Tag: Gorkys Hernandez

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.  

Alex Presley was named the Indianapolis Indians' Player of the Month for April, and he was presented a watch by Indians' GM Cal Burleson before the game.











Durham Bulls  6,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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The Indianapolis Indians struggled again this afternoon, once again giving up runs in the top of the 1st inning, as they to the Durham Bulls at Victory Field.  The Tribe batters were held to just 4 hits, and managed only one run.  Starter Justin Wilson took the loss, though his work was not the only problem in the game.  While there were no errors charged to the Indians, there were mental and physical mistakes which made the difference in the game.

The game began with a grounder to deep short by Bulls' RF Desmond Jennings.  Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw to first (photo) was awkward and off-balance, and the throw bounced in the dirt and got past 1B Matt Hague.  CF Justin Ruggiano walked, moving Jennings to second base, then Wilson got a strikeout for the first out of the inning.  DH Chris Carter grounded up the middle, with the ball tipping off the glove of d'Arnaud, who had made an unsuccessful dive behind the second base bag.  Jennings scored from second base on the hit.  1B Russ Canzler followed with a fly ball into left field.  LF Corey Wimberly started coming in, then had to retrace his steps and race back toward the left field wall.  The ball sailed over his head and bounced off the wall, allowing Ruggiano to score the second run of the game.  One out later, 3B JJ Furmaniak lined a single into left field, and Canzler came in to score.  Wilson ended the inning with another strikeout, and the Bulls had a 3-0  lead.  

3B Brian Friday and 2B Chase d'Arnaud













Durham Bulls  12,  Indianapolis Indians  3
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For the second night in a row, the Indianapolis Indians struggled both at the plate and in the field, as they fell to the Durham Bulls in the first game of a 4-game series at Victory Field.  The Bulls posted 19 hits for 12 runs, in a game that seemed similar to last night's game against the Norfolk Tides.  They scored in all but three innings (same as the Tides last night), and had runners on base in every inning (as did the Tides).  In addition, the Bulls put the first runner on base in each of the first five innings, and in seven of nine innings.  

Sean Gallagher (photo) made the start tonight, and like yesterday, he had two batters reach base against him in the top of the 1st inning.  Gallagher hit the first batter, CF Desmond Jennings, with a pitch.  Jennings stole second base on the first pitch to LF Justin Ruggiano.  Then Ruggiano lined into left field, and Jennings came around to score.  An alert play by Tribe LF Alex Presley had the ball back in to the infield and to second base quickly, and Ruggiano was tagged out at second base by 2B Chase d'Arnaud.  

3B Russ Canzler began the 2nd inning with a looping single into right field, but after a pop up, Canzler was erased in a strike-out-throw-out double play.  Former Indy Indian 2B JJ Furmaniak led off the 3rd inning with a double into the right-center field alley, and after a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly by Jennings brought Furmaniak in to score, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead.  


The Bulls increased their lead to 4-0 in the 4th.  DH Chris Carter led off with a solo home run, which saw RF Andrew Lambo trying to climb up the padded right field wall (it never works) in a desperate attempt to grow 12 feet taller.  Gallagher walked Canzler after the homer, and two outs later, he hit Furmaniak with a pitch.  SS Ray Olmedo gr ounded sharply to first, and the ball dinged off 1B Andy Marte's glove for a single.  Canzler was off and running with the pitch, and he came around to score, even though d'Arnaud got to the ball quickly.  A ground out to third and an excellent scoop by 3B Brian Friday ended the inning.  

Pedro Ciriaco gets back to first base safely














Norfolk Tides  11,  Indianapolis Indians  3
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The Norfolk Tides swamped the Indians at Victory Field tonight, ending this 4-game series with a 2-2 tie.  Starter Brian Burres (photo) suffered his 4th loss of the season (no wins) and lasted just 4 innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts.

