Tag: Blaine Boyer

Starter Brian Burres threw 7 shutout innings, but got a no-decision.  











Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  1,  Indianapolis Indians  0
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A pitching duel did not end up in the Indians favor today, as the S/W-B Yankees took a one-game lead in this 4-game series at Victory Field.  Tribe starter Brian Burres pitched an outstanding game, going 7 shutout innings, but left the game without any runs on the scoreboard, so he was not involved in the decision.  Yankees' starter DJ Mitchell also pitched 7 scoreless innings, but earned the win.  The game was scoreless until the starters were relieved in the 8th inning.  


Burres scattered 3 hits and 2 walks over his 7 innings, while striking out 5 Yankees.  He began his afternoon's work by retiring the first 6 batters he faced.  He gave up doubles to 2B Kevin Russo to lead off the 3rd, and to SS Ramiro Pena in the 6th, but left both of them on base.  Pena also singled in the 4th, dropping a liner into right-center field just out of the reach of CF Gorkys Hernandez.  Burres picked Pena off first, then 1B Matt Hague threw to SS Brian Friday, who tagged out Pena as he tried to steal second base (photo).   Burres walked 1B Jorge Vazquez in the 4th, but after Pena had been erased, and he walked LF Dan Brewer in the 5th.  Both of those runners were left on base, too.  Burres needed 98 pitches, with 58 hits, to get through his 7 innings.   

Shelby Ford's lead-off home run was a bright spot for the Indians.  












Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  10,  Indianapolis Indians  3
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A shaky first inning from Tribe starter Rudy Owens gave the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees a lead they would never give up, as the Indians lost at Victory Field tonight.  Owens suffered his 4th loss of the season, and with the Tribe bullpen getting thin, outfielder Corey Wimberly made his professional pitching debut.  The Yankees posted 17 hits and scored in every other inning.  

It was a tough night for Owens (photo).  He lasted 5 innings and allowed 7 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks.  The first inning began with three consecutive hits:  a double by CF Austin Krum, a single by SS Ramiro Pena, and a 2-RBI triple by C Jesus Montero.  The triple hit near the top of the right field wall, over the leaping RF Miles Durham, who then crashed into the wall and fell to the ground, as CF Alex Presley chased down the ricochet.  Montero held at third when 1B Jorge Vazquez grounded to third for the first out of the inning, then Owens walked LF Justin Maxwell.

 Maxwell was leaning off first, and Owens' throw to first picked him off.  Maxwell took off for second base.  1B Matt Hague took a quick look over at Montero on third to make sure he was not thinking of going home on the steal attempt.  But that extra second it took Hague to look to third was enough so that the throw to SS Brian Friday, covering second, was a second too late.  Montero made an awkward slide into second base and Friday's tag was late, and Montero was called safe (photos below).  As Friday looked at the umpire in protest, Montero, still off balance, rolled off the base -- if Friday had held the tag, Montero would have been out.  

  After a strikeout by 3B Brandon Laird, DH Jordan Parraz lined a 2-RBI single into center field, driving in both Montero and Maxwell.  2B Kevin Russo also walked, then RF Dan Brewer's RBI single plated Parraz.  Brewer tried to advance to second base on the throw in from Durham in right, but a quick throw by 3B Andy Marte to Friday this time let Friday tag out Brewer.  The Yankees had a 5-0 lead.

Pawtucket Red Sox  9,  Indianapolis Indians  2
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The Pawtucket Red Sox had enough of losing to the Indians, and enough of losing at home.  They had lost 8 of their last 9 home games, including the last 3 games to the Tribe.  So maybe it isn't so surprising that their frustration erupted into a 12-hit game, as they scored in all but two of their at-bats to beat the Indians 9-2 at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  

The Indians started the game on the right foot.  With two outs in the top of the 1st and rehabbing Bobby Jenks on the mound for Pawtucket, LF Alex Presley worked a walk, then stole second base.  He came around to score from second on a single up the middle by 3B Andy Marte (photo), who also stole second base.   That gave the Tribe a 1-0 lead.... and that was all the scoring they would do until the 9th inning.  

