Search results: rule 5

The GCL Bradenton Pirates were not scheduled to play today.

The Curve took the early lead and refused to let the FisherCats catch them, despite 11 hits by the New Hampshire team. �The Curve posted 15 hits, led by 3B Pedro Alvarez, who went 4-for-5, with one RBI. �All but one of the Curve's batters had at least one hit, and that one (LF Jeff Corsaletti) walked and scored a run. �

Pedro Alvarez's RBI came in the top of the 1st inning. �CF Gorkys Hernandez began the game with a double, went to third on 2B Shelby Ford's ground out, and scored on Alvarez's RBI single. �Alvarez stole second base (his first steal with the Curve). moved to third base on RF Miles Durham's single, and scored on 1B Jason Delaney's RBI single. �Alvarez led off the 3rd inning with another single, and moved to second base on a wild pitch. �Miles Durham doubled him in. �Jeff Corsaletti walked, and SS Angel Gonzalez's double brought in both Durham and Corsaletti, and the Curve had a 5-0 lead. �

The FisherCats scored one run in the bottom of the 3rd inning on a solo home run. �Altoona came right back in the top of the 4th to get that run back again. �Gorkys Hernandez singled, and Shelby Ford doubled to bring him across the plate. �Pedro Alvarez struck out in the 4th -- the only time in the game that the FisherCats were able to retire him. �

Yoslan Herrera earned his 9th win (against no losses) of the season, going 6.1 innings. �He gave up a total of 8 hits, but only 2 runs. �The first run was the homer in the 3rd. �The second run came in the 6th inning, on two singles, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI ground out. �Herrera got an out and a walk to begin the 7th inning, and then was relieved by Corey Hamman. �Hamman had to work around a passed ball, a stolen base, and a batter reaching on catcher's interference, but he got a double play to end the inning without a run scoring. �

Jared Hughes made his second appearance since coming off the Disabled List. �He pitched a scoreless 8th inning, then gave up a lead-off homer to begin the 9th. �After a walk, a single, and two outs, Scott Nestor relieved Hughes. �Nestor gave up another walk, then got a strikeout to end the game. �

Brian Friday was back in the game today, after being hit in the head by a pitch earlier in the series. �

3B Josh Harrison owned 3 of the Hillcats' 9 hits today, including a home run, as the 'Cats took a bite of the Pelicans. �

Jeff Locke earned his 2nd win for the Hillcats, allowing one run on 6 hits and no walks, and striking out 5 batters over 5.1 innings. �Locke faced only the minimum number of batters in the first 3 innings, thanks to a timely double play in the 2nd and a base runner caught stealing in the 3rd. �He gave up one run in the 4th inning, on two singles, a wild pitch, and an RBI ground out. �Locke gave up two singles on one out in the 6th inning, and was relieved at that point by Michael Colla. �Colla finished the inning with a fly out and a ground out. �

The Hillcats scored their runs over the next 3 innings. �They had had at least one base runner on in each of the first 4 innings, but could not get any of them around to score. �Josh Harrison tied the score at 1-1 with his solo home run in the 5th inning. �With two outs in the 6th, doubles by RF Erik Huber and C Eric Fryer, and a triple by CF Jose De Los Santos broke the tie with 2 runs. �Harrison singled to lead off the 7th inning. �He stole second base, and after pinch hitter Kent Sakamoto walked, 1B Matt Hague singled to bring in Harrison, with the help of a throwing error by the Pelicans' shortstop. �

Harrison Bishop came in from the bullpen to begin the 7th inning. �Two doubles in the 7th scored the Pelican's second run. �Bishop retired the side in the 8th, and got two outs in the 9th. �A throwing error put a runner on base, but closer RJ Rodriguez came in and got a grounder back to the mound to finish the game and earn his 24th save of the season. �

The Power scored in each of the last 5 innings, capped by a 4-run 9th inning, recording 14 hits along the way. �Both teams were scoreless over the first 4 innings, despite several batters reaching base. �3B Jeremy Farrell broke the tie in the 5th with a lead-off homer for the Power. �The Crawdads replied with a lead-off homer of their own in the bottom of the inning. �

SS Greg Picart scored the tie-breaking run in the 6th inning, when he was hit by a pitch, reached third on a throwing error, and came home on a sacrifice fly. �Farrell scored again in the 7th inning, when he doubled and scored on 1B Kyle Morgan's single. �The Power were ahead 3-1. �C Tony Sanchez's 2-run homer after Picart's single made it 5-1 in the 8th inning. �

Hunter Strickland started for the Power and allowed just that homer in the 5th, plus 3 other hits and a walk over 6 innings. �He earned his 7th win. �Ryan Kelly pitched the next two innings, and allowed one run to score in the 8th on three straight singles. �

The Power's big inning was the 9th. �The first 5 batters in the inning had hits: �singles by Kyle Morgan, RF Austin McClune, and 2B Adenson Chourio all singled, loading the bases. �CF Starling Marte swept the bases clean with a triple into center field. �Greg Picart's single brought in Marte, and the Power were ahead 9-2. �

Wilson Ortiz pitched the 9th inning. He hit the first batter he faced, then gave up a 2-run homer. �Then he finished the inning to preserve the win. �

SS Brock Holt tripled to lead off the top of the 10th inning, then scored on RF David Rubinstein's sacrifice fly, to break a 2-2 tie. �Reliever Alan Knotts pitched the bottom of the 9th, and earned his second save by keeping the Renegades from scoring, for the Spikes' win. �

The Renegades got onto the scoreboard first, with a run in the bottom of the 1st inning on a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single. �The Spikes were held to one hit over the first 3 innings, but scored in the 4th inning. �1B Aaron Baker hit a ground-rule double, and he moved on to third base on David Rubinstein's single. �The Renegades tried to pick Rubinstein off first base, but the first baseman missed the catch, and Baker was able to score, tying the game. �

State College scored again in the 7th inning, on singles by 3B Pat Irvine, 2B Andy Vasquez, and C Miguel Mendez, with Mendez collecting the RBI. �The Renegades tied it again in the bottom of the 8th inning, on a single, two stolen bases, and a throwing error by Mendez when he tried to throw out the runner going for third base. �

Both teams put runners on third base in the 9th inning, but neither team could score, sending the game into extras. �Maurice Bankston made the start for the Spikes, and pitched 6 innings, allowing one run on 7 hits, with 3 strikeouts. �Mike Williams pitched 3 innings, and allowed the unearned run in the 8th inning. �He struck out 6 batters. �He was charged with the Blown Save, but then got the win when he was the pitcher of record when the winning run scored. �

A 4-run 3rd inning locked it up for the Yankees. �Starter Ryan Beckman gave up two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning when the first three batters to come to the plate singled, double, and singled. �He retired the Yankees in order in the 2nd inning, but got into trouble again in the 3rd. �with one out, a single, a walk, and a passed ball put two runners into scoring position. �A throwing error by 2B Gift Ngoepe brought both runners in, and a home run added two more runs. �That was the end of Beckman's outing. �Papiro Juan relieved Beckman, and ended the 3rd inning with a pop out and a ground out, then he gave up a walk and a single in the scoreless 4th inning. �

The Pirates scored a run in four of the first five innings. �In the 1st, Gift Ngoepe led off with a single, went to second on a bunt, stole third base, and scored on 1B Gerlis Rodriguez's ground out. �LF Rogelios Noris homered in the 2nd inning, for the third time in two days, to give the Pirates another run in the 2nd inning. �C Ramon Cabrera homered to lead off the 4th. �Then CF Edwin Roman led off the 5th with a ground rule double, and went on to third base on a wild pitch. �A ground out by Rodriguez scored Roman. �

The Pirates' 4 runs weren't enough to catch the Yankees, and the Yankees added two more runs in the last 4 innings, off Mitchell Fienemann. �A solo homer added one run in the 5th, and another solo homer made it 8-4 in the 7th. �

Former Curve Sean Smith and the Fisher Cats�kept ahead of the Curve, despite a grand slam and a total of 5 RBI by 2B Shelby Ford (photo). �Smith pitched 3 shutout innings, holding the Curve to 2 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters. �Curve starter Danny Moskos lasted only 2.2 innings, and surrendered 5 runs in the 3rd inning. �The Fisher Cats batted around in that inning. �Moskos walked three of the first four batters and also gave up a single, so that the third walk forced in a run. �A sacrifice fly brought in a second run. �A wild pitch and a double added two more, and an RBI single plated run #5. �At that point, Moskos was relieved by Michael Dubee, who finished the inning and pitched a scoreless 4th. �

The Curve came back in the top of the 5th. �Three consecutive walks, to C Steve Lerud, DH Jeff Corsaletti, and CF Gorkys Hernandez, began the inning. �Shelby Ford came to the plate with the bases loaded, and blasted the 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for the grand slam. �

Unfortunately, the Fisher Cats had another big inning in the bottom of the 5th, this time sending 11 batters to the plate as they scored 5 more runs. �With Michael Dubee still on the mound, a walk, a missed catch error on a bunt, and another bunt put Fisher Cats on second and third bases. �A wild pitch scored one run, and a single brought in the second. �A walk and a double added the third run. �Jeff Sues relieved Dubee, but a walk and a double gave the Fisher Cats two more runs before the inning ended. �

SS Ray Chang scored a run for the Curve in the 6th, when he was hit by a pitch, went to second base when Steve Lerud walked, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on Shelby Ford's RBI single. �In the 7th inning, the Curve added one more run. �RF Miles Durham walked, and moved to second base on a ground out. �Chang singled to third base, and a throwing error by the Fisher Cats' third baseman allowed Durham to score. �Chang injured his left ankle going to first base, and had to come out of the game, replaced by pinch-runner Angel Gonzalez. �That was all the scoring the Curve would do though.

Jeff Sues pitched scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th, and Corey Hamman pitched a scoreless 9th, aided by a double play. �3B Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-4 with a walk in the game.

The Hillcats and the Pelicans did all the scoring in just two innings in this game. �Hillcats' starter Rudy Owens earned his first A+ level win with 5 scoreless innings of work. �Owens scattered 3 hits but no walks over those 5 innings and struck out 6 Pelicans. �

Lynchburg broke the scoreless tie in the 6th inning. �CF Jose De Los Santos led off the inning with a single, then (of course) stole his 48th base of the season (second in the Carolina League). �He moved to third base on SS Chase d'Arnaud's fly out, and scored on 2B Josh Harrison's RBI single. �Harrison also stole second base (his 2nd) and advanced to third base when 3B Jordy Mercer reached on a fielding error. �In keeping with the pattern, Mercer stole second base (his 8th) too. �LF Jared Keel's single brought in both Har rison and M ercer, to send the Pelicans' starter to the showers and give the Hillcats a 3-0 lead. �

Ramon Aguero relieved Rudy Owens to begin the bottom of the 6th inning, and he pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing only a single and a walk. �The Pelicans made a last-chance effort to catch up in the 9th. �With closer RJ Rodriguez on the mound, the Pelicans got a walk and a double, and scored both base runners on a fielding error by Josh Harrison. �Another single put runners on first and second bases, but Rodriguez got the next batter to ground to third base, where Jordy Mercer stepped on the bag to force out the lead runner, then fired to first to complete the game-ending double play. �Rodriguez earned his league-leading 23rd save.

Three Power pitchers combined for a 4-hit 1-run win over the Crawdads. ��Casey Erickson earned his 4th win and dropped his ERA with the Power to 1.05, by allowing one run on 2 hits over 5 innings of work. �Erickson struck out 6 batters and did not walk any. �He retired the first 7 batters he faced, before giving up a solo home run for the Crawdads' only run of the game. �Erickson then went on to allow only a single over the next 2 innings. �

Diego Moreno pitched 3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk. �He also struck out 6 batters. �Noah Krol pitched the 9th inning, and he struck out one and allowed one hit, to earn his first save of the season. �

The Power scored their first run in the 3rd inning. �CF Starling Marte tripled and scored on a passed ball by the Crawdads' catcher. �They added two more runs in the 4th. �3B Jeremy Farrell doubled and RF Austin McClune walked. �SS Greg Picart brought in Farrell with an RBI single, and C Josue Peley plated McClune when he grounded into a force out. � The Power also had the bases loaded in the 5th inning, on a walk to LF Robbie Grossman, a double by DH Tony Sanchez, and an intentional walk to Jeremy Farrell. �A strikeout and a ground out ended that inning without a run scoring. �

The Spikes and the Renegades engaged in a pitching duel, but the Renegades came out on top. �The Spikes were held to just 3 hits -- a single by DH Justin Byler, a double by SS Brock Holt,�and a triple by 3B Pat Irvine. �Irvine scored the Spikes' first run, when his triple led off the 2nd inning. �He scored on LF Butch Biela's RBI ground out. �The Spikes went down in order in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, then scored one more run in the 6th. �Holt led off with his double (ground rule), and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. �1B Aaron Baker walked, and Byler's single brought in Holt. �Another walk to Irvine loaded the bases, but a double play ended the inning without another run scoring. �CF Evan Chambers was the only base runner for the Spikes in the last 3 innings, when he walked in the 8th inning.

Kyle McPherson got the start for the Spikes. �He took the loss, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits over 6 innings of work. �A hit batter and two doubles brought in two of the runs in the 3rd inning. �A single, a stolen base, and an RBI single added another run in the 5th inning. �Nate Baker pitched the last 2 innings and allowed an unearned run in the 8th. �After a bunt single, C Craig Parry's throwing error when he tried to catch the base runner stealing allowed the runner to reach third base. �Another single scored the runner from third. �

The West Virginia Power and the Delmarva Shorebirds had the last game of their series rained out. �Since the two teams are not scheduled to meet again this season, the game will not be made up. �

In a late-morning game, the Bradenton Pirates collected 9 hits but could only push one run across the plate. �Rehabbing 2B Greg Picart had 3 of the 9 hits, including a double. �Another rehabbing infielder, 3B Neil Walker, also had a hit. �The Pirates' only run came in the 2nd inning, when CF Wesley Freeman led off with a single, and scored on RF Melvin De La Cruz's RBI double. �The Pirates had three other innings when they had two runners on base, but never got a base runner past second base.

Meanwhile, the Pirates' pitching staff was not having a good day. �Starter Ron Uviedo, also on a rehab assignment, gave up one run in the 1st inning on a double and two singles. �He then gave up a double and a single with one out in the 2nd inning, before being removed from the game. �Rinku Singh was brought in to deal with the jam, and had his toughest professional appearance yet. �The first thing he faced was a double steal, as a runner stole home and another stole second base -- which may be something Singh had never even seen before. �He struck out the first batter, then gave up a double, scoring another run (charged to Uviedo). �Next came a wild pitch, two walks, and two singles, and the Tigers had a total of 5 runs in the inning, three charged to Singh. �

Edgar Gutierrez took the mound for the next 4 innings, and allowed one run to score in the 4th, on a walk, a stolen base, a single, and a sacrifice fly. �Sandobal Septimo pitched the final 3 innings for the Pirates, and he also allowed one more run, on a solo homer in the top of the 9th. �

One big bad inning was all it took to doom the Spikes. �Starter�Ricardo Paulino pitched 4 scoreless innings, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the 1st, and then allowing only a ground-rule double over his next three innings. �Nelson Pereira pitched a scoreless 5th, but then came the 6th: �a single, a double, and a walk loaded the bases. �The second strikeout of the inning gave everyone a glimmer of hope. �Then a grad slam cleared the bases and gave the Jammers a 4-0 lead. �They added another run in the 7th on a single, a stolen base, and two wild pitches by Pereira. �Zachary Foster relieved Pereira to end the inning. �Then Brandon Holden pitched a scoreless 8th inning, and Teddy Fallon got out of a bases-loaded jam for a scoreless 9th. �

The Spikes were held to just 3 hits of their own in the game. �After going down in order for the first 3 innings, 2B Ty Summerlin reached base in the 4th on a fielding error -- and was promptly caught stealing second base. �3B�Pat Irvine recorded the Spikes' first hit with a triple in the 5th, but was left stranded 90 feet from the plate. �Pinch hitter Butch Biela also got as far as third base, but no further, in the 8th inning. �He singled, went to second on a passed ball and on to third on a ground out. �The only inning in which the Spikes had two base runners on at the same time was in the 9th, when SS Andy Vasquez singled and CF Evan Chambers walked. �But they too were left stranded as a fly out and a ground out ended the game. �

Two solo homers gave the Cardiac 'Cats the win in extras tonight. �Going into the top of the 9th, the Hillcats were trailing the Dash 6-5, and since the Dash had caught up in the bottom of the 7th, the Hillcats had only managed a walk by 1B Matt Hague and a double by C Kris Watts. �Then LF Alex Presley retied the game with a lead-off home run, his 3rd blast of the season, in the top of the 9th. �The next three Lynchburg batters went down in order. �With closer RJ Rodriguez on the mound, the Dash had only a lone single in the bottom of the 9th. Then DH Jared Keel broke the tie in the top of the 10th with a one-out bomb over the left field wall. �All that remained was for reliever Harvey Garcia to mop up with three quick outs, including two strikeouts, in the bottom of the inning, and the Hillcats had another miraculous win. �

Lynchburg had jumped out to a good start in the game, with a 3-run 1st inning. �SS Chase D'Arnaud and Alex Presley opened the game with back-to-back walks, and a wild pitch moved them up a base each. �After a pop up and a strikeout, a walk to Kris Watts loaded the bases, and another wild pitch allowed D'Arnaud to score. �Jamie Romak reached base on a fielding error at third, and bot Presley and Watts came in to score --three runs on no hits.

The second inning did not get any better for the Dash pitcher. �He again walked the first two batters he faced, this time 3B Eddie Prasch and CF Jose De Los Santos. �Another walk to D'Arnaud and two passed balls brought Prasch across the plate, and a sacrfice fly by SS Jo rdy Mercer scored De Los Santos, and the Hillcats led 5-0, still without having recorded a hit. �In fact, they didn't have a hit until Prasch led off the 4th with a single. �

Then Hillcats' starter Chi-Hung Cheng started having some trouble. �He had worked out of a jam in the 1st inning and made use of a timely double play. �But in the 2nd inning, he gave up a single, a 2-run homer, and a triple, though that last runner was left on base. �Hillcats 5, Dash 2.

Cheng settled down for the next two innings, allowing just two singles and a walk. �But the 5th inning began with a single, a walk, and a 3-run home run to tie the game, and two more singles after that. �Cheng exited after 5 innings of work, having allowed 5 runs on 12 hits and 2 walks. �

Moises Robles relieved Cheng to begin the 6th, and he allowed an unearned run on a 3-base fielding error by CF Jose De Los Santos and a sacrifice fly. �The score remained 6-5 in favor of the Dash until Presley and Keel worked their magic in the 9th and 10th innings. �

The Curve recorded 11 hits, led by a 3-hit performance by 1B Miles Durham, and scored 4 runs in the 4th inning to get past the BaySox. �Starter Danny Moskos earned his 6th win of the season with 5 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. �He gave up one run in the bottom of the 1st inning on two singles, and an RBI grounder. The Curve tied it up in the top of the 2nd, when LF Jeff Corsaletti reached on a throwing error, and then moved around the bases courtesy of singles by Miles Durham and C Steve Lerud. �With the bases loaded, a sacrifice fly by 2B Ray Chang scored Corsaletti, and the game was tied at 1-1.

In the 3rd inning, a double, a walk, and a 3-run homer gave the BaySox a 4-1 lead. �Once again, the Curve came back in the next inning, this time taking the lead. �Four doubles, by DH Jason Delaney, Miles Durham, 3B Angel Gonzalez, and SS Brian Friday, plus a single by Ray Chang had Curve base runners zipping around the diamond, with RBI for Durham, Chang, Gonzalez, and Friday. �

The Curve threatened again in the 6th inning, when a single by Durham, a double by Lerud, and a walk to Friday loaded the bases, but a new relief pitcher and a ground out ended the inning without a run scoring. �

Dustin Molleken pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief, scattering 3 hits and striking out 2 batters. �Michael Dubee earned his first save of the season with the Curve with a scoreless 9th inning. �

The Indianapolis Indians took an early lead, then had to hold off the Toledo MudHens for the win. �Tribe 3B Chris Barnwell and DH Hector Gimenez both had 3 hits, with a double and two singles for each, to lead the offense. �Starter Daniel McCutchen (photo) earned his 6th win of the season with 5 innings of work, and closer Chris Bootcheck collected his 14th save of the season, second highest in the International League. �

The game started with a bang for the Indians. �The first four batters in the bottom of the 1st inning singled into center field: �2B Pedro Lopez, Chris Barnwell, CF Jeff Salazar, and RF Garrett Jones. �

Salazar's single scored Lopez from second base. �The throw in from MudHens' CF Brent Clevlen, who was getting a workout, got to C Dane Sardinha before Lopez reached the plate, but Sardinha was a few feet up the third base line and had to turn and try to swipe at Lopez. �Lopez avoided the swipe and slid across the plate with the first run of the game (photo). �

Jones' single brought in Barnwell, also scrambling around from second base. 3B Bryan Myrow made the first out with a fly to left field, but Hector Gimenez followed with another RBI single, bringing Salazar around from second base. �C Erik Kratz continued the parade with the first extra-base hit. �His long fly ball down the right field line landed on the warning track just inside the foul line, but then bounced into the stands for a ground rule double. �

Kratz (photo) had already rounded second base and was half way to third base, and had to be told to return to second base. �Gimenez would probably have scored, but he had to be held up also. �The inning ended with a strikeout by LF Chris Snelling and a ground out by SS Brian Bixler, and the Indians led 4-0.

The MudHens started chipping away at the lead in the next inning. �Daniel McCutchen gave up a single and a walk in the 1st inning, but CF Brent Clevlen lined out to RF Garrett Jones to end the inning and leave two base runners stranded. �In the 2nd inning, Hens' 3B Mike Hessman smashed a long fly ball to the deepest part of left-center field, near the 418' sign. �It would have been a home run in almost any park in the league but this one -- here it was just a triple. �LF Wilkin Ramirez singled into right field to plate Hessman. �The Hens couldn't get any more, though, as Erik Kratz made a perfect throw to Brian Bixler covering second base to catch Ramirez trying to steal second base. �Indians 4, MudHens 1.

[Photo: Hector Gimenez]

Toledo moved within one run in the 3rd inning. �McCutchen gave up hits to the first two batters: �a single by DH Will Rhymes and a double by 2B Scott Sizemore. �Sizemore's ball landed at the base of the wall in right-center field, and the fleet-footed Rhymes came around from first base to score. �Sizemore tagged up and advanced to third base on a fly out by RF Clete Thomas, and he scored when 1B Jeff Larish grounded to first base. �Indians 4, MudHens 3.

