Tag: Chris Leroux
Tribe Rox PawSox With Wild Bottom Of The 9th
Josh Harrison's throw to Brian Friday at second base was not in time to beat Pawtucket base runner Ryan Lavarnway.
Indianapolis Indians 6, Pawtucket Red Sox 5
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The Indianapolis Indians took advantage of a wild Pawtucket pitcher to score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off win at Victory Field tonight. The Indians were sporting camouflage jerseys tonight in honor of the Indianapolis National Guard. The jerseys were auctioned off during the game with the proceeds going toward the National Guard's fund that assists families of soldiers serving overseas. 
The game began ominously for starter Garrett Olson (photo) and the Indians. Since coming off the Disabled List earlier this month, Olson had made 3 other starts and had pitched brilliantly. He had allowed one run on 3 hits over 14.1 innings, and on June 14th, he pitched 5 hitless and scoreless innings, allowing just one walk. But tonight, the first 5 batters Olson faced reached base safely, and the PawSox scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st. Lead-off batter 2B Yamaico Navarro slapped Olson's first pitch into left field for a line drive. 3B Brent Dlugach followed with an instant replay -- another line drive to the same place in left field. Olson got a full count on LF Daniel Nava, then lost him to a walk, loading the bases with no outs. 1B Hector Luna slipped a grounder through the left side of the infield for an RBI single, bringing in Navarro from third. C Ryan Lavarnway took a slow grounder to short, where Tribe SS Brian Friday made the scoop and threw to 2B Josh Harrison for the force out on Luna, but Harrison's relay throw to first was not in time to get the double play -- the grounder had been too slow. That allowed Dlugach to score from third, an since it was not a double play, Lavarnway was credited with the RBI. RF Nate Spears also picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Nava. But the equally important part of Spears' at-bat was that Spears ran the count full, and continued to foul off more pitches. It took Olson 10 pitches to retire Spears, and by this point in the inning, Olson's pitch count was climbing at an alarming rate. Following Spears' sacrifice fly, Olson gave up another infield single to DH Luis Esposito. Harrison raced to make the stop deep behind the second base bag and tried to flip it to Friday covering second, but was not in time (photo above). SS Jose Iglesias also worked a full count and fouled off another four pitches before finally swinging at strike three to end the inning. The PawSox had scored 3 runs before the Indians had even picked up a bat, and Olson had thrown 39 pitches in the first inning.
Hague’s Homers Power Indians
Indianapolis Indians 5, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3
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A sudden storm drove the Indians and the Iron Pigs from the field with one out and two runners on base in the bottom of the 9th at Coca Cola Park in Allentown, PA tonight. The tarp was pulled as the rain came down harder and harder, and after the game was in a delay, the storm continued to increase in intensity.
RF Alex Presley (photo) continued his hitting dominance with 4 hits in the game, and 1B Matt Hague gave the Indians a big boost with two home runs. The first homer, a high fly over the left field wall, got the game started in the top of the 1st. With one out in the top of the 3rd, Presley and SS Brian Friday hit back-to-back infield singles right back to Iron Pigs' starting pitcher Ryan Feierabend. Hague followed with his second homer, a 3-run shot into the bullpen behind left field, to give the Indians a 4-0 lead.
Tribe starter Brian Burres pitched into the 6th inning. He gave up a 2-out single to CF John Mayberry in the 1st, a 2-out walk to 1B Cody Overbeck in the 2nd, and a 2-out double to 2B Josh Barfield in the 3rd, but each time kept the Iron Pigs scoreless. Barfield's double hit the top of the left field wall and bounced in, but away from Tribe LF Miles Durham. The Pigs cut the Indians lead in half in the 4th. Former Indian LF Brandon Moss led off with a single, then after two outs, Overbeck lifted a rising line drive over the left field wall, well over Durham's desperate leap. Indians ahead, 4-2.
