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Tribe Shut Out Bison; Bootcheck’s 8th Save
Indianapolis Indians 2,�
�� �Buffalo Bisons 0
Four Indians pitchers combined to shut out the Bisons this afternoon at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY. �The game featured the Indians' debut of reliever Mike Koplove, who signed a minor league contract with the Pirates this week, and a strong start of 5.2 innings by Ty Taubenheim, (photo)�for his third win of the season. �
Taubenheim sailed through the his first five innings of work. �He gave up a 2-out single to RF Matt Watson in the first inning, then proceeded to retire the next 14 batters he faced. �That took him into the 6th inning. �With one out in the 6th, pinch hitter Michel Abreu singled and CF Cory Sullivan walked. �Taubenheim got LF Jesus Feliciano to bound a grounder to 2B Brian Bixler, who tossed to SS Luis Cruz covering second for the force out. �But Sullivan's slide into second base disrupted Cruz enough so that his throw on to first base was not in time, leaving Feliciano safe at first. �Mike Koplove came out of the bullpen to make his first appearance in the Pirates' organization, relieving Taubenheim. �Koplove needed only 2 pitches to take care of Matt Watson on a ground out. �Taubenheim had made 81 pitches in his 5.2 innings (45 strikes), and had allowed 2 hits and a walk, plus 4 strikeouts.
The Indians' offense was led by the middle infielders -- Brian Bixler (photo) and Luis Cruz, batting 1-2 in the order, had two hits each. �Cruz's first single and a single by CF Jeff Salazar came back-to-back in the first inning, but a double play ended the inning. �C Adam Melhuse added a 2-out single in the 2nd inning, but was left stranded on base. �
In the top of the 3rd, Ty Taubenheim started the inning with a walk. �Brian Bixler�dropped down a perfectly placed bunt, which landed out of reach of both the pitcher Jon Niese and 3B Mike Lamb. �By the time Lamb could pick it up, Bixler was already crossing the first base bag. �Luis Cruz�crushed a double to center field, which came close to being a homer, but it bounced off the top of the wall for a double. �Taubenheim scored easily, and the speedy Bixler was able to score from first base, reaching the plate well before the throw in from the outfield. �Cruz went to third base on the throw. �LF Jeff Salazar was hit by a pitch, giving the Indians runners on the corners with no outs, but they could not get those runners in, as a strikeout and a grounder for a double play ended the inning.
The Indians threatened again in the top of the 7th, when Tim McNab relieved the starter Niese. �McNab walked 3B Chris Barnwell and pinch hitter Virgil Vasquez (don't laugh -- his batting average is .286), but then got a fly out and a grounder force out to end the inning. �The Tribe also put two runners on base in the 8th, when Jeff Salazar led off with a walk. 1B Steve Pearce grounded to 3B Mike Lamb, who started what looked like it was going to be an easy double play. �But Pearce hustled down the line and beat the throw to first base, and when everyone looked up, Salazar was still standing on second base. �He had been ruled safe because he too had beaten the throw. �Unfortunately a strikeout and a ground out ended that threat without any further runs scoring. �Brian Bixler picked up his second hit in the 9th inning, when he doubled off the center field wall. �Barnwell had the Indians' only other hit, also a double, in the 4th. �
Mike Koplove's debut was limited to just those two pitches, as Juan Mateo came on to pitch the 7th for the Indians. �Mateo gave up two singles, to 1B Wily Mo Pena and C Rene Rivera. �Rivera's hit glanced off 1B Steve Pearce's glove and ricocheted into foul territory, and Wily Mo Pena was able to reach third base on the play. �A timely double play got Mateo out of trouble -- 2B Jonathan Malo topped a grounder back to Mateo, who whirled and fired to Luis Cruz covering second, and then on to Pearce at first to end the inning without a run scoring. �Mateo also gave up a double and a single in the 8th, again putting runners on the corners with one out. �This time a grounder to third gave 3B Chris Barnwell the opportunity to hold the runner on third base, then throw to second to get the force out. �A pop out ended the inning without a run scoring. �
Chris Bootcheck (photo) relieved Mateo to pitch the 9th. �He struck out Wily Mo Pena and got a quick ground out on Mike Lamb, then gave up a single to Rene Rivera. �A grounder for a force out at second by Jonathan Malo ended the game and gave Bootcheck his save. �
Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game -- Luis Cruz's (photo) double in the 3rd inning, which brought in the Indians' only two runs. �It was the second day in a row that Cruz had the Tribe's big RBI.
Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game -- Th
e double play in the 7th inning, w
hich ended a serious threat by the Bisons, going 1-6-3 (Mateo to Cruz to Pearce). �
NOTES:
The Indians have won the first two games of this series, and they would like to take more from the Bisons, who have the worst record in the International League (16-38). �The Tribe won the first two games in the four-game series at Syracuse, but went on to lose the next two games. �When they won the first two games against Syracuse in the four-game home series, the two teams split the last two games. �The Tribe also won the first two games against Pawtucket at home, but then lost the next two games. �
Go Tribe!