McCutchen kept the MudHens scoreless over the 4th and 5th innings. �He walked the lead-off batter in each inning, but Erik Kratz took care of Will Rhymes with another on-target throw to catch him trying to steal. �Brent Dlugach was also out at second base on a fluke play in the 4th inning. �Mike Hessman hit a towering pop up that came down just in front of the plate. �McCutchen started coming in to get it, then Kratz came out from behind the plate, and Chris Barnwell and Brian Myrow came in from the corners. �At the last second, though, everyone backed off, and the ball dropped to the ground in the middle of all four of them. �Kratz picked up the ball and fired it to second base, forcing out Dlugach, as Hessman was safe at first. �

[Photo -- Chris Barnwell]

McCutchen threw 88 pitches in his 5 innings, 51 for strikes. �He was responsible for those 3 runs, on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �

Toledo starter Eddie Bonine settled down after the first inning, and allowed only two singles over the next three innings. �Pedro Lopez singled up the middle to begin the 2nd inning, but he was thrown out stealing on what might have been a missed hit-and-run play, and Bonine got out of that inning easily. �Hector Gimenez ran up Bonine's pitch count by running the count full and fouling off 5 more pitches before he singled into center field in the 3rd inning. �

Chris Barnwell and Hector Gimenez teamed up in another Indians' rally in the 5th inning. �Barnwell led off with a double off the left field scoreboard. �He tagged up and went on to third base on Jeff Salazar's fly out. �Garrett Jones (photo) was next up. �He took the first two pitches for balls, and at that point the MudHens decided to intentionally walk him. �Brian Myrow fouled off a few extra pitches, then struck out. �Then Gimenez doubled off the wall in right field, near the 362' sign, scoring both Barnwell and Jones. �That sent Bonine to the showers and brought in Matt Rusch from the Toledo bullpen. �Rusch struck out Erik Kratz to end the inning, and he also retired the Tribe in order in the 6th. �Indians 6, MudHens 3.

The Tribe threatened in the 7th, when Chris Barnwell recorded his third hit of the night, but was picked off first base. �Garrett Jones also singled into right field, and when RF Clete Thomas had the ball glance off his glove, Jones raced around to second base. �He was left there, though, when Thomas redeemed himself with a diving catch of a line drive off the bat of Brian Myrow. �Casey Fien pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning for Toledo.

The Indians' bullpen took care of the last 4 innings of the game after Daniel McCutchen exited. �Ty Taubenheim took the 6th inning. �He gave up a lead-off single to Jeff Larish, but got Brent Clevlen to bounce back to the mound, where Taubenheim started the 1-6-3 (Taubenheim to Bixler to Myrow) double play. �Brent Dlugach smashed the MudHens' second triple of the game off the base of the left field scoreboard, over the head of LF Chris Snelling, who was playing in. �But Taubenheim struck out Mike Hessman to end the inning and leave Dlugach standing on third.

Donnie Veal (photo) got the 7th inning, and he struggled. �He walked the first two batters he faced (Wilkin Ramirez and Dane Sardinha) on 10 pitches. �Then he gave up two singles. �Will Rhymes' single slipped between first and second bases to score Ramirez. �Scott Sizemore dropped down a bunt, which Veal fielded cleanly. �He took an extra beat before throwing to first base, and Sizemore reached the bag just before the throw from Veal slipped through Brian Myrow's hands -- it was ruled a single. �Clete Thomas grounded to first base, and Myrow started what looked like it would be a double play. �Sizemore was forced out at second base, but Thomas beat out the throw from SS Brian Bixler back to first base where Veal was covering, and that allowed Sardinha to score from third base. �The inning finally ended when Jeff Larish grounded to just about the same spot at first base. �This time the throw to second and the relay back to Myrow was in time and the double play ended the inning. �But the MudHens had again moved to within one run of the Tribe: �Indians 6, MudHens 5.

The 8th inning began with Denny Bautista on the mound. �He gave up two very long fly balls and a come-backer to the mound. �The first fly ball, by Brent Clevlen, sailed all the way to the wall at straight-away center field, where it found Jeff Salazar's glove waiting for it. �The come-backer, off the bat of Brent Clevlen, came back at Bautista so fast that he only had time to turn away. �The ball struck him in the back just about at the level of his bat and ricocheted all the way into center field, giving Dlugach a single. �Manager Frank Kremblas and trainer Jose Ministral hurried out to check on Bautista, who looked more surprised than anything. �Bautista declared himself to be ok and threw a test pitch to prove it. �Mike Hessman hit the next long fly ball, for the second time in the game, off the top of the left field scoreboard, for a double, sending Dlugach to third base. �So maybe Bautista was not so ok after all. �

Mike Koplove had been warming up in the bullpen, as if he was supposed to come in to pitch the 9th inning. �Instead, he entered the game in the 8th to relieve Bautista with one out and runners on second and third bases. �No problem for Koplove. �He coolly struck out Wilkin Ramirez looking, and got Dane Sardina to knock a routine grounder to short to end the inning. �

Chris Bootcheck finished things up in the top of the 9th. �He gave up a one-out double to Scott Sizemore (his 3rd hit of the game), but struck out Clete Thomas and got Jeff Larish to ground to first base to end the game and earn his 14th save. �

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Four straight singles into center field to start the bottom of the 1st inning. �All four of those batters, Pedro Lopez, Chris Barnwell, Jeff Salazar, and Garrett Jones, came in to score. �

Indians Defensive Gem of the Game: �For the second day in a row, Garrett Jones made a spectacular diving catch in right field. �Tonight's came with Jones running in to make the catch of Wilkin Ramirez's liner in the 4th inning. �

More photos:

Garrett Jones had to hustle back to first base to keep from being picked off, and he jumped so quick that he came out of his shoe ....... and an unusual guest was roaming the outfield during warm-ups.

NOTES:

Rowdie had a little trouble with this guest and his tail.

Check out this box score from Sunday's game between Lake Elsinore Storm and High Desert Mavericks in the California League. �Final score: �Lake Elsinore 33, High Desert 18. �They set California League records for length of the game (4 hrs, 10 mins for a 9-inning game), and runs in a game (51), and number of hits in a game for one team (Storm -- 32), and the Storm team record for RBI in a game. �High Desert put their catcher Jose Yepez in to pitch in the 9th inning, after he had already gone 3-for-4 at the plate with a walk, a homer, and 4 RBI. �On the mound, he gave up home runs to the first three batters he faced, then got a ground out, then gave up a fourth homer and a double. �His ERA? �It's 135.00. �Their DH, Deybis Benitez, got the last two outs of the inning. �

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

Pirates' affiliates were back to being busy again on Thursday:

The Curve came from behind with a 5-run 8th inning, to beat the SeaWolves this afternoon. �3B Pedro Alvarez hit his second homer in two days, and contributed 3 RBI to the mix, and CF Gorkys Hernandez went 3-for-4 in the game. �

Altoona got onto the scoreboard first, when Gorkys Hernadez walked and stole second base, and then Pedro Alvarez homered over the center field wall in the 1st inning. �Erie tied the score at 2-2 in the 2nd inning. �Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. �A double play allowed one run to score, and a wild pitch by Curve starter Mike Crotta brought in the second run. �A solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd gave the SeaWolves a 3-2 lead. �They added an insurance run in the 5th with a single, a stolen base, and another single. �Crotta pitched 6 innings, and allowed those 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts. �

Pedro Alvarez got a small rally going for the Curve in the top of the 6th, when he hit a one-out double. �A throwing error on a ball hit by 1B Jason Delaney put runners on the corners, and Alvarez scored on a balk by the SeaWolves pitcher. �(The Erie manager was subsequently ejected from the game.)

Randy Newsom relieved Crotta to pitch the 7th inning, and he allowed 2 runs, on a walk and another Erie home run, to make the score 6-3. �Newsom was the pitcher of record when the Curve exploded for 5 runs in the 8th inning -- giving Newsom the win. �The Curve sent 8 batters to the plate in the inning. �Gorkys Hernandez and RF Jose Tabata�led off with back-to-back singles, and Pedro Alvarez's sacrifice fly brought in the first run of the inning. �Jason Delaney doubled, and Tabata went to third base. �Tabata scored on 2B Jim Negrych's ground out, and Delaney scored on a wild pitch, and the score was tied 6-6. �DH Jamie Romak walked, and went to second base on another wild pitch. �Then LF Jeff Corsaletti hit a 2-run home run to give the Curve the go-ahead run and an insurance run. �Gorkys Hernandez and Jose Tabata also singled in the 9th inning, but were left on base.

