The Indians’ batters came back after the rain without missing a beat.� Kevin Melillo rocketed a home run over the roof just inside the right field foul line to tie the game.� Aki Iwamura followed the homer with a single, and RF Brandon Moss also singled, moving Iwlamura to third base.� A wild pitch put Moss on second base.� C Erik Kratz plated both Iwamura and Moss with an “oops” swing that produced a single down the left field line.� Indians 4, Mud Hens 2.
The Tribe continued in the 4th with singles by CF Alex Presley and SS Argenis Diaz. The two pulled off a double steal, moving both into scoring position.� Kevin Melillo grounded to second base, but the speedy Presley was crossing the plate before Hens’ 2B Leon could come out with the ball and throw home — he had to be satisfied with just the out at first.� Aki Iwamura grounded to third, but the throw pulled 1B Frazier off the bag.� Frazier tried to tag Iwamura as he ran past, but Iwamura wiggled out of the way and avoided the tag, safe at first with an RBI single as Diaz scored.
Will Rhymes gave the Mud Hens another run in the bottom of the 5th, with his solo home run.
Powell came back out to pitch in the bottom of the 7th.� Will Rhymes picked up his 3rd hit of the day with a triple over Alex Presley’s head and to the wall in center field.� A ground out by Brent Dlugach brought in Rhymes and Toledy and inched closer, 6-4.
Powell pitched 5.1 innings in relief for the Tribe.� He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, both by Will Rhymes, with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts.� Brian Bass came on to relieve Powell to begin the 8th.� The first batter he faced, Jeff Larish, doubled into right field.� Bass walked Jeff Frazier, then struck out Casper Wells.� Jon Weber made the Toledo fans gasp when he cracked a line drive into right field — but luckily for the Indians, LF Kevin Melillo materialized at the end of it, for the second out.� Bass got out of the jam with a strikeout of Max Leon.
The Tribe went down in order in the top of the 9th.� Bass came back out to begin the bottom of the 9th.� After getting a quick ground out to short, he was relieved by lefty Danny Moskos. Moskos threw one pitch — that was all he needed to get the left-handed hitter Rhymes to fly out.� Manager Frank Kremblas brought on right-handed Jean Machi to face right-handed batter Brent Dlugach.� Machi needed 4 pitched, getting Dlugach to swing and miss on the 1-2 pitch for the game-ending strikeout.
Jeremy Powell earned the win, and Jean Machi earned his 12th save. Aki Iwamura and Brandon Moss each had 3 hits in the game.
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Indians’ Hitting Gem of the Game:� Erik Kratz’s 2-run single in the top of the 3rd, to tie the score.
Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game:� In the bottom of the 8th, Jon Weber lined into left field, and Kevin Melillo got to exactly the right place to make the catch.� It saved at least one run from scoring, and possibly two, if the ball had gotten past Melillo.
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NOTES:
The AAA All-Star Game will be played at Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, July 14th, at 7 pm (Eastern).� In the past the AAA All-Star Game has been televised on ESPN2, but not this year.� It will be on MLB network or available on-line throught milb.com.
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Go Tribe!
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