FIve Tribe Pitchers Combine For Shutout
Indianapolis Indians 2, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 0
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Five Indians' pitchers combined to shut-out the Iron Pigs at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA this evening. The Pigs were held to just 4 hits, while the Indians posted 6 hits.
Starter Sean Gallagher (photo) earned his 2nd win of the season, pitching 5 scoreless innings and allowing 2 hits and 4 walks, with 5 strikeouts. Gallagher retired the Pigs in order in the 1st inning, then had to battle with runners on base in each of the next four innings. With two outs in the 2nd inning, Gallagher walked former Indy Indian C Erik Kratz and hit former Indy Indiana 1B Tagg Bozied with a pitch. He walked SS Brian Bocock to load the bases, then struck out Pigs' starter (and another former Indy Indian) Brian Bass to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.
The 3rd inning looked like an instant replay. With two outs, Gallagher again loaded the bases. He gave up a single by CF John Mayberry, who also stole second, and a walk to former Indian LF Brandon Moss. He struck out RF Delwyn Young, but strike three was a wild pitch, and Young made it safely to first base. This time it was Kratz who struck out to end the inning and leave the bases full.
Three of the Indians' six hits came off the bat of 1B Matt Hague. CF Gorkys Hernandez had 2 hits, and 2B Brian Friday had the last Tribe hit. Hernandez's first hit was a line drive single into left field to begin the 3rd inning. Gallagher dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Hernandez to second base, and when he saw that none of the Pigs were covering third base, Hernandez took off and reached third safely. "Gallagher put down a pretty good bunt, and when I got to second, I saw the third baseman was off the base. I said if I can take another base, I help my team," said Hernandez after the game. It was a help, because after SS Chase d'Arnaud walked, Friday singled, and Hernandez scored from third. LF Alex Presley grounded to first, moving the runners to second and third bases. RF John Bowker walked, loading the bases. This time it was the Indians who left the bases loaded, though, as a fly out ended the inning, but with the Indians ahead 1-0.
Tribe And Braves Take Duel To The 9th
Corey Wimberly got back to first base safely this time... but was picked off moments later.
Gwinnett Braves 4, Indianapolis Indians 0
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Another pitching duel erupted at Victory Field tonight, as the Indianapolis Indians and the Gwinnett Braves battled it out over a scoreless tie for 8 innings. The loss dropped the Indians to below the .500 mark as they finish this home stand. The Indians and the Braves split this 4 game series, two games each.
Tribe starter Garrett Olson pitched 5 hitless and scoreless innings but did not figure into the decision. He allowed one base runner over those innings. Braves SS Julio Lugo worked the count full then took a walk in the top of the 1st. After Olson struck out rehabbing Atlanta Brave outfielder Jason Heyward (photo, not looking too pleased), he got 1B Mauro Gomez to ground to short to force out Julio at second base. Olson retired the next 12 batters in order, including 4 more strikeouts. He got some help from his fielders. In the 5th inning, 3B Dan Nelson took a long fly ball into deep right field. Alex Presley, playing right field for the second day in a row, headed back for the wall. He turned one way, then the other, and finally made the over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track for the second out of the inning. That play was followed by a nice play by SS Brian Friday on a sharp grounder off the bat of 2B Ed Lucas. Friday went to his right for a back-hand catch, then fired over to 1B Matt Hague to end the inning.
Olson was relieved by Chris Leroux after 5 innings. Olson was on a 50 pitch count for his last start on June 8th -- due to working in relief in the earlier part of the season, and also having been on the Disabled List. So, even though he was pitching a no-hitter, Olson's outing was cut short after 66 pitches (44 strikes). Leroux continued the no-hitter with a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th.
Marte Goes 3-For-3 As Indians Top .500
Kris Watts' first AAA hit is a triple, as he slides in ahead of the tag.