Brad Lincoln had the start for the Indians.  He began the bottom of the 1st by giving up a single to CF Che-Hsuan Lin, and he too stole second base.   A ground out moved Lin to third and 3B Hector Luna plated Lin with a line drive single into center field, tying the score at 1-1.  As seemed to be the trend, Luna stole second base too.

Unfortunately, the PawSox had their hitting shoes on.  They took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd, after Lincoln struck out the first two batters.  SS Brent Dlugach was hit by a pitch, and RF Ronald Bermudez doubled into right field.  Dlugach raced around from first base to score ahead of the errant relay throw from the cut-off man 2B Josh Harrison.  That gave the PawSox a 2-1 lead.  Lincoln gave up a single in the 3rd, but did not allow a run to score in that inning.  A double by 2B Tony Thomas and an RBI single by Bermudez added a run in the 4th.  Lincoln was attacked again in the 5th, with a double by Lin, an RBI single by LF Daniel Nava, bringing in Lin.  A fielding error by CF Gorkys Hernandez moved Nava to second, and he tagged up and advanced to third on a fly out.  Nava scored on a wild pitch by Lincoln, increasing the PawSox lead to 5-1.

Indianapolis Indians 9,  Pawtucket Red Sox  7
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3B Josh Harrison (photo) went 5-for-5 at the plate to lead the Indians in a come-from-behind win over the Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island tonight.  Harrison smacked two singles and three doubles, and contributed 2 RBI, as the the Indians scored 9 unanswered runs after trailing the PawSox 7-0.

Justin Wilson made the start for the Indians, but he lasted only two innings.  He was responsible for all 7 of Pawtucket's runs (6 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks, with no strikeouts.  Home runs were the beginning of the end for Wilson, who gave up 3 in his briefest start of the season.  

With two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Wilson gave up the first homer, a solo blast by DH Hector Luna.  The trouble really got going in the 2nd, when the first four batters reached base safely.  C Michael McKenry led off with another solo home run.  2B Tory Thomas singled, then  3B Brent Dlugach made the score 4-0 with a 2-run homer.  SS Jose Iglesias singled, and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by RF Matt Sheely.  Then Wilson walked three consecutive batters --  CF Che-Hsuan Lin on four pitches, LF Daniel Nava on a 3-2 count, and Luna on a 3-1 count.  Luna's walk forced in Iglesias.  A grounder to 1B Matt Hague might have been an inning-ending double play, and Luna was forced out at second, but Harrison's throw back to first was wild, allowing 1B Lars Anderson to reach first safely, and allowing Nava to score from third base.  The inning finally ended with a ground out by McKenry, but the PawSox had a 6-run inning, and led the Tribe 7-1.  

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  5,  Indinanapolis Indians  1
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The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees won their second game in less than 24 hours, to earn a series split with the Indianapolis Indians.  Today's game began at 10:35 am in Moosic, PA, and started on time, though a misty rain fell for a large part of the game.  For the second game in a row, the Yankees scored early, and for the second game in a row, the Indians were held to just one run.

Sean Gallagher (photo) suffered his 7th loss of the season.  The Indians' starter pitched 6 innings in this start.  He surrendered 3 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and a hit batter, with 4 strikeouts.  The first two Yankees' runs came in the bottom of the 1st.  With one out, SS Ramiro Pena singled through the hole and into left field.  A passed ball by C Wyatt Toregas let Pena move to second base.  Gallagher struck out the next batter, but then International League home run and RBI leader 1B Jorge Vazquez stepped to the plate and smacked a 2-run homer just in side the left field foul pole.  That increased his home run count to 17 and his RBI total to 43, and gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Gallagher settled into a rhythm after the 1st inning.  He scattered 2 singles, a walk, and a hit batter over the next 4 innings, and kept all those base runners from scoring.  The Yankees did score another run off Gallagher in the 6th.  Vazquez began the rally with a walk.  A wild pitch by Gallagher moved him to second base, and LF Justin Maxwell's single lined into left field advanced him to third.  3B Brandon Laird collected the RBI when his sacrifice fly plated Vazquez.  




