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Pearce’s RBI’s Spark Tribe Win
Indians 5, Columbus Clippers 4
A 5-run 8th inning and a timely 2-RBI single by 1B Steve Pearce (photo) gave the Indians a come-from-behind win over the Clippers at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio this afternoon. �
The Indians had not been having much success against Columbus starter Tomo Ohka. �In fact, the only batters to do anything against Ohka in his 6 innings of work were LF Jeff Salazar and RF Garrett Jones. �Jones was the only batter to reach base in the first three innings, and he did that on a walk to lead off the 2nd inning. �Unfortunately, he was picked off first base a few moments later. �In the 4th inning with two outs, Salazar singled into right field, and Jones followed with a double lined into left field. �Salazar raced around third base, but was thrown out at home to end the inning. �When Zach Jackson relieved Ohka in the top of the 7th, Salazar walked, but was left on base. �
Tribe starter Tom Gorzelanny (photo) was not having as good a day as Ohka. �Gorzelanny lasted 5.1 innings and was responsible for 3 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �He threw 94 pitches, 53 for strikes. �The first Columbus run came in the 2nd inning, on a double by 3B Andy Marte that was followed by an RBI single by CF Josh Barfield. �Gorzelanny had a runner on base in every inning but the 5th -- a walk and a single in the 1st inning, a single and a walk in the 3rd, and a fielding error in the 4th. �Gorzelanny couldn't get out of the jame he created in the 6th inning. �He hit the first batter, 1B Michael Aubrey, with a pitch, then gave up a single to RF Matt LaPorta. �After a strikeout, Gorzelanny walked Marte. �Barfield hit his second RBI single of the game, scoring Aubrey, and that was the end of Gorzelanny's afternoon. �Jeremy Powell took the mound in relief with the bases loaded and one out. �He began by getting DH Andy Cannizaro to ground to third base, where Tribe 3B Neil Walker was able to force�out Marte, but LaPorta scored. �A strikeout ended the inning, with the Clippers ahead 3-0.
Powell gave up another run in the 7th inning. �He walked the first two batters, CF Michael Brantley and SS Luis Valbuena. �Two fly outs followed, and Brantley was able to tag up and move on to third base on the second. �A wild pitch by Powell bounced away from C Erik Kratz, and by the time Kratz could locate it, Brantley scrambled home, giving Columbus a 4-0 lead. �
Then came the top of the 8th inning, and all the fun came with two outs, as the Indians sent 10 batters to the plate. �Neil Walker grounded out and DH Larry Broadway lined out sharply to second base to begin the inning. �The next three Tribe batters singled: �Erik Kratz and 2B Chris Barnwell both singled up the middle. �CF Andrew McCutchen grounded a ball deep behind third base, and Clippers' 3B Marte was able to stop it, but had no play as the speedy McCutchen flew down the line to first base. �SS Luis Cruz walked with the bases loaded to force in the Indians' first run. �
The Clippers changed pitchers, sending Zach Jackson to the showers and bringing on Ryan Edell. �Edell had faced the Indians twice before this season: �On April 14th, Tribe batters collected 8 hits and 6 earned runs off him in 2.1 innings, and on Friday, they touched him for 2 runs on 4 hits in 1.1 innings. �Today wasn't much better. �Jeff Salazar was the first to face Edell, and he grounded to Michael Aubrey, wide of first base. �Aubrey went for the force out at second base, which should have been an easy out #3 -- but his throw went wide and bounced around behind the bag. �Everyone was safe, with Barnwell scoring easily, and McCutchen scoring while the Clippers chased down the ball behind second base. �The Indians were only one run down, 4-3. �Edell walked Garrett Jones to load the bases. �That brought up Steve Pearce, who slipped a ball through the hole and into left field, scoring both Cruz and Salazar with the tying and go-ahead runs; �Indians 5, Clippers 4. �Neil Walker, who had made the first out of the inning, also made the last out of the inning, with a strikeout. �Edell was charged with the Blown Save, and ultimately the loss.