The Tides had base runners on in every inning, and they scored in 6 of the 9 innings.  Burres began the game with a strikeout, but things went downhill from there.  The second batter, 2B Ryan Adams lined a single into right field, and LF Nolan Reimold followed with a long home run over the left field wall, all the way to the sidewalk behind the grass berm.  Burres got a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning.  In the 2nd, the Tides made it 3-0 with SS Brendan Harris' solo home run, which landed in almost the same place as Reimold's.  

The Indians had a chance to return fire in the bottom of the 1st inning.  RF Corey Wimberly and SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with back-to-back line drive singles, one to right field and one to left.  It would have been a great opportunity to answer the Tides, but the next three batters could not move the runners along -- a fly out, a pop out, and a fly out, leaving Wimberly and d'Arnaud standing there.  

Brian Friday makes the play at third base.



Norfolk Tides  6,  Indianapolis Indians  0
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Three Norfolk pitchers combined to hold the Indians to just 3 hits in a shut-out game tonight at Victory Field.  Only the outfielders had hits --  LF Alex Presley and CF Gorkys Hernandez both singled and RF Andrew Lambo doubled.  Starter Rudy Owens was not able to contain the Tides' batters, and he suffered his second loss of the season.

The Tides' batters got to Owens (photo) in the top of the 1st.  CF Tyler Henson and 2B Ryan Adams led off with back-to-back singles into left field.  With runners on the corners, Owens struck out the next two batters, former Indy Indian SS Nick Green and 1B Brandon Snyder.  It looked like Owens might get out of the jam, but LF Nolan Reimold worked the count full, fouled off a couple more pitches, then ripped a double into left-center field.  LF Presley and CF Hernandez both raced toward the ball, and at the last possible second, Presley made a desperate dive -- but could not come up with the ball.  That drove in both base runners, to give the Tides a 2-0 lead.  

Owens pitched a scoreless 2nd inning, then gave up a solo home run to Snyder in the 3rd inning, increasing the Tides' lead to 3-0.  He retired the side in order in the 4th.  In the 5th, RF Blake Davis grounded sharply through the hole and into left field, but as he rounded first and headed for second, Davis was not counting on Presley in left field.  Presley came up throwing, and his throw to 2B Pedro Ciriaco was on-target and well ahead of Davis, who was out at second.  Adams also reached base when he grounded to first.  1B Matt Hague made a great diving stop, but when Owens arrived to cover the bag, he dropped Hague's toss for an error.  Adams was left on first when a fly out ended the inning.  

Celebrate the win!











Indianapolis Indians 7,  Norfolk Tides  6
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The Indianapolis Indians pulled out another come-from-behind win over the Norfolk Tides this afternoon at Victory Field, and once again the Max Schumacher Victory Bell rang out at the end of the game.  Justin Thomas earned his first win for the Indians, and Tim Wood earned his third save, while 1B Matt Hague (photo) went 3-for-4 at the plate.  Three Indians hit solo home runs:  Hague, LF Alex Presley, and C Dusty Brown.  

The game did not start out well for the Indians.  Lead-off batter 3B Josh Harrison opened the bottom of the 1st with a line drive single into left-center field, but as he took a few steps out of the batters' box, he began to limp.  He limped his way down to first base (ordinarily, he might have made it to second on this hit), then called for time out.  After a brief discussion with trainer Bryan Housand and manager Dean Treanor, Harrison came out of the game.  Chase d'Arnaud came in as a pinch runner, then stayed in the game to play second base, while Brian Friday moved from second over to third base.  There was no further word by the end of the game about Harrison's condition.

Unfortunately, before anything else could happen, d'Arnaud was picked off first base and caught stealing.  The reason that it was so unfortunate for the Indians was that one out later, Presley rocketed a home run over the right field wall for his third home run of the season.  It was a solo homer, but it could have been a 2-run homer.  Hague slapped a sharp grounder up the middle after the home run, but he was left on base.  

Jason Jaramillo is greeted by the teammates he drove in with his grand slam











Indianapolis Indians  8,  Norfolk Tides  5
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A grand slam by C Jason Jaramillo gave the Indians the spark they needed to turn the game around tonight at Victory Field, as the Indians came from behind to beat the Norfolk Tides. 