[Photo by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]
Hacker Outstanding As Indians’ Bats Return
Indianapolis Indians 9,
�� � �Buffalo Bison 2
The Indianapolis Indians appeared to be glad to have a change in venue. �They cruised into Buffalo after an overnight trip on a sleeper bus, and cruised through the game at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY on Saturday night. �Pitcher Eric Hacker (photo) was the third starter in a row to pitch 7 strong innings, and unlike Charlie Morton and Virgil Vasquez in the previous two games, Hacker was backed up by his teammates' bats. �It was Hacker's first win as a member of the Tribe. �LF Larry Broadway (photo below) went 3-for-4 and hit his 3rd home run of the season, and 1B Steve Pearce and 3B Luis Cruz had two hits each, including a home run for Cruz.
Hacker threw 96 pitches, with an amazing 70 of them strikes over his 7 innings. �He allowed only 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters. �The walk and the first hit came with two outs in the bottom of the 1st inning. �RF Matt Watson worked the count full and fouled off four more pitches before taking ball four. �Then 1B Wily Mo Pena lifted an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run homer. �That was all the scoring the Bison would do for the rest of the night. �The remaining three hits Hacker gave up were all 2-out singles: �to 2B Luis Rivera in the 2nd inning, to Watson in the 6th, and to SS Jonathan Malo in the 7th. �Malo tried to go to second base when the throw in from Larry Broadway in left field got away from SS Brian Bixler, who was covering second base. �The ball bounced over towards first base, and Malo scrambled for second. �Steve Pearce alertly scooped up the ball and threw to second, where Bixler easily applied the tag and Malo was out to end the inning. �Malo also reached base in the 5th, when Hacker dropped a pop up for an error, but he was immediately erased with a double play.�
The Tribe batters clearly remembered to pack their bats for the trip to Buffalo. �They let the Bison have their 2-0 lead only briefly. �In the top of the 2nd inning, RF Garrett Jones got the rally started with a walk, and he quickly stole 2nd base, for his 10th steal of the season. �Steve Pearce rapped a grounder that glanced off the mitt of 2B Luis Rivera and into right field for an RBI single, as Jones scored. �Larry Broadway got his first hit of the night on a looper into center field, moving Pearce to second base. �Then Luis Cruz blasted a line drive over the left field wall for a 3-run homer. �With a 4-2 lead, the Indians never looked back.
Two-out hits seemed to be a theme in the game, and the Indians played along. �In the 4th, with two outs, C Erik Kratz (photo) slipped a single between third and short, and Luis Cruz doubled him home, tagging the first pitch he saw to the base of the left field wall. �Cruz went to third base on the relay throw which was wide and on the first base side of home plate. �When the ball bounced off Bison C Robinson Cancel's glove and to the backstop (ruled an error), Cruz saw that pitcher Lance Broadway was not covering the plate, and he raced home. �Indians 6, Bison 2.
The Tribe added another run in the 5th. �Brian Bixler led off with another shot to the base of the left field wall for a double. �Steve Pearce singled up the middle, just out of reach of the diving 2B Rivera, plating Bixler. �That sent Bison starter Lance Broadway to the showers. �Reliever Tim McNab came on, and was greeted by our Broadway (Larry), who singled into right field, before Erik Kratz's grounder ended the inning.
Larry Broadway added his third hit in the 8th inning. �Steve Pearce had reached base on a play that was ruled a fielding error, when his grounder to shortstop Malo took a last-second high hop. �Broadway followed with a rising line drive over the right field wall for a 2-run homer, giving the Indians a 9-2 lead. �
Brian Slocum, who pitched for Buffalo over the past 3 seasons when they were part of the Cleveland organization (this season they are the Mets' affiliate), came on to relieve Eric Hacker to begin the 8th inning. �Again with two outs, Slocum gave up two singles, to CF Cory Sullivan and LF Jesus Feliciano. �It was the biggest threat the Bison had made since the first inning, but it didn't last long. �Slocum struck out Matt Watson to end the inning. �In the 9th, the Bison had their lead-off runner on base for only the second time in the game (the other was in the 5th, when Malo reached on Hacker's error), as Wily Mo Pena led off with a single. �Slocum was easily able to work around it, with two fly outs and a grounder for a force out, and that ended the game.
Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Luis Cruz's (photo) 3-run homer in the 2nd inning, which put the Indians ahead to stay.
Defensive Gem of the Game: �Seven strong innings by Eric Hacker, not even letting anyone past first base after the first inning. �
NOTES:
Neil Walker (photo) did not go with the team to Buffalo, but instead headed over to Pittsburgh, to have his left knee further examined. �When he slid into first base on Tuesday night, he got up holding his left hand and the immediate problem was a dislocated little finger. �The finger is doing fine, but his knee has become the issue now, and that's what is going to be keeping him out of the lineup. �
Andrew McCutchen had a 2-RBI single in the 2nd inning for the Pirates on Saturday. �He went 1-for-5 at the plate in his third major league game.
Go Tribe!
[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]
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