Meanwhile, Yankees' starter Adam Warren was having a pretty easy time with the Tribe batters.  DH Dusty Brown was the only Indians' batter to reach base in the first three innings -- he singled to lead off the 3rd, but was left on base.  The Indians scored their only run against Warren and the Yankees in the 4th.  CF Gorkys Hernandez (photo) led off with a single lined along the right field line, then stole second base, sliding in ahead of a late throw from the Yankees' catcher.  After a strikeout by LF Alex Presley, RF John Bowker grounded toward second base, where the ball skipped off the glove of 2B Kevin Russo for a single.  Hernandez advanced to third base, then scored on 1B Matt Hague's sacrifice fly.  Hernandez crossed the plate standing when the CF Austin Krum's throw to the plate was a little short.

That was the Tribe's only run.  Warren walked Brown to lead off the top of the 5th, but then retired the next 12 batters he faced, taking him through the 8th inning.  

Chase d'Arnaud slid in safely at third with a stolen base.
















Columbus Clippers  5,  Indianapolis Indians  2 
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The Indians and Clippers finally got some sunshine to play under, but the change in weather also brought a change in fortune.  The Indians' 4-game winning streak and the Clippers 4-game losing streak both came to an end, as the Clippers avoided being swept in this 4-game series at Victory Field.  


The Indians were held to just 4 hits, and half of them came off the bat of SS Chase d'Arnaud.  The Tribe batters were not able to take advantage of 3 walks either.  D'Arnaud opened the bottom of the 1st with his first hit, a cracked-bat bloop that fell in behind second base where none of the Clippers' fielders could get to it.  D'Arnaud stole second, coming in easily under a very high throw from former Indy Indian, C Luke Carlin (photo).  2B Brian Friday popped up to second base, then LF Alex Presley walked.  With RF John Bowker at the plate, d'Arnaud and Presley pulled off a double steal, to put both runners into scoring position.  Bowker hit a dribbly little "oops" ball to the left and in front of the mound, but with d'Arnaud off and running on the pitch, by the time Columbus starter Corey Kluber got to the ball, he had no play on d'Arnaud at the plate.  Bowker was out at first, but with an RBI, and the Indians had a 1-0 lead.  1B Matt Hague walked, and the Indians again had runners on the corners, but 3B Josh Harrison struck out to end the inning.  





Tribe starter Brian Burres (photo) retired the Clippers in order in the top of the 1st, but got into a little jam in the 2nd.  With one out, Burres gave up a single to DH Jason Kipnis.  Kipnis's grounder glanced off the end of d'Arnaud's glove as he stretched to make the play, and the ball ended up in center field.  Burres struck out LF Jerad Head next.  Kipnis stole second base, then 1B Wes Hodges worked a walk, to put runners on first and second base.  C Jason Jaramillo ended the inning for Burres with a throw down to first base.  Hodges was so far off the base, that the throw from Jaramillo beat him by a mile (ok, by 6 feet), and Hodges didn't even bother to slide.  

The Clippers tied the score in the top of the 3rd.  Burres got one out, then worked the count full on SS Luis Valbuena before walking him.  CF Ezequiel Carrera grounded slowly to first base, where Hague was able to make the scoop and step on the bag, but Valbuena was already sliding in to second base.  Valbuena came around to score from second base on 2B Cord Phelps' grounder down the first base line, just out of reach of Hague, who tried a dive to his left but could only tick the ball as it zipped past.  

Indianapolis Indians  9,  Durham Bulls  6
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Starter Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 7 innings of one-hit, shutout ball, to earn his third win of the season for the Indians at Durham Bulls' Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.  Wilson did not allow a hit until the 7th inning, when former Indy Indian 2B JJ Furmaniak singled on a line drive off the glove of Tribe 2B Pedro Ciriaco.  While Wilson held the Bulls to just one hit, he put 5 Bulls on base with walks, and had to work around a fielding error by Ciriaco.