Juan Mateo continued his stretch of innings without earned runs by pitching two perfect innings to finish the game for the Indians. �Mateo earned his first save of the season, and Powell was credited with a win, his 3rd, as he was the pitcher of record in the top of the 8th inning. �
The win gives the Indians a 7-9 record, and avoids a sweep in Columbus. �They will finish this road trip back where it started, with two games in Louisville. �
Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Steve Pearce's clutch single into left field in the 8th inning, which brought in the tying and winning runs. �After the game, Pearce said that he was excited by Jones' at-bat ahead of him, and was "looking for something to hit. �I wasn't going to cheat myself, so I wanted to look for a pitch to drive... I was able to get good wood on it and it got out of the infield."
Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �Catcher Erik Kratz threw out two Columbus base runners who were trying to steal third base: �Luis Valbuena in the 3rd inning, and Josh Barfield in the 4th inning. �Kratz has now thrown out 5 of 10 runners trying to steal against him. �
NOTES:
SS Brian Bixler (photo) has been called up to the Pirates, just t
his morning, to fill in for Jack Wilson, whose sprained finger has become enough of a problem that he needed to be put on the Disabled List. �Bixler is already in San Diego, and is in the line up, batting 8th, for the Pirates' game against the Padres. �.... �Just saw him make a great play at deep short in the 2nd inning..... and he hit a 2-run double in the 8th inning, going 1-for-3 with a walk overall. �
Garrett Jones' 11-game hitting streak came to an end last night, but he started right in on another one today. �He has had a hit in all but two of the games he's played in (15 total).
Erik Kratz has a 6-game hitting streak, and Jeff Salazar has an 8-game hitting streak. �
Former Pirate and Indy Indian Bryan Bullington has appeared in two games for the Blue Jays since being called up from Las Vegas this week. On Friday, he pitched the 9th inning for the Jays. �Bullington got a strikeout, gave up a single, got a fly out, gave up another single and a walk to load the bases, then struck out Jim Thome to end the inning and the game. �(25 pitches, 15 strikes) �Last night, he again pitched one inning, and it looked similar. �Bullington gave up a single to another former Pirate farmhand, Brent Lillibridge, then got a strikeout, then another single and a walk to load the bases, then struck out Paul Konerko and Corky Miller to end the inning. �(23 pitches, 13 strikes)
Go Tribe!
[photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]
Homers by Walker and Salazar Can’t Save Taubenheim
Columbus Clippers 6, Indianapolis Indians 3box
Tribe starter Ty Taubenheim (photo) struggled in his first start in 10 days, and even the Tribe's first back-to-back homers of the season could help him, as he suffered his second loss of the season at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.
Homers by Walker and Salazar Can’t Save Taubenheim
Columbus Clippers 6, Indianapolis Indians 3box
Tribe starter Ty Taubenheim (photo) struggled in his first start in 10 days, and even the Tribe's first back-to-back homers of the season could help him, as he suffered his second loss of the season at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. �
Taubenheim gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4 batters over 6 innings of work. �He�was touched for 4 runs in the first two innings of the game. �Columbus lead-off hitter CF Michael Brantley started the 1st with a single, then stole second base. �Another single moved Brantley to third base, and he scored on a double play. �Taubenheim walked LF Matt LaPorta, and SS Luis Valbuena lifted a home run to right field, giving the Clippers a 3-0 lead. �The Indians have apparently not been too pleased with Valbuena's demeanor and attitude in the past, but tonight he did or said something as he was circling the bases, and just as he reached the Columbus dugout, the Indians, led by 2B Chris Barnwell, moved toward Valbuena and the Clippers. �The dugouts emptied, and there was a lot of milling around, and glaring. �Clippers' Andy Marte pushed Barnwell away from the rest of the Clippers and with an arm around Barnwell, seemed to be trying to calm him. �After a few moments, everyone settled down and went back to playing.
