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Tag: Jeff Clement

Rain Calls A Halt In Columbus

Indianapolis Indians �3, �Columbus Clippers � 2 (box)

IMG_3825The Clippers and the Indians are in the middle of a rain delay in Columbus, Ohio. �The Indians have a slim 3-2 lead, on the strength of a solo home run by DH Jeff Clement (photo) in the 5th inning.

The Clippers got the game going in the bottom of the 1st inning, when Tribe starter Brian Burres gave up a 2-out walk to SS Luis Valbuena, followed by a 2-run home run, a no-doubter, to 3B Jared Goedert. �Burres settled in after that, allowing only one single over the next two innings. �He worked out of a jam in the 4th inning. �With one out, RF Jordan Brown and 1B Wes Hodges smacked back-to-back line drive singles into right field. �A walk to former Indy Indian LF Brian Bixler loaded the bases. �Pitching coach Dean Treanor made a visit to the mound, and Burres responded by striking out C Chris Gimenez, then getting 2B Cord Phelps to fly out to end the inning.

2B Jim Negrych was responsible for the only Indians' hit over the first two innings. �After fouling a pitch off his right shin, Negrych slipped a single through the right side of the infield. �He was left stranded on base when CF Alex Presley's ground out ended the inning.

The 3rd inning began with five Indians' batter reaching base safely. �LF Jonathan Van Every led off with a single that just edged past the diving Clippers' 1B Hodges. �SS Argenis Diaz lined a single into center field. �When RF Kevin Melillo drove the first pitch he saw over RF Jordan Brown's head and off the upper section of the right field wall, both Van Every and Diaz advanced one base -- but just one base, and Van Every was held at third instead of waved around to try to score. �Diaz stopped at second, and Melillo rounded first and started for second -- until he looked up and saw Diaz already standing there. �Melillo scrambled back to the first base bag, just in time to avoid being tagged out. �3B Akinori Iwamura was next, and he also singled, taking a low line drive through the hole at short and into left field. �Van Every scored on that hit, and the bases were still loaded. �1B Brian Myrow worked the count full, and took a walk, and Diaz trotted home from third base to tie the score.

At that point, Clippers' pitcher Josh Tomlin suddenly got his act together again. �With the bases still loaded, he struck out�Jeff Clement and C Erik Kratz on 6 straight pitches. �Jim Negrych ran the count full and fouled off another ball, but then struck out to end the inning and leave the three runners on base.

The Tribe took the lead in the top of the 5th, courtesy of Jeff Clement. �He blasted a towering home run over the right field wall, and even over the building behind the right field wall, and into a net -- the net the Clippers had hung up there after former Indian Garrett Jones had lofted a homer over the building and into the street beyond. �Seems they aren't fond of baseballs falling out of the sky in Columbus.

Indians Two-Hit But Avoid Shutout

Louisville Bats �6, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

IMG_3607Another hot and humid night, and another loss for the Indians at the hands of the Bats at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight. �Starter Hayden Penn (photo) lost his second start in a row, after four consecutive wins, as he allowed all 6 of the Bats' runs on 12 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �The Indians were held to just 2 hits, and barely squeaked out one run.

The Indians just couldn't get much going for the first 7 innings, and never had a runner reach second base safely. �RF Brandon Moss smacked a fly ball into left field in the 2nd inning, which bounced into the corner, but the carom went right to Bats' LF Todd Frazier. �Moss rounded first and headed for second, but Frazier's throw back to second base was right on target, and Moss was tagged out. �2B�Jim Negrych was walked on four pitches with two outs in the 4th, but he was picked off base. �Two runners reached base in the 6th -- but not at the same time. �C Erik Kratz was hit by a pitch but was immediately erased when SS Doug Bernier bounced into a double play. �Pinch-hitter Alex Presley walked after the double play, but he was left stranded on base. �1B Jeff Clement had two close calls -- he took a long fly ball to the warning track in right field in the 5th. �With one out in the 9th, he was robbed of a hit when CF Michael Griffin made a diving catch in right-center field.

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Finally in the 8th inning, the Indians found some offense. � Reds' prospect Aroldis Chapman took the mound for the Bats, and he began by striking out Brandon Moss. �He got a full count on CF Jonathan Van Every, and then put him on first base with a walk. �Chapman struck out Erik Kratz, and the inning looked like it was going to be just like the earlier ones. �Things changed when Chapman threw a wild pitch, and Van Every advanced to second base. �Doug Bernier (photo) singled up the middle, and Van Every raced around third and scored the Indians' only run of the game. �With pinch-hitter Brian Myrow at the plate,�Bernier moved to second base on defensive indifference. �Myrow was hit by a pitch on ball four, and LF Kevin Melillo also walked. �That was three walks in the inning for Chapman, and he was relieved by Daniel Ray Herrera. �With the bases loaded, Herrera got Aki Iwamura to fly out to left field, ending the inning and leaving everyone stranded.

