Powell settled down after the first inning.� He faced only one batter over the minimum in the next three innings.� Carrera grounded a single up the middle to lead off the 3rd inning.� He stole second base, but because he slid in with a head-first dive, he was not in position to pop up and keep running to third when C Erik Kratz’s throw got past second base and into the outfield.� Sutton sacrifice bunted Carrera to third base, then Hodges grounded sharply to Aki Iwamura at third.� Iwamura made an outstanding back-handed stab of the ball, then glared Carrera into staying put at third as he fired across the diamond to make the play on Hodges at first.� Powell ended the inning with a strikeout, leaving Carrera still at third.
1B John Bowker (photo),� who went 3-for-3 in the game, picked up the first of his three hits with one out in the 2nd inning.� He drove a liner into the right-center field alley for a double.� Pino then hit Erik Kratz with a pitch — and was NOT thrown out of the game.� Apparently umpire Alan Porter must have felt that Pino had slipped in his delivery and in no way was purposely trying to hit Kratz.� But Bowker and Kratz were left on base when a pop out and a ground out ended the inning.
The Indians went down in order in the 3rd, but they got onto the scoreboard again in the 4th.� With one out, RF Mitch Jones singled up the middle, and John Bowker followed the single with a 2-run home run over the right field wall.� The Indians had the lead for the first time in the game, 3-2.
(Photo:� Brian Friday at second base)
The lead lasted only a few minutes.� In the top of the 5th, again with one out, Jose Constanza looped a single over SS Pedro Ciriaco’s leap and into short left field.� Constanza advanced to third base when Ezequiel Carrera doubled into right field.� Drew Sutton tapped a little roller along the first base line, and Jeremy Powell dashed over to make the scoop near the base line, thinking that he could easily tag Sutton as he ran past.� But Powell’s swiping attempt to pick up the ball missed, and Sutton slipped past him, safe at first.� It was an error on Powell, but Sutton got credit for the RBI that scored Constanza from third with the tying run.� The run was ruled “earned”, since Constanza would have scored even if the out had been made.� Sutton stole second base, giving the Clippers two runners in scoring position.� But Powell struck out Wes Hodges and then got Jordan Brown to line out to right field, where Mitch Jones made an amazing running catch.
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The Indians answered with a run in the bottom of the 5th.� LF Kevin Melillo and Aki Iwamura hit back-to-back doubles, with Melillo’s going down the right field line and into the corner, and Iwamura’s into center field, driving in Melillo.� Melillo crossed the plate with the run that put the Indians ahead 4-3.� Again, the lead did not last long.
Powell began the top of the 6th with the first five batters reaching base.� 3B Jared Goedert led off with a double to the right field wall.� Matt McBride singled into left field, moving Goedert to third base.� Former Indy Indian Luke Carlin (photo) grounded to first base and the Tribe infield tried for a double play.� 1B John Bowker made the scoop about 15 feet to the second base side of first base, and fired to second base, where SS Pedro Ciriaco got the force out on McBride.� But Ciriaco’s throw back to first base, where Jeremy Powell was covering, was not in time to made the play on Carlin.� Goedert scored from third base on the play, with the RBI going to Carlin.� SS Josh Rodriguez followed with another booming home run, this one over the left field wall, driving in Goedert and Carlin as well, for 3 runs.� That gave the lead back to the Clippers, 6-4.
That was all the scoring in the game.� Jeremy Powell pitched to one more batter after Rodriguez, and when he walked Constanza, he was relieved by Justin Thomas. Powell was responsible for all of the Clippers’ runs, and he took the loss.� He had thrown 97 pitches (65 strikes).
Justin Thomas pitched to only one batter to finish up the 6th inning.� On his first pitch, Constanza tried to steal second base.� He was thrown out by Erik Kratz for the second out of the inning.� Then four pitches later, Carrera flied out to end the inning.� Steven Jackson pitched the 7th and 8th innings.� He walked one batter in the 7th, but struck out the other three batters in that inning.� He gave up two singles in the 8th with one out– Luke Carlin poked the ball through the hole and into left field, and Josh Rodriguez lined a single up the middle.� But Constanza bounced into a 4-6-3 (Friday to Ciriaco to Bowker) double play to end the inning.� Jean Machi gave up a grounder through the hole and into left field to Wes Hodges in the 9th, and a walk to Jordan Brown, but left both on base.� Machi was aided by a nice catch by Alex Presley in center, who ran back and back, making the catch over his shoulder.� Machi himself made a lucky play.� Drew Sutton tapped one back to the mound, right at Machi.� Machi turned his back, but had his glove tucked back behind his waist as he was completing his throwing motion and turning away from the come-backer at the same time.� The bouncer kicked up, hit Machi in the lower back, and dropped right into his glove.� Machi was as surprised as everyone else to see the ball in his mitt, but he recovered quickly and threw the ball to first base to make the play on Sutton.
The Tribe batters were fairly quiet over their last four at-bats.� They had a walk in three of the innings — by John Bowker in the 6th, by Aki Iwamura in the 7th, and by Brian Friday in the 9th.� Each time, the runner was left on base.� The only remaining hits came in the 8th inning, when Mitch Jones singled through the hole into left field, and Bowker singled through the hole into right field.� But Erik Kratz hit a screaming line drive right at Clippers’ SS Josh Rodriguez, who made the catch, then took a few steps to his left to double Jones off second base.
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Photos:� John Bowker plays first;�� Erik Kratz on base
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Indians’ Hitting Gems of the Game:� Home runs by Aki Iwamura in the 1st and by John Bowker in the 4th, both of which kept the Indians in the game.
Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game:� Mitch Jones’ running diving catch of a sinking line drive off the bat of Jordan Brown in the 5th inning.� WIth runners on second and third base, at least one run and maybe two would have scored if Jones had not made the catch.
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NOTES:
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Brian Friday changed his uniform number from 3 to 13 — making him Friday the Thirteenth?
No word as to why he made the switch.� The only other Tribe player to wear #13 this season was Jim Negrych, Friday’s good friend, who wore it for the few weeks he was here before going back to Altoona.
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Go Tribe!
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(photos by Nancy)