The Indians got the 3 runs back in the top of the 2nd inning. �1B Steve Pearce walked, and 3B Neil Walker followed by blasting a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run homer. �It disrupted Columbus starter David Huff enough so that the next batter, CF�Jeff Salazar (photo),�hit the first pitch he saw over the right field wall, for back-to-back homers. �The score was tied 3-3.
But not for long. �In the bottom of the inning, RF Stephen Head led off with a double, and moved to third on a ground out. �After a walk, a single by DH David Dellucci scored Head, and the Clippers had a 4-3 lead. �
Taubenheim gave up a lone single in the 3rd, and a double in the 4th. �The Clippers added another run in the 5th inning on a solo homer by LaPorta, pushing the lead to 5-3. �The 6th was the only 1-2-3 inning for Taubenheim in the game. �He finished after having thrown 81 pitches (51 strikes). �
Corey Hamman relieved Taubenheim to begin the 7th inning. Hamman got two outs, but then gave up a single to 3B Wes Hodges, when his bouncer landed just out in front of the plate, but C Miguel Perez did not see where it had gone. �While he was looking behind the plate for the ball, Hamman picked it up and threw to first -- but not in time. �LF Matt LaPorta smashed a liner to the wall in center field and reached third base as the ball was being thrown in. �Jeff Salazar, in center field tonight, fired the ball back in, relayed by 2B Chris Barnwell, on one bounce to the plate. �The ball got there before Hodges, but Perez could not keep hold of the ball, and Hodges was safe. �One more walk, and that was all for Hamman. �Chris Bootcheck came in, getting a grounder for a force out to end the inning. �Bootcheck put the Clippers down in order in the bottom of the 8th. �
After the home runs in the 2nd inning, the Tribe managed only 4 more hits and no more runs. �Columbus starter David Huff allowed only one base runner over the next three innings, and that was a walk to DH Larry Broadway in the 5th. �Luis Cruz, playing shortstop tonight with Brian Bixler getting a rest, and 1B Steve Pearce both had singles in the 6th inning. �Jeff Salazar and Broadway both walked in the 7th inning, but the Indians could not capitalize. �Pearce and Salazar added singles in the 8th and 9th innings. �Two hits in the game for Pearce raised his batting average to .245, getting close to the .250 goal he had been hoping for by the end of this road trip. �
Indians' Hitting Gem of the game: �Back-to-back home runs by Neil Walker (photo) and Jeff Salazar. �That was Walker's third blast of the season, and the first for Salazar. �
NOTES:
Roster moves: �The Pirates have placed pitcher�Craig Hansen�on the DL today, due to neck spasms. �Indians' Evan Meek, who had been the last pitcher cut from the Pirates' roster at the end of spring training, was called up to the Pirates to take that roster spot. �Meek has to go to San Diego to catch up with the Pirates, though he is expected to get there in time for the game. �
The open roster spot on the Indians will be filled by Brian Slocum, who started the season on the Indians' DL because he was suffering from bronchitis at the end of spring training. �
Go Tribe!
[photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]
Pearce’s Big Night Leads the Indians
�Indians 5, Columbus Clippers 4
The Indianapolis Indians made their first visit to the Columbus Clippers new home, Huntington �Park in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and they must be liking what they see there. �They scratched out a one-run-at-a-time come-from-behind win over the Clippers in the new park tonight. �Tribe 1B Steve Pearce�
(photo) led the charge with 4 hits, including a double and a home run, and 3 RBI, and he made an outstanding play at first base to get a key out. �
The Indians scored one run in each of the first three innings. �Three consecutive singles in the top of the 1st, by SS Brian Bixler, RF Luis Cruz, and�Steve Pearce brought in the first run. � C Erik Kratz scored the second run, leading off the 2nd inning with a single, then stealing second base, then scoring on CF Andrew McCutchen's RBI single that squeaked into left field. �Pearce took care of the third run with a solo homer to lead off the 3rd inning. �
Virgil Vasquez (photo) took care of the Clippers 1-2-3 in the 1st inning, but then gave up 2 runs in the 2nd inning, on three straight hits -- single, single, double -- plus a sacrifice fly. �Vasquez gave up two hits in each of the next two innings, but both times, his right fielder backed him up and kept runs from scoring. �Luis Cruz, in his first game in the Indians' outfield this season, threw out a base runner at the plate for the third out in the 3rd inning. �Then the super-utilityman Cruz threw out a batter trying to stretch a single into a double to end the 4th inning. �
The Clippers tied the game in the bottom of the 5th inning. �Vasquez gave up a lead-off walk (and don't those always come back to haunt you) to SS Wilson Valdez. �CF Michael Brantley grounded to first base, where Steve Pearce made a diving stop going to his right, then threw from his knees to Brian Bixler covering second base to force out Valdez, but leave Brantley on first. �3B Luis Valbuena doubled, and that scored Brantley -- though if Pearce had not made that diving stop, it would have been a 2-run double. �Valbuena rounded second and headed for third, but once again Luis Cruz made a stellar throw from right field, relayed by 2B Chris Barnwell, and 3B Neil Walker tagged out Valbuena as he made the head-first slide into third base. �
A solo homer by Columbus C Chris Gimenez gave the Clippers a one-run lead in the bottom of the 6th inning. �Virgil Vasquez gave up one more single after the homer, and that was the end of his night's work. �He left having pitched 5.2 innings and thrown 90 pitches (54 strikes). He allowed 11 hits and a walk, 4 runs, with 5 strikeouts. �Corey Hamman came on in relief, for his first appearance since coming off the disabled list. �Hamman had struggled mightily in his previous appearances this season, but that was not the case tonight. �He ended the 6th inning with a quick fly out, then retired the side in order, including one strikeout in the 7th. �All that took him only 13 pitches (7 strikes). �
The Tribe tied the score up again in the top of the 7th, courtesy of Cruz and Pearce again. �Cruz started the rally with a single. �Pearce lined a double into left field, and Cruz raced around from second base to score just ahead of the throw in from the outfield. �
After Hamman retired the side in order in the bottom of the 7th, the Indians went down in order in the top of the 8th. �Juan Mateo came on for the bottom of the 8th, and he allowed only a walk, while getting two very deep fly ball outs. �The score remained tied at 4-4.
Then the Indians struck again. �Andrew McCutchen led off the top of the 9th with a single. �Brian Bixler grounded to shortstop, but the Clippers could only get the out at second base, leaving Bixler at first. �Luis Cruz worked a walk, and Steve Pearce smacked his fourth hit of the night, a single into right field. The runners advanced one base, but manager Frank Kremblas elected not to risk having Bixler try for the plate. �It was a good call, because the next batter, Neil Walker, lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to left field so that Bixler could score the go-ahead run. �Cruz and Pearce pulled off a double steal, moving them 90 feet closer, but the inning ended when LF Jeff Salazar struck out. �
Juan Mateo came back out to try to hold the Clippers off in the bottom of the 9th. �He got a fly out, then gave up a single. �Pinch hitter Michael Aubrey, who came to the plate with a �league-leading .472 batting average, flied out. �Then Mateo got Michael Brantley to fly out to left field, to end the game and earn his first win. �
The win gives the Indians a modest 3-game win streak, and improves their record to 6-7, just one game under .500. �In keeping with the trend on this road trip (14 hits on Tuesday, 18 hits yesterday), the Indians posted 12 hits today. �A third of those belonged to Steve Pearce; Andrew McCutchen, Brian Bixler, and Luis Cruz each had 2 hits. �
Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Steve Pearce, just a triple away from the cycle, with two singles, a double, and a home run, for 3 RBI. � Honorable mention to Neil Walker, who showed that the batting average doesn't tell the whole story: �his game-winning RBI didn't even come on a hit, but on a sacrifice fly.
�
Indians' Fielding Gems of the Game: �Luis Cruz, in his first game in the outfield for the Indians, made two stellar throws in from right field, saving at least one, and probably two runs.
NOTES:
Be sure to check it out: �Indians' broadcaster Scott McCauley has promised photos of the Clippers' new ballpark on his blog.
Go Tribe!
[photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]
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