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Indianapolis Indians  6,  Syracuse Chiefs  4
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A 7th-inning rally featuring a pinch-hit triple by Alex Presley gave the Indians the win over the Syracuse Chiefs at Victory Field tonight.   Reliever Justin Thomas earned his 4th win, and closer Tim Wood earned his lucky 13th Save.  2B Brian Friday went 3-for-4 and all three hits were doubles, while SS Chase d'Arnaud and C Eric Fryer had 2 hits each.  


In three of the past four games, the Indians had surrendered at least one run in the top of the 1st inning.  Tonight, starter Brian Burres (photo) broke that tradition, even though the Chiefs threatened in the top of the 1st.  2B Matt Antonelli opened the game with a double over the head of Tribe 1B Miles Durham and down the right field line into the corner.  Antonelli had to stay at second while Burres struck out CF Corey Brown and got RF Jesus Valdez to bounce into a ground out at second.  Burres walked 1B Chris Marrero, then C Jesus Flores ripped a line drive into right field.  It looked like both runners were going to have plenty of time to come around to score, but RF Andrew Lambo had other thoughts.  He raced toward the line and made a diving catch as the line drive sank, to end the inning for Burres and the Tribe.  

Tom Milone made the start for Syracuse and before he could get himself settled in on the mound, d'Arnaud rifled Milone's first pitch into the right center gap, all the way to the wall, and raced around to third base as the Chiefs' outfielders chased it down.  Brian Friday quickly followed the lead-off triple with a double down the left field line, ending up the Indians' bullpen bench.  That drove in d'Arnaud for a 1-0 lead.  

The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off on Monday, but the Power and the Marauders were in action.


Delmarva Shorebirds  10,  West Virginia Power  7
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A 6-run offensive blast by the Power was enough to tie the score, but not enough for the win.  Delmarva got the game started with a 3-run homer off Zack Von Rosenberg in the top of the 1st, after a double and a single.  Von Rosenberg put runners on base in the next two innings but did not let them come around to score.  A walk and a 2-run homer increased the Shorebirds' lead to 5-0 with one out in the 4th.  A single and a walk followed that homer, and Von Rosenberg was relieved by Porfirio Lopez.  Lopez finished the 4th, but gave up two more runs in the 5th on a single, a walk, a balk, another single, and a fielding error by SS Drew Maggi.  

The Power led off each of the first four innings with a hit:  singles by Maggi (1st), 1B Chase Lyles (2nd), and 3B Eric Avila (3rd), and a double by LF Dan Grovatt (4th).  Grovatt was the only one who scored, on RF Justin Howard's RBI  single.  The Power went into the bottom of the 5th trailing 7-1, and that's when the fireworks started.  With one out, Avila walked, Maggi doubled, and 2B Kevin Mort walked, to load the bases.  Grovatt tapped back to the mound, where the Shorebirds' pitcher thought he could get a force out at the plate.  Instead, he made a fielding error, and Avila scored.  A wild pitch brought in Maggi, then Howard walked to load the bases again.  Lyles' RBI single into center field plated Mort with the third run of the inning.  C Kawika Emsley-Pai was hit by a pitch, forcing in Grovatt, and after a pitching change, DH Elias Diaz brought in both Howard and Lyles with a 2-RBI single, to tie the score at 7-7.  After a fly out, Avila's second walk of the inning loaded the bases again, but a ground out by Maggi ended the inning.  

Zac Fuesser took over on the mound for the 6th, which was scoreless (for both teams).  The top of the 7th began with a missed catch error by Lyles at first.  Fuesser's balk pushed that runner to second base, and a bunt advanced him to third.  He scored on an RBI double, then a walk, two singles, and a fielding error by RF Howard added two more runs.  

Casey Sadler pitched the 8th inning for the Power.  He gave up a double and hit a batter, but got out of the inning without a run scoring.  The Power put two runner on in the 7th, when Lyles  and Diaz both walked, but a double play and a fly out ended that inning.  They threatened again in the bottom of the 9th.  Grovatt singled, but was erased in a double play.  Then Lyles walked and Emsley-Pai and Diaz singled to load the bases, but a strikeout ended the game.  

The Indians lost the suspended game, but won the regularly scheduled game.









Syracuse Chiefs  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4  (completion of suspended game)
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When we last left our heroes, trying to escape the pouring rain....
The Indians/Chiefs game was suspended after a 1 hour 44 minute wait last night.  Tribe starter Sean Gallagher had given up a run in the top of the 1st, then the Indians took the lead in the 3rd on a single by CF Gorkys Hernandez, a triple by SS Chase d'Arnaud, and an error by the Syracuse 2B Tug Hulett.  Syracuse tied the score in the top of the 6th on a solo homer by Hulett of reliever Chris Leroux.  The top of the 7th began with Leroux still on the mound.  He gave up a single and a sacrifice bunt, then was relieved by Justin Thomas.  With the rain pouring down and the ball wet and slippery, Thomas hit both LF Gregor Blanco and CF Corey Brown with pitches to load the bases.  Play was halted ...

The game restarted this afternoon at Victory Field, under overcast skies, with sprinkling rain that did not last long.  Cesar Valdez (photo) took the mound for the Indians, with two outs and the bases loaded.  1B Chris Marrero stepped to the plate, and rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall, to give Syracuse a 6-2 lead.  

The Tribe got two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame.  Andrew Lambo, who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Gallagher and remained in the game in right field, opened the inning with a double into right field.  After d'Arnaud struck out, 2B Brian Friday hit another double, just inside the first base bag and down the right field line, scoring Lambo.  John Bowker, who had taken over left field at the restart, flied out.  3B Andy Marte blooped an RBI single into left field, bringing Friday around from second base to score.  1B Matt Hague also singled, and pinch-hitter Shelby Ford walked on four pitches to load the bases, but C Eric Fryer struck out on a checked swing, to end the rally.  

Dan Meyer pitched the last two innings for the Indians.  He struck out the first two batters in the 8th, then gve up a single to SS Matt Antonelli, then retired the next 4 Chiefs in order.  

The Indians managed only one base runner over the last two innings -- Hernandez led off the bottom of the 8th with a double to the center field wall.  The remaining 6 Tribe batters went down in order, and the Chiefs had the win.