Homers Break Indians’ Losing Streak

Indianapolis Indians � 9, �Louisville Bats �7 (box)

IMG_3215The Indianapolis Indians and the Louisville Bats traded home runs at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight, but it was the Indians who held on for the win, ending their 8-game losing streak. �The Indians, who had not had a home run in almost a week, tonight had long bombs by RF Brandon Moss (photo), 3B Akinori Iwamura, and 1B Jeff Clement, while the Bats hit four home runs -- two by 3B Juan Francisco, and one each by CF Gary Matthews Jr and lF Yonder Alonso.

The game began ominously for the Indians, as their first inning looked like many of the innings they've had during their losing streak. �LF Kevin Melillo led off with a walk and stole second base. �Aki Iwamura also walked, but 2B Jim Negrych bounced right to the Bats' 2B Wilkin Castillo, who started a 2-6-3 double play. �Jeff Clement flied out to end the inning. �It was the 13th double play the Indians had batted into in the past 5 games. �The Tribe did fall victim to another double play, but not until the 9th inning, and not until after they had clearly broken their tough streak.

Things started looking up in the 2nd inning. �The Bats' starting pitcher, Mark Serrano, had just been brought up from their A+ Lynchburg Hillcats' affiliate to make a spot start because their scheduled starter Matt Maloney had been called up to Cincinnati to make a start. �Once they got going, the Indians were able to take advantage of the A+ level pitcher. �Brandon Moss led off the 2nd with a line drive into center field for a double, and CF Alex Presley beat out a bunt for an infield single, moving Moss over to third base. �A balk by Serrano let Moss score and put Presley on second base. �C Erik Kratz lined a single in to left field, which moved Presley to third base. � SS Argenis Diaz grounded back to the mound, and Serrano made the scoop then looked at Presley, who stopped in his tracks. �But instead of charging at Presley and probably catching him in a run-down, or whirling and throwing fast to second base to start a double play, Serrano hesitated. �He did throw to second, where he forced out Kratz, but that was the only out he got, and Presley scored on the play, and the Indians had a 2-0 lead.

IMG_3290With Jeremy Powell (photo) on the mound for the Indians, the Bats got the two runs right back in the bottom of the inning. �Juan Francisco started the Bats' scoring with a solo home run over the wall in right field. �RF Danny Dorn followed the homer with a double into right field. �Erik Kratz tried to pick Dorn off second base, and the when his throw got past second base, Dorn moved to third on the throwing error. �That put him in position to score an unearned run on SS Chris Valaika's sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Brandon Moss gave the Indians the lead again in the top of the 3rd. �With two outs, Jeff Clement singled through the hole into right field, and Moss blasted a 2-run homer over the wall in the right field corner. �Indians ahead, 4-2.

The Bats responded again in the bottom of the 3rd, also with two outs. �C Ryan Hanigan doubled to the base of the wall in right-center field, and he scored on Yonder Alonso's single. �Juan Francisco tied the game again in the 4th inning with his second home run of the game, another solo shot.

Tribe Drops Double Header; Eveland’s Debut

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Louisville Bats �6, �Indianapolis Indians �0 � --- � Game 1 (box)

It was all Louisville in Game 1 as the Bats battered starter Dana Eveland (photo above) in his Indians debut. �Eveland, who had not pitched since before being designated for assignment about two weeks ago, did not make it out of the third inning, and was responsible for 5 of the 6 Bats' runs, on 6 hits and a walk.

The Bats scored one run in the top of the 1st, on a single up the middle by SS Zack Cozart, a grounder by 1B Yonder Alonso to move Cozart to second, and an RBI double down the right field line by LF Todd Frazier. �Eveland began the second inning by giving up a single to RF Wladimir Balantien, then a 2-run homer by 2B Chris Valaika, to boost the Bats' lead to 3-0. � The 3rd inning opened with another home run, by Alonso, a solo blast to straight-out center field, bouncing off the top of the wall and into the ground cover in front of the batter's eye trees. �A double to the wall in the right-center field alley by Frazier followed the home run, then a groundout to second base, moving Frazier to third base.