Indianapolis Indians 4, Gwinnett Braves 3
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The Indianapolis Indians took a step above the .500 level today, with a win over the Gwinnett Braves this afternoon at Victory Field. Starter Justin Wilson made his 13th start of the season and earned his 8th win, but had to work around a lot of base runners to do it. 3B Andy Marte, just back in the line-up after a hamstring injury, went 3-for-3 at the plate, and sparked the Tribe's key rally in the 6th inning.
The Indians jumped out to an early lead with 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st. With two outs, CF Alex Presley (photo), who leads the International League in hits, got hit #83 on a line drive into short center field. He stole second base, then a walk to LF John Bowker gave the Indians runners on first and second bases. 1B Matt Hague grounded to short, where Braves' SS Julio Lugo could not get the ball out of his glove fast enough to throw anyone out. That loaded the bases for Marte, who took a 3-1 pitch into right field for a single. Presley and Bowker scored easily, and as RF Stefan Gartrell made the throw in to the plate, Hague also rounded third and was sent home. Hague slid in to the plate, but by then C Wilkin Castillo had the ball and was planted in front of the plate -- Hague was tagged out at home to end the inning. Indians up, 2-0.
With one out in the 2nd inning, the newest member of the Tribe, C Kris Watts, who made his first AAA start today, also picked up his first AAA hit -- a triple into right field. Gartrell made a dive for the ball, but missed, and the ball bounced all the way to the right field wall, as Watts raced around second and slid into third base (photo above). A walk to SS Chase d'Arnaud gave the Indians runners on the corners, but a ground out at second base ended the inning. The Tribe had only one hit over the next two innings, and that was Marte's second hit of the game, a double to center field to lead off the bottom of the 4th. Braves' CF Jose Constanza ran all the way back to the wall, where he made a leap for a catch. But the catch threw him into the outfield wall, and that jarred the ball out of his glove. The umpires ruled that it was not a catch, and Marte reached second base. He was stranded there, though, as Braves' starter Erik Cordier retired the next three batters on fly outs.
Tribe Run Down Bison Again; Hughes’ AAA Debut
Indianapolis Indians 12, Buffalo Bison 6
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The Indians and the Bison held a hit-fest at Coca-Cola Park in Buffalo, NY tonight, with the two teams combining for 30 hits (16 for the Indians and 14 for the Bison). The Tribe made the better use of their hits, though, and with three 3-run innings, the Tribe came out on top. SS Chase d'Arnaud went 4-for-5 with a homer and 5 RBI, and RF Miles Durham went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Rudy Owens (photo) earned his 6th win of the season, with 3 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks.
The Tribe got onto the scoreboard first, with 3 runs in the top of the 2nd innning. With one out, C Eric Fryer walked, then after a second out, Owens also walked. That brought up d'Arnaud, who rocketed a rising line drive over the right-center field wall to give the Indians a 3-0 lead.
Owens got through the first inning allowing only a double by 1B Valentino Pascucci. He gave the Bison back a run in the 2nd inning. A single by 3B Zach Lutz, a walk to LF Jason Botts, and a single by C Mike Nickeas loaded the bases. CF Jesus Feliciano brought in Lutz with a sacrifice fly, to cut the Indians' lead to 3-1. A sacrifice bunt by Buffalo starter Mark Cohoon was fielded by Owens, but the throw to first pulled 2B Brian Friday, who was covering, off the bag. Cohoon was credited with a sacrifice, and Owens was charged with an error. But with the bases loaded again, Owens got 2B Michael Fisher to fly out to left field. LF Alex Presley made the catch, then fired the ball in to the plate, where Fryer made the catch and held on to tag out Botts as he tried to tag up and score. The outfield assist saved at least one run, and possibly more, if the inning had continued. Durham also made an outfield assist in the 3rd inning. SS Luis Hernandez walked, then Pascucci lined into right field. Hernandez tried to go from first to third on the play, but Durham fired in to third base, where 3B Matt Hague mad the tag out.