Scott Nestor pitched the final 2 innings for the Curve, and earned his 5th save of the season, allowing a walk in each inning, but striking out 2 in each inning. �

The Hillcats were held to just 2 hits in the shutout loss.��C Joel Collins and 3B Ray Chang had the only hits, both singles. �The 'Cats worked 6 walks, and had two batters hit by pitches (RF Eddie Prasch and 1B Matt Hague)�but still could not get any runners around to score. �The closest they came was in the 6th inning, when both DH Jordy Mercer and LF Jared Keel both walked, but were both left on base. �

Jeff Locke made his 4th start for the Hillcats, and it was the longest of the four. �He pitched 7 innings, and allowed 3 runs on 10 hits, no walks, with one strikeout. �The Pelicans had runners on base in 5 of his 7 innings, but scored in only two of the innings. �In the 3rd, a single and two doubles brought in 2 runs, and a double and a triple added another run in the 6th. �ChBristian Castorri relieved Locke to pitch the last 2 innings. �Castorri gave up one run in the 8th when the first batter he faced lifted a solo home run over the right field wall. �He also gave up 2 runs in the 9th with two outs, on a double, a walk, and a double. �

SS Chase D'Arnaud made his A+ debut, batting lead-off. �He went 0-for-3, with a walk and a strikeout. �

An 8-run 9th inning by the Power overcame a 6-run 7th inning by the Grasshoppers, but the Power still had to hold on to keep Greensboro from coming back in the bottom of the 9th inning. � 3B Bobby Spain had 4 of the Power's 13 hits, and RF Austin McClure and 2B Danny Bomback each had 2 hits. �

DH Calvin Anderson got the scoring started with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. �The Power added two more runs in the 3rd. �Austin McClure led off with a single and advanced to second base on a fielding error. �A wild pitch put him on third base, and CF Robbie Grossman's RBI single brought McClure home. �1B Erik Huber bounced into a force out, went to second when Anderson walked, and he scored on Bobby Spain's RBI single. �

Greensboro got one run back in the 5th inning. �Rafael De Los Santos allowed an unearned run on two walks, a stolen base, a throwing error, and a sacrifice fly. �De Los Santos pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 hits and 4 walks. �Ramon Aguero pitched a scoreless 6th inning, but the Grasshoppers broke out for 6 runs in the 7th to take a 7-3 lead. �Aguero hit a batter with a pitch, walked one, gave up a single, had a batter reach on a fielding error, then gave up another walk. �Noah Krol came on to relieve Aguero and he gave up a walk and two singles, accounting for another run , then got a strikeout, hit a batter wit h a pitch, and finally a force out ended the inning. �

The Power showed their power in the top of the 9th, sending 11 batters to the plate. �The first three batters, SS Adenson Chourio, Austin McClure, and Robbie Grossman, all walked. �Erik Huber's bases-loaded double scored Chourio and McClure, and left Grossman on 3rd base. �Grossman scored on a wild pitch. �A walk to Calvin Anderson and a triple by LF Quincy Latimore brought in Huber and Anderson, but Latimore was out at the plate as he tried for home on the throw. �Bobby Spain singled and C Andrew Walker walked. �Two errors on Danny Bomback's ball allowed three more runs to score (Spain, Walker, and Bomback), before two fly outs ended the inning, with the Power owning an 11-7 lead. �

But Greensboro was not done yet. �Yoffri Martinez took the mound in the 9th, and gave up 2 walks, got two outs, and then gave up a 2-RBI double. �Owen Brolsma relieved Martine, but a walk, a fielding error, and a single brought in another run, to bring the Grasshoppers within one run before Brolsma ended the game with a ground out. �The Power held on, to win by just one run.�

The Spikes were held to just 3 hits and one run, and none of them came until the 7th inning. �Auburn starter Joel Carreno faced only two batters over the minimum in his first 6 innings. �In the 2nd inning, RF David Rubinstein reached base when he swung at strike three, but the Auburn catcher could not hold on to the ball, giving Rubinstein time to hustle down to first. �In the 6th, 2B Ty Summerlin was hit by a pitch. �Finally, in the 7th with one out, 1B Kyle Morgan and Rubinstein hit back-to-back singles. �A throwing error by the Auburn catcher on a pick off attempt and another throwing error on the center fielder who had retrieved the ball allowed Murphy to score the Spikes' only run. �The Spikes got runners on base again in the 8th, when CF Kyle Saukko singled and SS Andy Vasquez walked, but they were left on base. �

Quinton Miller got the start for the Spikes and pitched 3 innings, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. �Two singles and a walk brought in a run in the 1st inning. �A walk, a passed ball, a throwing error and a ground-rule double added two more runs in the 2nd. �Jason Erickson pitched the three middle innings, and allowed an unearned run on 2 singles, a wild pitch, and a throwing error in the 5th inning. �Patrick Irvine and Edward Fallon each pitched a perfect inning in relief. �

The Phillies' pitchers combined to one-hit the Pirates this afternoon. �SS Benjamin Gonzalez had the hit, a single into center field in the top of the 1st inning, and he was picked off first base moments later. �The next 19 Pirate batters were retired in order, by three different Phillies pitchers. �Finally, in the top of the 8th inning, DH Rogelios Noris and CF Wesley Freeman led off with back-to-back walks. �LF Gemmy Gonzalez dropped down a sacrifice bunt, to move the runners over to 2nd and 3rd bases. �3B Andury Acevedo had the Pirates' only RBI, as his ground out to shortstop allowed Noris to score the only Pirates' run.

Mitchell Fienemann pitched 4 innings in his start for the Pirates. �Fienemann retired the first 7 batters he faced, then in the 3rd inning, gave up a single, a double, an RBI single, and a sacrifice fly, giving the Phillies 2 runs. �He allowed another single in the same inning, and then a single in the 4th inning. �Gerardo Esparza took over for Fienemann in the 5th. �He walked a batter and hit a batter, and made a throwing error on a pick-off attempt, but a timely double play and a ground out kept the Phillies from scoring again. �Esparza hit another batter in the 6th inning, but erased him with a double play. �Esparza pitched a total of 3 innings without allowing a hit. �Harvey Garcia also pitched a hitless and scoreless inning, with 2 strikeouts, in the 8th. �

Indians' newest member, starting pitcher Brad Lincoln made his AAA debut with a splash, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing one run on only 2 hits, with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. �He also contributed to the Indians' offense, with two hits of his own at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA tonight. �

Lincoln allowed one and only one base runner in each of the first 4 innings. �He walked former Indy Indian (2005 - 06) LF Rich Thompson twice (1st and 3rd). �He worked around a lead-off double by 3B Terry Tiffee in the 2nd inning. �He hit 1B Andy Tracy with a pitch in the 4th, but erased him with a double play. �Lincoln retired the side in order in the 5th and 6th innings. �

In the 7th inning, Lincoln appeared to be tiring. �He walked Andy Tracy to open the inning, then got two fly outs. �C Paul Hoover lined a single into left field, only the second hit Lincoln had allowed. �That was all for Lincoln's night. �He had thrown 99 pitches, 63 for strikes.

Reliever Mike Koplove came on to relieve Lincoln, and the first batter he faced, former Indy Indian (2005 - 06) JJ Furmaniak, singled into left field, to score Tracy. �A fly out ended the inning, but Lincoln's shutout had been lost. �

The Indians posted 11 hits, scoring in the 2nd and 3rd innings. �Every member of the Tribe lineup except LF Chris Barnwell had at least one hit, and Lincoln, RF Garrett Jones, and 3B Pedro Lopez each had two hits. �

The Indians' batters went down in order in the 1st inning, but got to Lehigh Valley starter Gustavo Chacin in the 2nd and 3rd innings. �With one out in the 2nd inning, C Erik Kratz bounced a ground-rule double over the left field wall. �1B Hector Gimenez walked, and both Kratz and Gimenez scored on�Pedro Lopez's line drive double into center field. �After�Chris Barnwell�grounded out, Brad Lincoln legged out an infield single, moving Lopez to third base, though Lopez was out at the plate when he tried to surprise the Iron Pigs and make it all the way home.�

The Indians added two more runs in the 3rd inning. �2B Brian Bixler led off with a single down the left field line. �He went to third base on SS Luis Cruz's double lined into left field. �CF Jeff Salazar walked to load the bases with no outs for the Tribe. �Garrett Jones bounced a little grounder back to the mound, where Chacin quickly scooped up the ball and returned it to the plate, and C Paul Hoover fired on to first base for a double play. �The Indians loaded the bases again when Erik Kratz walked. �Hector Gimenez slipped a single into left field, for 2 RBI as both Cruz and Salazar came around to score. �Kratz rounded second and headed for third base, but he was caught in a run-down and eventually tagged out (7-2-4-3-4-5).