Wilson walked LF Justin Ruggiano in the 1st inning, but erased him with a double play.  He walked Furmaniak in the 2nd inning and RF Desmond Jennings in the 3rd, but left both on base.  The southpaw did retire the side in order in the 4th and 6th innings.  He walked both 1B Russ Canzler and C Robinson Chirinos in the 5th, but an unsual play helped him out -- SS Ray Olmedo grounded to short, where SS Chase d'Arnaud made the pickup and flipped the ball to 2B Ciriaco covering the bag.  But the ball hit Ciriaco's glove and bounced off, going all the way back to d'Arnaud, who still had time to step on the bag and force out Chirinos for the second out of the inning.  That left runners on the corners, but Wilson got a strikeout to end the inning.

After the game, Wilson admitted that he felt "a little shaky" in the first inning, but then settled in and "felt comfortable later as I was able to get in the strike zone more and attack guys.... My plan for the whole night was to get in the strike zone early and make them swing at my pitch, and get ground balls."  Wilson credited his catcher Dusty Brown for calling a great game, and also had props for his defense behind him.  1B Matt Hague made an unassisted double play in the 1st inning on a line drive by CF Brandon Guyer, doubling Ruggiano off the bag.  In the 3rd, Ruggiano chopped a ball down the first base line and bounced it off the edge of the first base bag.  Luckily for Wilson and the Indians, the ball ricocheted into the infield, back down along the first base line, where Hague could pick it up and make the easy tag out.  D'Arnaud made a leaping stab on a line drive by Furmaniak in the 5th inning, saving a hit.  

Indianapolis Indians  7,  Durham Bulls  5
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Home runs by RF John Bowker and DH Andrew Lambo and a triple by LF Corey Wimberly gave the Indians the offense they needed to power past the Bulls tonight.  The game was played at the old Durham Athletic Park, which is the original stadium in Durham -- the one where the old A-level team played, and where the movie "Bull Durham" was filmed.  Last season, the Bulls played one game at the old stadium, which sits about 5 blocks from their "new" stadium, Durham Bulls Athletic Park.  Everyone must have had fun, because they decided to do it again this year, and this time the Indians were the visitors who got to participate.  It was a bit awkward for the players -- they had to change clothes and do batting practice at the new stadium, then take a bus to the old stadium for the game.  After the game, they rode back to the new facility to shower up and change clothes again.  Lambo said that the players had fun at the old park, even though the dugout was a little cramped.  The teams wore "retro" uniforms for the game.

Jose Ascanio (photo) made a one-inning start for the Indians, throwing 31 pitches (20 strikes) and giving up 2 runs.  Ascanio began the inning by allowing a single to SS Ray Olmedo.  CF Justin Ruggiano reached base on a fielding error by 3B Josh Harrison.  A wild pitch by Ascanio let both runners move up a base, then a walk to LF Brandon Guyer loaded the bases with no outs.  Ascanio got a strikeout, but then RF Chris Carter lined a double into right field, bringing in both Olmedo and Ruggiano to score.  Another strikeout and a ground out got Ascanio out of the inning, though with the Indians trailing 2-0.   

Norfolk Tides  8,  Indianapolis Indians  2
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Yesterday the Indians blasted 3 home runs in their win over the Tides.  Today the Tides returned the favor, with 3 home runs off the Indians' pitchers, accounted for all but one of their 8 runs, to tie the series at 1 game each at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia.  

The Indians put runners on base in both the 1st and 2nd innings.  2B Chase d'Arnaud opened the game with a line drive single into left field, but he was erased when SS Pedro Ciriaco bounced into a double play.  1B Matt Hague led off the 2nd inning with another liner into left field.  He advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and moved to third on C Jason Jaramillo's ground out, but a pair of strikeouts left Hague on third.  