The game began on a good note for the Tribe.  For the first time in a home game this season, the Indians scored first.  They missed out on an opportunity in the 2nd inning, when 3B Josh Harrison lined a single into left field and Jaramillo lined a single into left-center, moving Harrison to third.  A pop up ended the inning, leaving the runners on the corners.  CF Gorkys Hernandez led off the 3rd inning with a grounder through the right side of the infield and into right field.  DH Corey Wimberly dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Hernandez to second base, and 2B Chase d'Arnaud's long fly out to right allowed Hernandez to advance to third base.  LF Alex Presley singled up the middle, just past the diving SS Nick Green (a former Indy Indian in 2007), and that drove in Hernandez to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  

Tribe starter Justin Wilson (photo) did his part by starting the game with three hitless innings.  He allowed just one walk over the first three innings.  But then things turned over the next two innings, as two Tribe errors resulted in 5 runs for the Tides.  Wilson began the 4th with a line out, but the next two batters reached base.   A four-pitch walk put Tides' 1B Brandon Snyder on base.  Then 3B John Bell bounced just over the reach of Wilson's glove, and toward the second base bag.  SS Pedro Ciriaco and 2B Chase d'Arnaud both charged toward the ball.  Ciriaco got to it, and tried to take an extra step to reach second base for the force out  -- but he was rushing, and he did not have a good hold on the ball.  The ball fell to the ground, and both runners were safe (photos below).  A pop out gave Wilson the second out of the inning, but kept the runners in place.  Then Green lined a double into left field, over the head of Presley, and off the wall.  That drove in both the runners, giving Norfolk a 2-1 lead.  2B Brendan Harris ran the count full, fouled off a couple more pitches, then took ball four, which brought pitching coach Tom Filer out to chat with Wilson and Jaramillo.  The talking didn't help much, as C Craig Tatum blooped an RBI single into the no-man's-land in short right field, bringing in Green to score.  RF Tyler Henson added another run with a sinking liner into left field.  Wilson struck out CF Matt Angle to end the inning, but 4 unearned runs had scored, and the Tides had a 4-1 lead. 

Photos:  On the left, the ball has just slipped out of Ciriaco's glove -- you can see it in front of d'Arnaud's left knee, below his glove.  On the right, the ball is on the ground, with the runner Snyder beginning his slide into second.

  

The Indianapolis Indians played a double header tonight against the Columbus Clippers in Columbus, to make up for Saturday's rain out -- and the Indians lost both games.

Columbus Clippers  6,  Indianapolis Indians  1    (Game 1)
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The first game, which began at 5 pm, saw the Indians jump out to a good start.  With two outs in the top of the 1st, LF Alex Presley lifted a home run over the right-center field wall to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  1B Matt Hague tried to keep the inning going with a single lined into left field following the homer, but he was left on base.   

Tribe starter Sean Gallagher (photo) could not hold on to that lead.  With one out in the bottom of the 1st,  Gallagher walked DH Cord Phelps and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall back-to-back, then loaded the bases with a single to LF Chad Huffman.  Another single, by 1B Travis Buck, drove in both Phelps and Chisenhall, then a slip by Presley in left field let Huffman move up to third base.  Gallagher caught a break when C Jason Jaramillo threw out Buck as he tried to steal second base, then Gallagher ended the inning with a strikeout.

Columbus increased the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the 2nd inning.  RF Jordan Brown led off with a double, and former Indy Indian C Luke Carlin walked.  Jaramillo tried to pick Brown off second base, but the throw bounced off SS Pedro Ciriaco's glove and into left-center field, putting Brown on third and Carlin on second.  SS Luis Valbuena ripped a double into the left-center field gap, driving in both Brown and Carlin, and the Clippers were ahead by 3 runs.  They added another run in the 3rd inning, on a walk and a stolen base by 2B Jason Kipnis, then a double into right field by Brown.  