Lincoln singled again in the 4th inning, a two-out single on a line drive into center field, but he was left stranded on first. �The Tribe managed only one more hit, a single by Garrett Jones, over the next three innings. �The 8th inning began with back-to-back singles by Jeff Salazar and Garrett Jones. �A force out at second base and a fielding error by Iron Pigs' 3B Terry Tiffee left Salazar on third base and Erik Kratz on first, but a double play ended the inning without the Tribe scoring again. �

Mike Koplove pitched a scoreless 8th inning, working around a fielding error by Brian Bixler at second base on a grounder by Rich Thompson. �Bixler redeemed himself by making the next two plays without any problems, and Koplove ended the inning with a strikeout. �

Reliever Chris Bootcheck earned his 12th save of the season with a perfect 9th inning, including a strikeout. �

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �Brad Lincoln's 2-hit performance, going into the 7th inning in his AAA debut. �His 99 pitches were the most he's thrown in a game so far this season. �In an interview after the game, Lincoln admitted to having some butterflies, but said that he was able to settle himself down and command his pitches so that he could consistently throw strike one to the Iron Pig batters. �

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �It was all Lincoln in this game -- celebrating his debut with two hits of his own. �

NOTES:

Several roster moves:

Brad Lincoln was officially added to the Indians' roster today. �

RHP Brian Slocum was removed from the Indians' roster and placed on the Lynchburg Hillcats' roster. �Unsure if this is a physical move or a paper move.

Larry Broadway, who has not been playing due to a gash on his foot from being spiked a week ago, has been placed on the Disabled List, retroactive to Monday.

Virgil Vasquez, who was removed from last night's game after throwing a 12-pitch perfect inning, is indeed not injured. �He is waiting to hear, either tonight or tomorrow, whether or not the Pirates will need him to make a spot start in Pittsburgh on Friday. �If he is not needed in Pittsburgh, then Vasquez is expected to make his regular start for the Indians on Sunday.

The Pirates have acquired 1B/OF�Brian Myrow from the White Sox organization for cash considerations. �Myrow is a 32-year old Texas native who has major league time with the Dodgers and Padres. �He was initially signed out of independent ball by the Yankees in 2001, and progressed to the AAA level with their organization, then was traded to the Dodgers in 2004. �He spent the last two seasons in the Padres' organization, split between AAA and the majors. �Over those two years, he hit .335 at the AAA level, with 54 doubles, 5 triples, 25 homers, and 132 RBI. �In a total of 33 games with the Padres at the major league level, he went only 4-for-31. �Myrow has been with the White Sox' AAA Charlotte Knights this season. �In 48 games, he was hitting .277, with 10 doubles, 7 homers, and 25 RBI. �The Pirates will assigne Myrow to the Indians. �

Former Indian�Andy Phillips has been released by the White Sox. �Phillips started the season with the Indians, and hit .333 here in 7 games. �On April 1 7th, he was traded to the White Sox, and assigned to the AAA Charl otte Knights. �He was hitting .295 for the Knights, with 5 homers and 27 RBI. �Phillips is reportedly working on a deal to play in Japan for the Hiroshima Carp.

Go Tribe!

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]

The Indians turned on the power and scored 10 runs on 13 hits, all in three big innings, at Knights' Stadium in the suburbs of Charlotte, NC tonight. �The Knights suffered from a lack of power, a power outage at their stadium, and 5 errors, and were overwhelmed by the Tribe from the second inning on. �Ty Taubenheim (photo) made his second strong start in a row, earning his second win of the season. �LF Jeff Salazar and C Erik Kratz each had three hits for the Indians, with two doubles for Kratz and one double for Salazar. �CF Andrew McCutchen and SS Luis Cruz each homered for the Indians. �

The Indians got going quickly in the top of the 2nd inning, and the first of the Knights' errors helped. �They were facing Noblesville, Indiana (just outside of Indianapolis) native Wes Whisler, who came into the game with a 5-2 record and a 1.72 ERA. �RF Garrett Jones led off with a single, and stole second base. �Adam Melhuse, doing DH duty tonight, grounded to third base, where former Indy Indian Andy Phillips had a little trouble with the ball, then his throw to first went into the dirt. �Jones scored easily from second base (unearned), and when the dust had settled, Melhuse was standing on third base. �Erik Kratz kept things going by smacking a double off the center field wall, scoring Melhuse. � Luis Cruz added two more runs with a line drive that sailed over the left field wall for a 2-run homer, and the Indians had a 4-0 lead. �

Tribe starter Ty Taubenheim got out of a first-inning jam thanks to some quick defense behind him. �Former Pirate farmhand Brent Lillibridge made the first out of the inning, then 2B Eider Torres lined a single into center field. �Andy Phillips grounded sharply towards the hole at short, but Luis Cruz, playing shortstop tonight, made a diving stop, then used his glove to shovel the ball to Brian Bixler, the second baseman for the night. �Bixler (photo) caught the glove-scoop as he was facing left field, then had to whirl and fire to first base, getting the ball to 1B Steve Pearce just in time to get the inning-ending double play.

Taubenheim gave up one run in the bottom of the 2nd inning. �Three singles, a liner into right field by RF Josh Kroeger, a slow roller to third base by 1B Daryle Ward, and another line drive into right by DH Brian Myrow loaded the bases with one out. �A sacrifice fly by C Donny Lucy scored Kroeger from third base, cutting the Indians' lead to 4-1.

Taubenheim continued to give up hits and allow batters to reach base -- at least one in each of the next 4 innings -- but kept the base runners from crossing the plate. �Two timely ground outs, including a fine play by SS Luis Cruz got him out of the 3rd inning. �A double play erased a walk in the 4th inning and one more runner was left on base. �In the 5th, a hurried throw by Steve Pearce to Taubenheim on a little grounder to first base bounced off Taubenheim's glove. �It was ruled a throwing error on Pearce. �3B Neil Walker saved that inning with a perfectly timed leap into the air, to rob former teammate Andy Phillips of an extra-base hit. A strikeout with two runners on base ended the 6th inning. �Taubenheim pitched 6 innings, and gave up one run on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts. �He had thrown 88 pitches, 56 for strikes.

The Indians took advantage of mistakes by the Knights to score again in the 5th and 7th �innings. �The first mistake was by Wes Whisler, who served up an 0-2 pitch to CF Andrew McCutchen (photo) that McCutchen deposited over the center field wall. �Brian Bixler and LF Jeff Salazar followed the homer with back-to-back singles. �Bixler and Salazar started a double steal, and when Knight's catcher Lucy went to make the throw to third to get Bixler, he had trouble getting the ball out of his glove. �In his excitement, he made the throw -- and the ball sailed into left field. �Bixler scored easily, and Salazar went to third base on the error. �Steve Pearce grounded back to Whisler, but Salazar had to hold at third. �Garrett Jones grounded to shortstop, which should have been the end of the inning, but SS Brent Lillibridge's throw to first base went into the dirt. �Jones was hustling down the line, and he was safe at first, just beating the throw, which allowed Salazar to score. �The Indians led 7-1.