3B Brian Friday (photo) began the Indians' third inning in a row with a lead-off single, this time lining into center field.  CF Gorkys Hernandez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Friday to second base.  Next up was d'Arnaud, who lifted a long fly ball to center field.  The Tides' CF Matt Angle had trouble finding the ball at first, losing it in the hazy lights.  D'Arnaud, thinking that Angle was not going to find the ball, put his head down, rounded first, and headed for second. Friday held up part way to third, in case the ball was caught.  Angle caught sight of the ball at the last second, raced in and made a desperate lunging catch.  As Friday was scrambling back to second base with a head-first dive, d'Arnaud also was diving head-first into second base.  D'Arnaud crashed into Friday's upper body, knocking him completely off the bag with a roll.  Luckily, the throw back from center field was not right to the second base bag -- and luckily, d'Arnaud did not slide in spikes-first.  Friday quickly rolled back to touch the second base bag, and was still safe at second.  About then, d'Arnaud figured out that his fly ball had been caught and he was out, and he trotted off the field.  Moments later, Friday raced around to score on Ciriaco's RBI single up the third base line.  Ciriaco stole second base (his 7th steal of the season), then LF Alex Presley reached base when his grounder slipped under the glove of Tides' 1B Brandon Snyder.  The ball shot into right field, and though C John Hester plunked himself down in front of the plate to block Ciriaco, the throw in from RF Blake Davis came in up the third base line.  Hester had to go chase after the ball, letting Ciriaco score.  The ball ended up in the dugout, for an error on Davis, and Presley was awarded third base on that error.  He was left on third, though, when Hague struck out to end the rally.  

The Indians won game one of today's double header.






All the rain that was in Central Indiana yesterday moved east today.
The Altoona Curve hosting the Akron Aeros were rained out today.  That game will be made up on Saturday May 21st.
The West Virginia Power hosting the Greensboro Grasshoppers were also rained out.  No make-up date has been announced yet.  
The Bradenton Marauders had a scheduled day off today.  They are going to play their next two "home" games against the St. Lucie Mets in Port Charlotte (Charlotte Sports Park), on Wednesday and Thursday, due to roof repairs at McKechnie Field.   

Indianapolis Indians  5,  Durham Bulls  2
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The Indianapolis Indians and the Durham Bulls split today's double-header at Victory Field.  The first game began at 11 am, with buses full of school kids present, under dark and dreary skies.  As the first game wrapped up, the sun came out, and by the middle of the second game, there were sunny skies and happy clouds.

LF Alex Presley (photo) began the game on a sunny note for the Indians.  With two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Presley blasted a solo home run over the right field wall at the 362' mark, into a group of lucky school kids.  

Starter Brad Lincoln buzzed through the first two innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 2 batters.  With one out in the top of the 3rd, Lincoln ran the count full then walked Bulls' SS Ray Olmedo.  CF Desmond Jennings slipped a ground ball through the right side of the infield for a single, moving Olmedo to second base.  RF Justin Ruggiano crushed a long ball off the top of the wall in the deepest part of the park, just inches from being a home run.  The ball ricocheted off the wall, driving in both Olmedo and Jennings, as Ruggiano slid safely into third base.  The Bulls had taken the lead, 2-1.  

The Tribe answered right away with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame.  2B Brian Friday led off with a bloop single into short left field.  CF Gorkys Hernandez bunted Friday to second base, and DH Corey Wimberly followed by dropping another bloopy hit into the space behind third base, out of the reach of any of the Bulls.  Friday scrambled around to score from second base, tying the score.  Wimberly promptly stole second base.  After a pop out, Presley grounded through the left side of the infield, sending Wimberly around to score.  The throw in from left field was not in time to get the speedy Wimberly at the plate, but Bulls' C Robinson Chirinos alertly threw down to first base, where he caught Presley in the middle of nowhere -- too far from first to get back before the throw, and too far from second base to get there either.  Presley was out in the run-down (photo), ending the inning.  

