted to Pittsburgh in July.
RADIO & TELEVISION: Both games will be broadcast live on WCWA, 1230-AM and on BCSN.
PROMOTIONS
Sunday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m. – There is a pre-game celebrity hot dog creation contest; “Kids run the bases” takes place after the game, as does post-game fireworks.