Just as the 6th inning ended on a strikeout by Taubenheim, the power went out at Knights' Stadium. �Concourse and seating area lights, and one light standard in right-center field remained on. �Most of the playing field was plunged into semi-darkness, and the game was interrupted as the field staff tried to get the power back on. �After about 20 minutes, light was restored, and the game resumed. �

Former Indy Indian John Van Benschoten (photo, from 2008), who signed a minor league deal with the White Sox in the off season, came on in relief for the Knights to begin the 7th inning. �Van Benschoten had been in the Knights' starting rotation, and was even scheduled to get the start tonight. �The combination of some back strain and a lot of hits and runs allowed pushed Van Benschoten into the bullpen. �Brian Bixler greeted his former teammate with an infield single. �Jeff Salazar dropped a double in between LF Michael Restovich and CF Miguel Negron, and then the ball got past Negron, as Bixler raced toward home. �A poor throw in to the plate was ruled a throwing error, and Bixler scored. �Steve Pearce also singled, for the third consecutive hit, and the Tribe had runners on the corners. �Garrett Jones bounced a grounder to Andy Phillips, who thought he'd have a double play. �But Phillips' throw to second base went into the outfield, and Salazar scored as Jones raced around to third base. �Neil Walker lifted a long fly ball, which only reached the warning track in left field, but was still an RBI sacrifice fly as Jones scored. �Van Benschoten walked Adam Melhuse, and Erik Kratz slipped his third hit of the night through the hole and into left field for a single. �A pop up and a strikeout ended the inning with the bases loaded, but the Tribe had increased their lead to 10-1. �

In the top of the 9th, the Knights' committed their 5th error of the game. �Neil Walker grounded to shortstop, and Brent Lillibridge hesitated, then fired the ball over 1B Daryle Ward's head and into the stands. �Walker went to second base on the error. �Unlike the first four errors of the game, this one did not hurt the Knights. �John Van Benschoten got two more outs to end the inning and leave Walker standing on second. �

Indians' Hitting Gems of the Game: �Home runs by Luis Cruz and Andrew McCutchen. �Cruz's came in the 4-run 2nd inning, and McCutchen's in the 3-run 5th, and both were off Indiana native Wes Whisler. �Cruz's home run was�his first �homer, and his first multi-RBI game, since April 22nd, only the second day with the Tribe after having started the season with the Pirates. �McCutchen's last home run came a month ago, on April 21st.

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �Several good plays, including one by Luis Cruz in the 3rd and the leaping catch by Neil Walker in the 5th. �Probably the best was the double play in the first inning: �a diving stop by Cruz and an excellent relay by Brian Bixler.

NOTES:

Minor League Roster Move: �The Pirates owed the Dodgers a Player To Be Named Later as part of the trade for Delwyn Young. �The PTBNL was named today: �Altoona's righty reliever Eric Krebs. �Krebs, a 16th round pick for the Pirates in 2005, had made 10 relief appearances for the Curve, earning a 2-4 record and a 4.86 ERA. �In 16.2 innings, he allowed 9 earned runs on 11 hits, with 17 walks and 15 strikeouts. �Krebs will be assigned to AA Chattanooga.

Sean Smith will be taking Krebs' spot on the Curve roster.

Jeff Salazar extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and he did it right away in the top of the 1st inning with a single just out of the reach of Knights' 2B Eider Torres and into right field. �Yesterday, he waited until his last at-bat, in the 9th inning, to get his hit. �

This was Erik Kratz's fifth 3-hit game of the season. �

The Tribe has now turned at least one double play in 12 straight games.

Indians' radio broadcaster Scott McCauley said on the air that he took some photos of the stadium with the lights out, and he has one up on his blog already. �(Thanks for the link, Scott!).

Former Indy Indian Chris Duffy has been designated for assignment by the Brewers. �If he clears waivers, he will go to AAA Nashville. �

How often does this happen? �While the Indians and the Knights were playing, their parent clubs, the Pirates and the White Sox, were beginning a 3-game series against each other in Chicago.

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

[Photo: �Jeff Salazar steals his third base of the game]

The Indianapolis Indians stole 9 bases, a new Victory Field record, but still lost to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees this evening. �The overall Indians' team record is 10 stolen bases in one game, a feat that was achieved on May 14, 1936, when the team was part of the American Association; that was the league record also. �The record at Victory Field, and the most recent high for stolen bases in a game came last season, when the Tribe stole 7 bases against the Durham Bulls on August 15th. �

Just stealing bases wasn't enough, though. �The S/W-B Yankees lead the International League in a host of categories: �team batting average (.312 coming into the game), runs scored (177), hits (277), doubles (54), homers (29), and they lead the league in RBI by over 40 (168, to Columbus' 122). �It wasn't hard to see why, as the Yankees recorded 15 hits in tonight's game. �

Tribe starter Virgil Vasquez (with C Erik Kratz in photo) kept the Yankees from scoring for the first 4 innings. �There were base runners in each inning but the 2nd, as 2B Kevin Russo and RF Todd Linden �sharply lined two hits in the 1st inning, and LF John Rodriguez lined a double down the left field line in the 3rd. �In the 4th, 1B John Miranda fired a ball back to the mound, which ricocheted off Vasquez's glove, knocking him to the ground. �The ball came to rest just a few feet from the first base line, and by the time Vasquez could get up and get to it, Miranda was safe at first. �Vasquez was not injured, and wouldn't even look into the Tribe dugout, so the training staff left him alone.

The Indians scored first, when 3B Neil Walker�planted a line drive into right field in the 2nd inning. �C Erik Kratz brought Walker in with an RBI double off the left field wall. �

The stolen base factor came into play in the 3rd inning. �The Tribe already had two stolen bases by then, courtesy of RF Jeff Salazar. �Salazar had walked in the 1st inning, stole second base easily with a good jump on the first pitch to DH Garrett Jones,�and then three pitches later stole third base, not even drawing a throw from Yankees' catcher Pilittere. �CF Andrew McCutchen led off the 3rd inning with a walk, and stole second base (photo). �Salazar reached base when his bat exploded as he hit the 1-0 pitch, sending pieces of wood over the left side of the infield and putting a weird spin on the ball as it bounced toward third base. �S/W-B 3B Eric Duncan couldn't handle the spin and was charged with a fielding error, putting runners on the corners. �Salazar promptly stole second base (his 3rd steal of the game), not drawing a throw for fear that McCutchen would come home on a throw to second base. �A walk to Jones loaded the bases. �

Neil Walker (photo) lined his second hit of the night into right field for 2 RBI, scoring both McCutchen and Salazar. �LF Larry Broadway got everyone's hopes up when he smacked a ball down the first base line, but it was foul by only about a foot, and he struck out to end the inning. �Indians 3. Yankees 0.

The 5th inning was Vasquez's downfall, as the Yankees came back to take the lead. �With one out, C PJ Pilittere grounded a single up the middle, and Kevin Russo followed with a bloopy single into short right field behind first base. �John Rodriguez blasted a 1-0 pitch well over the wall in right field, for a 3-run homer to tie the score. �Todd Linden followed with another long fly ball, over the heads of the big rightward infield shift, which Andrew McCutchen caught on the warning track. �The reprieve was short, though, as DH Shelley Duncan followed with a rising line drive over the left field wall for a solo home run to take a 4-3 lead. �The inning ended on an odd play. �Juan Miranda hit a chopper that bounced in front of the plate then flew high into the air along the first base line. �1B Steve Pearce aggressively charged in, catching the ball at his shoetops just before it could bounce foul, about 15 feet from first base. �Pearce expected Miranda to be running toward first base, but Miranda thought the ball was going to be foul, so he was only 4 or 5 steps from home plate. �Pearce ran the ball almost all the way to the plate, as Miranda stood there, waiting to be tagged, and Miranda walked back to his dugout laughing.

