(Photo: �Jeff Clement is happy to be on first base.)
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The Indians were not ready to let Bierd rest, though. �In the 2nd, Brandon Moss reached base on a tapper to first, when 1B Anderson made a poor toss to Bierd who was covering the bag. �Another wild pitch let Moss advance to second base, and he was easily able to score from there when Pedro Alvarez doubled into center field. �The Indians came close to adding at least one more run in the 2nd inning, but RF Bubba Bell made an excellent running and diving catch of a ball into right field by Jonathan Van Every.
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The 3rd inning began with Erik Kratz being plunked on the shoulder with a pitch by Bierd. �Doug Bernier moved Kratz to third base with a double ripped into right center field. �That was the last straw for Bierd, who earned an early trip to the showers. �Reliever TJ Large came in from the bullpen, and was greeted by Argenis Diaz’s line drive double into left center field, plating Kratz. �Moments later, Brandon Moss brought in Bernier with an RBI groundout. �Indians up, 9-1.
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(Photo: �Watching the fun — Brandon Jones, Brian Myrow, Brian Burres, and Jim Negrych)
After the tough 1st inning, in which Hayden Penn threw about 27 pitches, he settled down for the rest of his evening’s work. �Over the next 5 innings, Penn allowed just 2 more hits (he’d only allowed one in the 1st inning), and he hit one batter. �Penn retired the PawSox in order in the 2nd, 5th, and 6th innings, including striking out 4 batters. �He gave up a double to Gil Velazquez in the 3rd inning, and a single to Jorge Jimenez in the 4th, and he hit Dusty Brown on the shoulder with a pitch in the 4th also. �Penn needed 99 pitches to get through his 6 innings, with 66 strikes. �He struck out a total of 5 batters and did not walk any.
Once PawSox reliever TJ Large got out of the 3rd inning, he kept the Indians from scoring over the next two innings. �He did give up back-to-back walks to Jonathan Van Every and Erik Kratz in the 4th. �Dustin Richardson pitched the 6th inning for the PawSox. �He kept the Tribe from scoring also, despite a lead-off double by Brian Myrow and another walk to Van Every.
One unusual moment in the bottom of the 4th: �with Jeff Clement at the plate and a count of 1-0 on him, just as TJ Large was beginning to throw the next pitch, home plate umpire Chris Bakke suddenly leapt out from behind the plate and made the huge “You’re outta here!” signal. �!?! What?!? �It was C Dusty Brown who was ejected, apparently due to comments about the strike zone from behind the plate. �There was a little more jawing (photo), but manager Torey Lovullo got Brown out of the way, and Gustavo Molina took over behind the plate.
The second unusual move during the game came in the middle of the 5th inning. �Lovullo shuffled his defense around, moving Angel Sanchez from the DH position to second base, moving Niuman Romero from second base to right field, and moving Bubba Bell from right to center field. �Moving the DH into the field meant that the PawSox lost the DH for the rest of the game, and the pitchers took over the 6th spot in the batting order.
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Both teams added a run in the 7th inning. �Brian Bass took over for Hayden Penn, and with one out, he hit Jorge Jimenez with a pitch. �A single grounded through the right side of the infield by Bubba Bell put Jimenez to second base. �Back-to-back walks by Niuman Romero and Gil Velazquez, both after working the count full and fouling off more pitches, loaded the bases and then forced in a run. �Bass got out of the jam with a double play off the bat of Angel Sanchez, and it was not an easy double play. �The ball dribbled toward short, and 3B Doug Bernier, who had moved over to third from second at the top of the inning, charged to his left to make the scoop on the ball — and not an easy scoop either. �2B Jim Negrych (photo),�who had just arrived from AA Altoona and also entered the game at the beginning of the inning, took the off-balance throw from Bernier. �As he turned to relay the ball to first, Velazquez slid in hard (but clean) to second base. �Negrych got off the throw, but he was taken out by the slide — scary, since he was brought up from Altoona because his good friend Brian Friday was placed on the disabled list due of an ankle injury sustained in a similar play. �Negrych’s throw to first base bounced in front of 1B Jeff Clement, who was able to take the bounce and still stay on the bag, completing the double play.
The Tribe answered with their 10th run in the bottom of the inning. �Doug Bernier led off with his third hit of the game, a single grounded up the middle. �Kevin Melillo put a bloop single into short left-center field, and Brandon Moss drove a liner into the right field corner, scoring Bernier, giving Moss his 4th RBI of the game.
Corey Hamman (photo),�also recently returned from a stint in Altoona, pitched the final two innings for the Tribe. �He faced only one batter over the minimum — and made only one mistake. �That mistake was a pitch that Bubba Bell took over the right-center field wall for a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the 9th.
Hayden Penn earned his first win as an Indian. �Doug Bernier had 3 hits for the night, and four Indians — Kevin Melillo, Brandon Moss, Brian Myrow, and Argenis Diaz — all had 2 hits. �Each member of the starting line-up reached base at least once.
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Indians’ Hitting Gems of the Game: �Doug Bernier (photo) and his three hits — two singles and a double. �He scored each time, and the single in the first also gave him an RBI. �The three hits boosted his average by 33 points, from .159 to .192 . �We knew it was just a matter of time until his hitting came around.
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Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game: �The double play in the 7th inning, which got pitcher Brian Bass out of a tough inning: �3B Doug Bernier to 2B Jim Negrych to 1B Jeff Clement. �Bernier talked about the play in the post-game interview: “It was tough because it was slowly hit, and the runner was coming on Negrych pretty hard. �He got the ball and he hung in there. �He got rid of the ball and got quite a lick on him but he was able to get the ball to first.”
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NOTES:
As you can see, Jeff Clement reported to the Indians today, having been optioned down from the Pirates.
INF Jim Negrych was promoted from Altoona and also arrived today.
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Go Tribe!
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(photos by Nancy)
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