Justin Thomas, who grew up in Toledo, relieved McCutchen to begin the 7th inning. �Thomas put on a good show for his family and friends, as he struck out the side the 7th inning, and struck out one more as he retired the Mud Hens in order in the 8th.
Phil Dumatrait continued to dominate his former teammates. �After allowing the run to score in the 3rd, Dumatrait retired 10 Indians’ batters in order. �That took him to the top of the 7th, when 3B Pedro Alvarez (photo) led off with a blast off the center field wall which bounced past the CF Raburn and half way back to the infield before LF Deik Scram chased it down. � Alvarez cruised into third base standing. �1B Brian Myrow grounded to third, but 3B Max Leon let the ball bounce off his glove and behind him for an error, giving Myrow plenty of time to score from third. �(Myrow was still credited with an RBI.) �DH Brandon Jones singled on a grounder up the middle, and that was all for Dumatrait for the night. �Reliever Daniel Schlereth had barely settled in on the mound when Myrow and Jones pulled off a double steal, not even drawing a throw from Max St. Pierre. �Luke Carlin singled with a grounder just skipping past first base, driving in Myrow from third. �The inning ended with a base running problem — Brian Friday flied out to center field, and CF Raburn faked a throw to the plate. � When Carlin thought he saw the throw going to the plate, he took off for second base, only to discover that Raburn had not thrown the ball at all. �It was an easy toss for Raburn to throw to second and tag out Carlin to end the inning.
The Tribe put the lead-off runner on base in both the 8th and 9th innings, with a single by LF Kevin Melillo in the 8th and one by Brian Myrow in the 9th. �Both were left stranded, and the Indians ended the game quietly.
The Columbus Clippers also lost this evening, so the Indians remain 1.5 games behind them in second place in the International League Western Division.
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Indians’ Hitting Gem of the Game: �Pedro Alvarez’s triple in the 7th inning — a stand-up triple.
Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game: �The double play in the bottom of the 6th. �With Will Rhymes on first base, Brent Dlugach grounded to short. �Brian Friday made the scoop quickly and had plenty of time to take the few steps to second base himself before throwing on to first base for the second out.
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NOTES:
Neil Walker went 0-for-3, with a walk, ending his 9-game hitting streak, and his 9-game extra-base hit streak.
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Go Tribe!
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(Photos by Nancy)
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