More stolen bases and a key RBI by Pearce (photo) tied the game for the Tribe in the bottom of the inning. �With one out, Jeff Salazar lined a single into right field and Garrett Jones moved him to third base with a single into center field. �Jones stole second base (5th of the game). �Pearce slipped a single into left field, plating Salazar to tie the score and advance Jones to third base. �That chased Yankees' starter George Kontos (who was making his AAA debut) from the game. �Reliever Zachary Kroenke came on, and before he even made a throw to the plate, he turned and fired to first base, catching Pearce too far off the bag. �Seeing that he couldn't get back, Pe arce ran for second base, and 1B Miran da threw to second, as expected. �But the throw went to the infield side of the bag and SS Doug Bernier had to go several steps away from the bag to catch the throw. �Pearce slid in safely to second, credited with a steal, and while that was going on, Jones ran for the plate, sliding in safely ahead of the relay throw (7th stolen base of the game) with the go-ahead run. �Pearce then stole third base, for #8 of the game.

[Photo: �Larry Broadway lined a foul ball that was almost an RBI hit}

Virgil Vasquez pitched a scoreless 6th inning, getting a key double play in the process. �The 7th began with PJ Pilittere grounding a double down the left field line and into the Indians' bullpen. �Luis Nunez came in as a pinch runner for Pilittere, and Kevin Russo moved Nunez to third base with a perfectly placed bunt along the third base line. � John Rodriguez collected his 4th RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to tie the game again.

[Photo: �Luis Cruz makes the catch on Shelley Duncan's pop out in the 1st inning.]

Vasquez finished his night's work having gone 7 innings and allowing 5 runs on 11 hits. �He did not walk anyone, and he struck out 5 batters. �Brian Slocum took the mound to begin the 8th inning. �He was greeted with a line drive single by Miranda, then got two outs. �Doug Bernier singled through the hole into left field, and C Chris Stewart walked to load the bases. �Kevin Russo gave the Yankees the lead and an insurance run with a 2-RBI single up the middle, scoring Miranda and Bernier. �Slocum allowed a single and a walk in the 9th, but left those runners on base. �

The Tribe threatened in the 7th inning. �With two outs, Neil Walker collected his third hit of the game, a double that bounced off the base of the wall in right-center field. �He stole third base, for the Tribe's 9th steal of the game. �This one was controversial -- the throw seemed to beat Walker to the bag, but he was ruled safe. �Protests by the Yankees third baseman Eric Duncan and Manager Dave Miley went unheeded. �Larry Broadway was hit by a pitch, and Erik Kratz walked to load the bases. �The inning ended with the three runners still on base when SS Luis Cruz struck out. �The Tribe went down in order in both the 8th and 9th innings, and the Yankees had their 20th win of the season. �Brian Slocum was charged with the loss, his first decision of the year. �

Indians' Hitting Gem of the Game: �Neil Walker, who went 3-for-5 in the game, with a double and two singles. �The hits broke a 4-game hitless run, and gave Walker a much-needed boost: �"It's good confidence-wise for me, but also it's good because I've felt like I haven't helped this team as much as I would like to offensively lately. �It's always a positive thing to do what you can and to play well to help your team out."

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game: �Jeff Salazar made another spectacular catch in the outfield. �Tonight he was playing right field. �In the top of the 5th, Doug Bernier drove a liner into right field, along the line, and it looked like it was going to end up rattling around in the corner. �Salazar raced toward the line, and made a diving catch of the line drive.

Go Tribe!

[Photos by Nancy Zinni -- MVN]

3B Pedro Alvarez hit a solo homer with two out in the top of the 9th, tying the game at 7-7, and giving the Hillcats another chance at victory. �But they could not capitalize on RF Miles Durham's lead-off single in the top of the 10th inning. �The Blue Rocks scored on three singles in the bottom of the 10th to get the win. �

The Hillcats had two 3-run innings earlier in the game. �In the 3rd inning, C Kris Watts led off with a walk, and he went to third base when 2B Eddie Prasch doubled. �DH Alex Presley followed with an RBI single, to score Watts, and SS Jordy Mercer doubled to plate both Prasch and Presley. � �Two innings later, it was Prasch who opened the inning with a walk, and Presley who followed with a double. �Mercer brought Prasch in with a sacrifice fly. �Back-to-back walks to Alvarez and 1B Matt Hague loaded the bases for Durham, whose RBI double gave the Hillcats 2 more runs. �They came close to scoring one more, when LF Maiko Loyola grounded to second base, but Hague was thrown out at the plate.

Matt McSwain pitched 3.2 innings for the Hillcats, allowing one run on 4 hits and no walks, with one strikeout. �He gave up a solo homer to Royals' prospect Mike Moustakas in the 1st inning, then pitched two scoreless innings. �In the 4th inning, McSwain gave up a lead-off double and a single, then got two infield pop outs, including a great catch by SS Mercer, who then threw to home to make sure the lead runner stayed put on third base. �Mike Felix came on to relieve McSwain, and he�ended the 4th inning with a ground out. �Felix gave up two runs (one earned) in the 5th on two walks, a wild pitch, and a fielding error, but Lynchburg was still ahead 6-3. �

Chris Cullen pitched two perfect innings of relief for the Hillcats, and Christian Castorri came on to begin the 8th. �A hit batter, a walk, a double, and a 3-run homer, all charged to Castorri, gave Wilmington a 7-6 going into the 9th inning. �That set up Alvarez to almost be the hero. �Castorri gave up the run in the 10th, and he suffered the loss. �Miles Durham went 3-for-5 for Lynchburg, including 2 doubles, and Jordy Mercer had 3 RBI. �

Danny Moskos earned his first AA win this afternoon as the Curve won their second game of the season. �Moskos pitched 6 innings and allowed only 2 runs on 8 hits and one walk, while striking out 5 batters. �

The Curve took the lead first, when 2B Jim Negrych led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a triple off the "Got Milk?" sign on the right field wall. �CF Jose Tabata followed with an RBI single to bring Negrych home. �The SeaWolves got the run right back in the top of the 2nd inning, on a ground-rule double, a single, and a ground out. �

Not to be outdone, the Curve also came back with another run in the bottom of the 2nd. �C Steve Lerud walked, and he and DH James Boone executed an excellent hit-and-run play, moving Lerud to third base when Boone slipped a single through the hole vacated by the second baseman. �3B Angel Gonzalez's RBI single flew just over the leaping stab of Erie's shortstop, and brought Lerud home, and the Curve again had the lead, 2-1. ��

The Curve had a small scare in the top of the 4th inning. �Erie's Alex Avila lined into center field, and Tabata made a dive for it. �He missed the ball and fell striking his right knee hard. �He was slow to get up, and then limped around for a few minutes while being checked out by the Curve's training staff. �Tabata convinced them that he was ok, and he remained in the game. �

Moskos' second run allowed came in the top of the 5th, on a walk and two singles, tying the score at 2-2. �Moskos got into some trouble in the top of the 6th, on a double and a single, but LF Jonel Pacheco made an on-target throw in from left field to Lerud at the plate, to gun down the runner trying to score. �

RF Brad Corley broke the tie in the bottom of the 6th with a solo homer, and the Curve added another run in the same inning, on a single by Lerud and a triple by Gonzalez. �They added 2 more for insurance in the next inning. With two outs, SS Pedro Lopez and Corley singled, and Lerud walked to load the bases. �Boone brought in Lopez and Corley with a single into right field. �

Yoslan Herrera, recently returned from a short stint with Indianapolis, came on to relieve Moskos to begin the 7th inning. �He gave up an unearned run when Lopez made a throwing error from shortstop (his back foot slipped as he was planting to make the throw), and Gonzalez made another throwing error from third base. �Herrera worked around another error, a fielding blunder by 1B Jamie Romak, to get through a scoreless 8th inning. �Sean Smith pitched the 9th inning and gave up another run, after a hit batter, a double, and a sacrifice fly, but he held on long enough to earn the save. �

It has been raining in Kentucky all day, so both the West Virginia Power /�Lexington Legends game and the Indianapolis Indians / Louisville Bats games were rained out.