Indians’ Pitchers First Shut-Out Of The Season
Indianapolis Indians 1, Buffalo Bison 0
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Four Indians pitchers combined to shut out the Bison at Coca Cola Park in Buffalo, NY -- the first time this season the Tribe has shut out their opponents. The four horsemen held the Bison to just 5 hits, and that was one more hit than the Tribe batters managed. After 7 scoreless innings, the Indians scored the only run of the game in the 8th.
The pitching duel began with Garrett Olson (photo) on the mound. Brad Lincoln had been scheduled to make the start today, but muscle strain in his neck, present for a couple of days now, forced him to miss his start. The possibility that today's game might have to be a bullpen game was part of the reason that manager Dean Treanor had Chris Leroux make another long (4 inning) relief appearance yesterday. Olson, just off the Disabled List, was able to step in for the emergency start, though it was stated in advance that he would be on a limit of about 50 pitches. Former Pirate DJ Carrasco made the start for Buffalo.
Olson gave up just two hits, both doubles to Bison 1B Lucas Duda. One double came in the 1st, with the line drive off the right field wall. The second double, in the 4th, slipped past the diving 1B John Bowker. The throw back in from RF Andrew Lambo nearly got Duda out at second, but it came in a little too far to the infield side of the second base bag. Both times Duda was left standing on second. Olson also walked 3B Michael Fisher in the 2nd inning, but erased him with a 6-4-3 (SS Chase d'Arnaud to 2B Shelby Ford to 1B Bowker) double play. He struck out 3 Buffalo batters, and threw 45 pitches (29 strikes).
The Indians also had three base runners in the early part of the game -- one in each of the first three innings -- but no hits. LF Alex Presley was hit on the right foot by a pitch in the 1st inning. C Eric Fryer walked with two outs in the 2nd and stole second base. Ford reached on a fielding error by Buffalo 2B Luis Hernandez in the 3rd inning. They too were all left on base.
Indians Stampede Bison
Indianapolis Indians 13, Buffalo Bison 4
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The Indianapolis Indians exploded for two big innings, as they stampeded the Buffalo Bison at Coca-Cola Park in Buffalo, NY tonight. The Tribe took advantage of 3 physical errors, plus several mental errors by the Bison, and scored their 13 runs on only 10 hits, leaving only 2 runners on base. 
Buffalo starter Josh Stinson faced the Indians on May 17th here in Indianapolis, and he did not have a good outing. He allowed 4 runs in the 1st inning, one in the 3rd, and 3 more in the 5th inning, as the Indians won the game 10-1, posting 16 hits. In that game, Stinson lasted 4.2 innings before being relieved.
Tonight, the Indians were even less kind to Stinson. He got through the 1st inning unscathed, allowing a single up the middle by SS Chase d'Arnaud, then removed d'Arnaud from the bases with a double play. It was in the 2nd inning that the wheels fell off for Stinson. 1B John Bowker began the fun with a double through into right field. 3B Matt Hague reached base safely when 1B Valentino Pascucci could not handle a low throw to first base, and Bowker moved to third base. RF Andrew Lambo bounced to Pascucci, who wanted to throw to the plate, but Pascucci hesitated and got himself set before making the throw. The hesitation was just enough to let Bowker slide into the plate ahead of the throw, for the Indians' first run. That left Hague and Lambo on base, and brought up C Eric Fryer. Fryer (photo) made it a 4-0 game when he took the first pitch he saw over the left field wall on a no-doubt-about-it 3-run homer.
CF Gorkys Hernandez followed the homer with a smash off the wall in the right-center gap, and raced all the way to third base, credited with a triple, when the Bison CF Fernando Martinez had trouble hitting his cut-off man on the throw in. Tribe starter Justin Wilson hit his second RBI double of the season into left field, scoring Hernandez easily. A wild pitch put Wilson on third base, and a walk to d'Arnaud gave the Indians runners on the corners. D'Arnaud stole second base on strike three when 2B Brian Friday struck out. LF Alex Presley walked to load the bases. That brought up Bowker again, and Bowker's second double of the inning, going into the left-center field gap, cleared the bases to give the Indians an 8-0 lead. That sent Stinson to the showers. Reliever Brian Sweeney got Hague to pop out, then former Indy Indian C Raul Chavez picked Bowker off second base to end the inning.