Toledo Mud Hens  7,  Indianapolis Indians 1
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The Indianpolis Indians struggled in the cold and the fog tonight at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, as they lost to the Mud Hens, earning a split of the 4-game series.  Starter Rudy Owens (photo) suffered his first loss of the season, after having won his first two starts.  

The Mud Hens attacked Owens as soon as they came to the plate in the bottom of the 1st.  CF Andy Dirks led off with a grounder to first.  Tribe 1B Matt Hague made a diving stop, but he had to wait for Owens to move to first, and by the time Owens got there, Dirks was safe.  After a strikeout, LF Timo Perez and 1B Ryan Striekby both singled, and Dirks came in to score.  A sacrifice fly by RF Clete Thomas brought in Perez, and the Mud Hens had a 2-0 lead.  

Owens put the Mud Hens down in order in the 2nd, and that was the only inning in which he did that.  Toledo picked up another run in the 3rd, when Perez singled to the right side of the mound, just out of reach of Owens.  Strieby doubled over RF Andrew Lambo's head and off the wall, and by the time Lambo was able to chase down the ricochet, Perez had scored easily.  The bottom of the 4th began with a triple by DH Danny Worth.  That ball also hit the wall over CF Alex Presley's head, and the throw came back in to the infield, but was cut off by 2B Brian Friday, as Worth slid into third.  Owens threw a wild pitch, and Worth scored easily.  Owens gave up a double to Perez (his third hit of the game) in the 5th, and walked Strieby, but kept them from scoring.  Owens finished up with 5 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts.  He threw 87 pitches, of which 59 were strikes.

Toledo Mud Hens  6,  Indianapolis Indians  0   (Game 1)
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The Indianapolis Indians began this double header on a down note, as they were held to just one hit at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.  

Mud Hens' starter Charlie Furbush dominated the Indians' batters through all 7 innings of this game.  He struck out 9 Tribe batters and did not walk any.  The only hit he allowed was by C Jason Jaramillo to lead off the top of the 3rd inning.  Jaramillo did not even reach second base -- he was forced out on a grounder by LF Corey Wimberly.  Wimberly was the only other Indian to reach base, when he was safe at first on a fielding error by 3B Danny Worth in the 6th.  

The Mud Hens got to Tribe starter Brad Lincoln early in the game.  In the bottom of the 1st, lead-off batter CF Andy Dirks began the inning with a double down the left field line.  2B Scott Sizemore was hit by a pitch, and LF Timo Perez moved both along one base with a sacrifice bunt.  DH Scott Thorman brought in Dirks with an RBI single, and 1B Ryan Strieby drove in both Sizemore and Thorman with an RBI double into center field.  

Lincoln retired the side in order in the 2nd inning, but the Mud Hens came back at him in the 3rd.  The inning began with back-to-back singles by Sizemore and Perez.  Lincoln struck out the next two batters, but both base runners stole the next base on the second strikeout.  RF Clete Thomas drove both in with a single up the middle.  Lincoln and the Indians had a bit of better luck, when Jaramillo threw out Thomas as he tried to steal second base, ending the inning.  Toledo picked up one more run in the 4th, with singles by 3B Danny Worth and C Max St. Pierre, then a sacrifice fly by Dirks.  

Lincoln also retired the side in the 5th, and that was all for him for the night.  He had allowed the 6 runs on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts.  He threw 86 pitches, with 60 strikes.  Cesar Valdez relieved Lincoln to begin the 6th inning.   He gave up a single to former Indy Indian SS Argenis Diaz in the 6th, but left him on base.  


Indians Hitting Gem of the Game: Well, there was only one hit to choose from -- Jason Jaramillo's (photo) single in the third inning.  

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game:  In the bottom of the 5th, Corey Wimberly made a diving catch of a line drive in left-center field, off the bat of Scott Thorman.  Both Wimberly and Alex Presley, who was in center field tonight, raced for the ball, but Wimberly cut in front of Presley and made the catch.