Gallagher came out to begin the 4th inning, but after a walk and two strikeouts, Gallagher had thrown 98 pitches (54 strikes), and he was relieved by Tony Watson.   Watson finished the 4th with a fly out, but he gave up a solo homer to Huffman, the first batter in the 5th inning.  He also gave up a walk and a single in the 6th, but kept the Clippers from scoring in that inning.

Columbus Clippers  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4
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A big inning by the Clippers and too many missed opportunities by the Indians added up to another loss for the Tribe as the two teams opened a 3-game series at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.  Neither starting pitcher made it out of the 4th inning.  3B Josh Harrison (photo) had two hits for the Indians and came around to score twice.


The Indians got started with an unearned run in the top of the 1st.  With one out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled up the middle and LF Alex Presley singled into left field, sending d'Arnaud to third.  Presley stole second base, then 1B Matt Hague walked to load the bases.  DH Andy Marte grounded to short, where Columbus SS Cord Phelps had the ball pop out of his glove.  Everyone was safe on the error and d'Arnaud scored from third.  But the inning ended with a strikeout by C Dusty Brown, and all three runners were left on base.  Josh Harrison made it a 2-0 lead when he led off the top of the 2nd with a long and high blast into the left field bleachers.  

Brian Burres, in his fourth start of the season, zipped through the bottom of the 1st, thanks to a stunning play by Harrison at third.  His counterpart at third base, Lonnie Chisenhall, smacked a sharp grounder to third, where Harrison made the scoop, then made a throw across his body on the run, in time to nab Chisenhall at first.  Burres gave up a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd, to RF Travis Buck, followed by a double by Phelps, though Burres was able to work around the double and leave Phelps on base.    

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Toledo Mud Hens  2
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The Indianapolis Indians battled the blustery weather as well as the Toldeo Mud Hens in a late-morning school day start in Toledo today.  They earned the win, giving them a 3-1 record on the road so far this season.  

Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 6 scoreless innings in his third start of the season, to earn his first AAA win.  He gave up 2 hits, both in the 3rd inning.  RF Andy Dirks dropped a looper into short right field, just out of reach of the leaping Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud, then 2B Scott Sizemore put a sinking liner into right field, off the glove of RF Gorkys Hernandez.  Wilson left both on base with a fly out and a ground out.  Wilson also worked around two singles and a batter reaching on a fielding error by SS Pedro Ciriaco in the 2nd inning.  That was a wind-blown ball into short right field, with Ciriaco, 3B Josh Harrison, and LF Alex Presley all chasing after it.  Ciriaco tried to make a last-second twisting over-the-shoulder catch and missed.  Wilson threw 97 pitches with 62 strikes in his 6 innings.

The gusty wind helped the Indians as well as hurt them.  In the top of the 2nd, DH Andy Marte lifted the first pitch he saw into the wind, which took it over the left field wall for a solo home run.  Marte nearly had another home run in the 5th inning, but that time his fly to left field was just short, and was caught at the wall.  

The Tribe had only one hit over the next three innings -- a double by Harrison in the 5th, when the wind did the same thing to the Mud Hens that it had done to Ciriaco and the Indians in the 3rd.  Harrison's high pop got caught in the wind, and with the infielders running out and the outfielders running in, the ball fell in just out of reach of SS Cale Iorg.  In both instances, the outfielders might have had a better chance at running in to make the catch, but instead they let their shortstops take over.  Harrison made a quick steal of third base, but he was left stranded when Hernandez struck out.  

Brian Burress pitched 7 shutout innings and struck out 8 in today's start.












Louisville Bats  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4
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A two-run home run by Bats' RF Brian Barton in the bottom of the 13th gave the Bats the win over the Indians, on a long sunny afternoon in Louisville today.  Tony Watson had come on in relief to begin the 13th, and after two quick outs, he was one out away from ending the game, when he gave up a single to 2B Kris Negron.  That was followed by the long blast over the left-center field wall.  