Grand Slam Gives Chiefs The Restart; Homers For Fryer And Durham In 2nd Game
The Indians lost the suspended game, but won the regularly scheduled game.
Syracuse Chiefs 6, Indianapolis Indians 4 (completion of suspended game)
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When we last left our heroes, trying to escape the pouring rain....
The Indians/Chiefs game was suspended after a 1 hour 44 minute wait last night. Tribe starter Sean Gallagher had given up a run in the top of the 1st, then the Indians took the lead in the 3rd on a single by CF Gorkys Hernandez, a triple by SS Chase d'Arnaud, and an error by the Syracuse 2B Tug Hulett. Syracuse tied the score in the top of the 6th on a solo homer by Hulett of reliever Chris Leroux. The top of the 7th began with Leroux still on the mound. He gave up a single and a sacrifice bunt, then was relieved by Justin Thomas. With the rain pouring down and the ball wet and slippery, Thomas hit both LF Gregor Blanco and CF Corey Brown with pitches to load the bases. Play was halted ...
The game restarted this afternoon at Victory Field, under overcast skies, with sprinkling rain that did not last long. Cesar Valdez (photo) took the mound for the Indians, with two outs and the bases loaded. 1B Chris Marrero stepped to the plate, and rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall, to give Syracuse a 6-2 lead.
The Tribe got two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. Andrew Lambo, who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Gallagher and remained in the game in right field, opened the inning with a double into right field. After d'Arnaud struck out, 2B Brian Friday hit another double, just inside the first base bag and down the right field line, scoring Lambo. John Bowker, who had taken over left field at the restart, flied out. 3B Andy Marte blooped an RBI single into left field, bringing Friday around from second base to score. 1B Matt Hague also singled, and pinch-hitter Shelby Ford walked on four pitches to load the bases, but C Eric Fryer struck out on a checked swing, to end the rally.
Dan Meyer pitched the last two innings for the Indians. He struck out the first two batters in the 8th, then gve up a single to SS Matt Antonelli, then retired the next 4 Chiefs in order.
The Indians managed only one base runner over the last two innings -- Hernandez led off the bottom of the 8th with a double to the center field wall. The remaining 6 Tribe batters went down in order, and the Chiefs had the win.
Rain Suspends Indians And Chiefs
Butler University's Blue II chases down the first pitch.
Indianapolis Indians 2, Syracuse Chiefs 2 (suspended)
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A storm moving through Central Indiana tonight forced the suspension of the Indians/Chiefs game at Victory Field, with the score tied at 2-2 in the 7th inning. The game began under sunny skies with a game-time temperature of 92 degrees (though my car thermometer was reading 100 degrees at about 4 pm). But in the 4th inning, the wind suddenly changed from blowing out to right-center field to blowing straight in from left field (from the north). Dark clouds hovered over downtown Indianapolis, and lightning was visible in the distance to the north. The skies got darker and darker, and the wind blew more and more, until the rain began in the 6th inning. It was just a light rain at first, but by the top of the 7th, large drops were falling and coming down heavily, and the game was suspended, to be finished on Sunday afternoon.
Sean Gallagher (photo, making a throw to first base) made the start for the Indians, and had a shaky 1st inning. Chiefs' LF Gregor Blanco led off with a soft liner into left field for a single, and he advanced to second base when Gallagher balked on a throw to first base. CF Corey Brown worked the count full then walked. 1B Chris Marrero lined another single into left field, allowing Blanco to score from second base, giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead. Gallagher retired the next three batters in order, with two strikeouts, leaving two Syracuse runners on base.
