A second fielding error by the Indians hurt Powell in the 3rd inning. �With one out, Buffalo 3B Mike Hessman grounded to his counterpart 3B�Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez’s throw to first base was low and it bounced in the dirt about 5 feet in front of the bag, handcuffing 1B Brian Myrow. �LF Chris Carter followed with a bloopy single to short right field to put runners on first and second. �Russ Adams went after Powell’s first pitch and grounded to first base, where Myrow made the scoop and tried for the 3-6-1 double play. �Carter was forced out at second base, but the throw back from Argenis Diaz to Powell covering first base was not in time, and the Bison had runners on the corners with two outs. �Josh Thole took advantage of the situation, lining a triple down the left field line and into the corner, as both Hessman and Adams scored easily. �Bison 2, Indians 1.
Powell had what was probably his easiest inning in the 4th. �He gave up a lead-off single down the right field line to his mound opponent RA Dickey (2 pitches), and a single lined up the middle to Jason Pridie (1 pitch). �Then Cintron flied out (1 pitch) and 1B Mike Jacobs bounced sharply to second base, where Neil Walker started the 4-6-3 double play (3 pitches, 7 total). �The Indians got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning with four consecutive singles to open the inning. �RF Brandon Jones bounced a single up the middle, LF Brandon Moss (photo above) lined a double into the right field corner, and Erik Kratz (photo left) singled into center, bringing in both Jones and Moss to take the lead. �Argenis Diaz also singled into right field, missing 2B Alex Cintron’s glove by inches, and the Indians had runners on first and second with no outs. �Then came a weird play. �Jeremy Powell struck out on a missed bunt, but the runners were moving on the pitch. �Kratz was caught midway between second and third bases, and he tried to stall so that Diaz could at least move up to second base. �Kratz was tagged out (2-6-5-6) near third base, by but then Diaz had safely reached second. �Or had he? �The umpires were waving Diaz back and returned him to first base. �The ruling was that Kratz had been out of the normal baseline and so had interfered with the throw back to second base that might have let Diaz be tagged out, so Diaz had to go back. �Moments later, Jose Tabata grounded to short and the inning was over as Diaz was forced out at second. �But the Indians had regained the lead, 3-2.
(photo: �Powell at the plate)
The Bison came right back in the top of the 5th. �The ever-dangerous Mike Hessman took Powell’s first pitch for a double down the left field line. �Hessman is not the fastest runner, so LF Brandon Moss fired the ball quickly back to the infield, thinking that he might be able to get it to second before Hessman got there. �The ball did arrive first, and 2B Neil Walker tried to apply the tag, but Hessman slid on the infield side of the bag, eluding Walker’s tag and throwing Walker off-balance, so that when Hessman overslid a bit, Walker was falling away from him and couldn’t make the secondary tag. �The next two batters both grounded out — both on the first pitch from Powell. �Josh Thole waited until the second pitch, then singled into center, scoring Hessman to tie the score at 3-3. �Ruben Tejada doubled into left field (second pitch) and the Bison had runners on the corners again. �A quick ground out (first pitch, 8th in the inning) by RA Dickey ended the inning.
Brian Myrow gave the lead back to the Indians in the bottom of the frame, with a solo home run blasted over the right field wall. �The Tribe got an insurance run from Neil Walker in the 7th inning, with another solo homer. �Walker’s was hit right-handed, against southpaw reliever Adam Pettyjohn, and it sailed high down the left field line and went into the little bit of seats just inside the foul pole.
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(Photo: �Myrow’s home run trot)
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The Tribe threatened again in the bottom of the 8th inning, when Kratz tripled to the deepest part of left-center field for his third hit of the game. �Argenis Diaz was next, and on his first pitch, he squared around to bunt for a suicide squeeze — and missed. �Kratz had already taken off from third, though, and he was easily caught in no-man’s-land on the third base line.
Diaz singled on the next pitch, for his third hit of the game, but he was left stranded when the newest member of the Tribe, Kevin Melillo, popped up to end the inning.
Justin Thomas came on to pitch the 7th after Powell had finished his afternoon. �He gave up a two-out walk and single, but struck out pinch-hitter Andy Green to end the inning without a run scoring.
(Photo — Kevin Melillo)
Wil Ledezma faced only four batters in the 8th, allowing a lone walk. �Jean Machi pitched the 9th inning for the Tribe. �He let the Bison get one run closer when he gave up a lead-off homer to Chris Carter. �Machi struck out the next two batters, but strike three on Josh Thole was a wild pitch, and Thole made it safely to first base before Erik Kratz could get around the umpire and chase down the ball where it had rolled all the way to the backstop. �Machi walked Ruben Tejada next. �Pinch-hitter Shawn Riggins grounded to Pedro Alvarez, who fielded the ball mid-way between second and third bases. �Instead of throwing to second base for the force and maybe the double play, Alvarez instead tagged the led runner Thole out on the basepath, leaving runners on first and second with two outs. �Machi got Jason Pridie to bounce back to the mound, which Machi scooped and ran all the way to first base himself to end the game.
The win gives the Tribe a 3-games-to-1 win of the series against Buffalo. �They are back in second place in the International League Western Division, with a 16-14 record, 3.5 games behind the Columbus Clippers.
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Indians’ Hitting Gems of the Game: �Home runs by Brian Myrow and Neil Walker (photo). �Myrow’s in the 5th inning gave the Indians the go-ahead run. �It was Myrow’s third home run of the season. �Walker’s 5th of the season came in the 7th and gave the Tribe the insurance run they would later need.
Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game: �In the top of the 7th, Buffalo’s Russ Adams hit a screaming liner towards right field. �Myrow, playing a little off first base, made a twisting leap to his right and came down with the ball in his glove and a smile on his face.
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NOTES:
Lots more photos from today… click here
Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout for the afternoon.
Kevin Melillo was added to the Indians’ roster. �He had been signed by the Pirates to a minor league contract in February. �Melillo has been with the Altoona Curve, but on the phantom disabled list, since the beginning of the season. �Today was his first game-action of the season.
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Go Tribe!
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(photos by Nancy, Emil, and Paul)
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