Brian Burres made the start for the Indians, facing off against the Cincinnati Reds' Homer Bailey, who was making a rehab start.  It was a pitching duel, and though Burres looked better than Bailey, neither one of them allowed a run.  Burres gave up two singles to open the bottom of the 1st, then struck out the next three batters to get out of the inning.  He gave up a single in the 2nd, but struck out two of the other three batters he faced.  Then Burres struck out the Bats in order for the next 4 innings -- 14 consecutive batters retired.  With one out in the 7th, Burres gave up the Bats' 4th hit, then set down two more to finish his afternoon's work.  Burres struck out 8 batters and did not walk any.  He threw 81 pitches, with 56 strikes.

Homer Bailey (photo) allowed only 2 hits in his 5 innings, with 2 strikeouts.  He buzzed through the first inning, then with one out in the 2nd, Bailey gave up a double into left field to RF Andrew Lambo.  3B Josh Harrison grounded to third, but a throwing error put him safely on first.  C Dusty Brown's fly out let both runners advance.  2B Brian Friday worked a full count, then took a walk, but with the bases loaded, Burres bounced to third, where  3B Todd Frazier took just a couple steps to force out Harrison and end the threat.  

Indianapolis Indians  7,  Louisville Bats  1
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It might have been the black jerseys, or the fact that Rudy Owens was making the start, or even that they just needed a change of scenery  -- but whatever it was, it worked for the Tribe.  They beat the Louisville Bats, for just their second win of the season, at Louisville Slugger Park in Louisville, Kentucky.  The Indians' only other win came back on Monday -- also with Rudy Owens (photo) pitching, and also the only game before today in which they wore their black alternate jersey tops.   

Owens faced off against Johnny Cueto, who is with the Bats on a rehab assignment from the Cincinnati Reds.  Cueto, who was tagged for the loss, lasted into the 4th inning, and gave up the first two Indians' runs on 2 hits and 2 walks.  He also struck out 4 Tribe batters.


The Tribe made Cueto work in each inning he pitched, with at least one runner on base in every inning.  LF Alex Presley singled up the middle in the 1st, and 3B Josh Harrison walked and stole second base in the 2nd.   The Indians put runners on the corners in the 3rd inning.  With two outs, CF Gorkys Hernandez reached base when he grounded to short and Bats' SS Zack Cozart's throw to first base pulled 1B Danny Dorn off the bag (Hernandez was credited with an infield single).  Hernandez promptly stole second base, and when he did, Bats' C Devin Mesoraco's off-target throw skittered into right field.  Hernandez advanced to third base when Cueto threw a wild pitch on strike three to SS Pedro Ciriaco, giving the Indians runners on the corners.  Cueto bore down and struck out Presley to end the inning, but the Tribe had not made it easy.

The Tribe struck again in the 4th inning.  With one out, RF Andrew Lambo bounced a double off the concrete part of the center field wall for a double.  Harrison grounded to short, where Cozart made his second throwing error of the game, again giving the Indians runners on the corners.  Harrison stole second base, and Cueto walked C Wyatt Toregas to load the bases.  That was the end of Cueto's afternoon.  He was relieved by Jeremy Horst.  2B Brian Friday (photo) greeted Horst with a single through the hole into left field, which drove in Lambo and Harrison.  Horst struck out the next two batters to end the inning, but the Indians had the early lead for the first time all season.  Both runs were charged to Cueto, though Lambo's run was earned and Harrison's was not.  

At the same time, Rudy Owens was busy mowing down the Louisville batters.  He did not allow a hit until the 6th inning, and then when LF Yonder Alonso did line a single into center field, Owens erased him with a double play.  Owens had to deal with some base runners in the early innings --  a walk and a hit batter in the 2nd, another hit batter in the 4th, a walk and a 2-error play in the 5th.  In that play, with 2B Chris Valaika on first base (walk), Horst grounded to third base, where Harrison scooped up the ball.  Harrison's throw to second base was high, so Valaika was safe at second when Brian had to leap to make the catch.  Friday made an off-balance relay throw on to first base, and the ball sailed into the dugout, which let Horst advance to second base.  But Owens maintained his composure, and he calmly got a pop out and a ground out to end the inning and leave both runners standing in scoring position.