Gallagher went on to retire the side in the 2nd inning. He gave up a one-out single through the right side of the infield to Brown in the 3rd. A grounder by Marrero looked like it could be an inning-ending double play, and 2B Brian Friday flipped to SS Chase d'Arnaud for the force out on Brown, but d'Arnaud's throw on to first bounced in the dirt and got past 1B Matt Hague. C Eric Fryer was right where he was supposed to be, backing up first base, so the ball did not get far enough away for Marrero to advance past first base. Gallagher struck out 2B Tug Hulett for the second time to end the inning.
Two Bombs By Presley Lead Tribe Explosion
Alex Presley is congratulated after one of his two home runs.
Indianapolis Indians 13, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 2
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The Indianapolis Indians exploded for 13 runs on 15 hits to defeat the Yankees at Victory Field tonight, earning a split of both the 4-game series and the 8-game season series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. LF Alex Presley blasted a pair of 3-run home runs to lead the offense, as each member of the line-up collected at least one hit, and all but one scored at least one run. 
Both starting pitchers began their evening with struggles in the first inning. For Tribe starter Justin Wilson (photo), the game started with a triple off the bat of Yankees' 2B Kevin Russo. Russo's lined into right field, where RF Miles Durham raced in and made a feet-first slide, but missed the ball. By the time, Durham got up and chased the ball down, Russo was gliding into third base. SS Ramiro Pena dropped down a safety squeeze bunt, with Wilson scrambling off the mound to make the scoop and throw right back to C Eric Fryer as Russo came from third. Fryer blocked the plate, but he dropped the ball, and Russo was safe. It was first ruled a sacrifice bunt and a fielders' choice -- but then the ruling was changed to a missed catch error on Fryer, with no RBI for Pena.
With a runner still on first base, Wilson got C Jesus Montero to fly out and struck out 3B Jorge Vazquez. A wild pitch moved Pena to second base, then he scored on 1B Brandon Laird's single, lined over SS Chase d'Arnaud's head and into left field. Both runs were unearned, but the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.
But Yankees' starter Andrew Brackman was having his own troubles. His pitches were going everywhere, with no apparent control on his part. He walked lead-off batter d'Arnaud, with d'Arnaud ducking out of the way as one pitch came in a little too close to his head, and ball four going crazy wild all the way to the backstop. Another crazy wild pitch to 2B Brian Friday let d'Arnaud advance to second base. Brackman settled down enough to get Friday to fly out, then retired Presley on a high bouncer back to the mound, and struck out 1B John Bowker. When Brackman came out for the second inning, his command was even worse -- reminiscent of the "Wild Thing" character in the movie "Major League". Brackman walked both 3B Andy Marte and DH Matt Hague, with pitches going everywhere. After three more balls for a 3-1 count on Fryer, Brackman threw another wild one that hit Fryer on his helmet, then bounced off the helmet and into the stands behind the visitors' dugout. That was the last pitch for Brackman, who was quickly yanked.
Reliever Ryan Pope came on for the Yankees, with the bases full and no outs. RF Miles Durham cleared the bases on Pope's first pitch, with a ringing double to the base of the wall in right-center field, and the Indians took a 3-2 lead as Marte, Hague, and Fryer all scored (photo). Pope also gave up a single to CF Gorkys Hernandez and walked Friday before ending the inning on two fly outs.
Wilson was able to relax after that first inning. He gave up a two-out single to CF Austin Krum in the 2nd inning, but struck out Russo to end the inning. He loaded the bases in the 3rd inning with singles by Montero and RF Jordan Parraz and a walk to Vazquez. But with two outs and the bases loaded, Wilson reached deep, and fired two pitches at 92-93 mph to strike out LF Dan Brewer and end the inning. Wilson went on to pitch 3 more innings, without allowing another hit. He walked two batters in the 5th, but erased one base runner with an around-the-horn double play (Marte to Friday to Bowker, 5-4-3). Alex Presley made the final out of the inning with a spectacular leaping catch of Laird's fly ball to deep left field, snatching the ball at the top of the left field scoreboard.