That was all that manager Frank Kremblas wanted to see from Eveland. �He had thrown 53 pitches (34 strikes) in his 2.1 innings. �Brian Bass, who had pitched a 1-2-3 inning last night, came on in relief of Eveland. �The first batter Bass faced, Balentien, took a long fly ball to center field -- not deep enough for another home run, but plenty deep enough for Frazier to tag up and score from third base. �That run was also charged to Eveland. �Bass hit C Ryan Hanigan with a pitch and walked Valaika (unintentionally intentional?), then struck out Bats' starter Chad Reineke to end the inning.

The Bats kept going against Bass in the 4th. �With one out, Bass walked Cozart, who stole second base. �Alonso doubled into center field, bringing in Cozart from second base.

Early Lead And More Double Plays Drop Tribe

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Louisville Bats �4, �Indianapolis Indians �2 (box)

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A 3-run first inning and four more double plays gave the Bats the win over the Indians tonight at Victory Field. �Charlie Morton (photo) suffered the loss, and the rehabbing Edinson Volquez (Cincinnati Reds) held the Indians to just 4 hits in 5 innings and took the win.

Charlie Morton got into trouble right from the start, as five of the first six Bats' who came to the plate in the top of the 1st reached base safely. �CF Gary Matthews Jr led off with a single lined into right field. �Matthews stole second base, as SS Zack Cozart took four pitches for a walk. �After a fly out, LF Todd Frazier doubled to the wall in center field, driving in both Matthews and Cozart, who came around all the way from first base. �3B Juan Francisco followed with another double, down the right field line. �The ball bounced around in the corner, making RF Brandon Moss chase it around before he could pick it up and fire it back to the infield. �That brought in Frazier with the third run of the inning. �RF Danny Dorn was hit by a pitch, and both runners moved up one base when Morton got another out, a grounder back to the mound. �Finally a fly out to Alex Presley in center field ended the inning, with the Bats up 3-0.

IMG_3897That first inning took Morton 28 pitches to get through. �He settled down in the next few innings. �In the 2nd, Morton walked Matthews, but got Cozart to bounce a grounder to behind second base. �SS Doug Bernier went to his left to make a diving stop, then flipped the ball with his glove to 2B Jim Negrych, forcing out Matthews. �Negrych threw on to first base, but Cozart was fast enough to beat the throw and he was safe. �Not a problem for Morton, who just got 1B Yonder Alonso to fly out to end the inning. �Morton retired the side in order in the 3rd, then worked around a single by 2B Chris Valaika in the 4th.

Photo: �Erik Kratz, pitching coach Dean Treanor, and Charlie Morton

The Bats added an unearned run in the 5th inning, as they proved the old warning about walking the lead-off batter. �Cozart walked to lead off the 5th, and moved to second base on a ground out. �Frazier grounded to short, where Doug Bernier made a nice pick-up, but airmailed the ball to first base. �Cozart rounded third and headed for the plate as the Indians chased after the ball, but he scored easily. �The play was initially ruled a hit and a throwing error that allowed the run to score, and the run was earned. �A few innings later, that was changed so that it was not a hit at all, but just an error, making the run unearned.

Double Plays Doom Indians

Louisville Bats �2, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

IMG_3780Four double plays turned by the Bats did in the Indians at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight. �The Indians posted a total of 6 hits and also were given 3 walks and two more base runners due to Bats' errors, but could not take advantage of any of that, and were unable to bring any of their runners around to score.

The game began hopefully for the Indians, when LF Kevin Melillo led off with a single into right field. �3B Akinori Iwamura (photo) lined a single into left field, moving Melillo to second base. �2B Jim Negrych tried to move both runners up with a sacrifice bunt, but Bats' pitcher Jesus Delgado was fast enough in getting to the ball that he was able to fire to third base for the force out on Melillo. �That halted the Indians' little bit of momentum, and the next two batters went down quickly on a strikeout (1B Jeff Clement) and a line out (RF Brandon Moss).

The Tribe put a runner on third base in the 2nd inning. �C Erik Kratz took a fly ball into center field for a big double, and he advanced to third on SS Argenis Diaz's ground out. �That was as far as Kratz could get, though, as a fly out ended the inning. �The Indians went down in order in the 3rd.

IMG_3696Starter Brian Burres (photo) retired the first 7 batters he faced. �With one out in the bottom of the 3rd, Bats' 2B Chris Valaika lined the first Bats' hit of the game into left field for a single. �Delgado dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Valaika to second base, and he scored from there when CF Gary Matthews doubled into left field, giving the Bats a 1-0 lead.

The double plays started coming in the 4th inning. �Jeff Clement led off the inning with a single slipped into left field, but he was immediately erased when Brandon Moss bounced right to 2B Valaika, who started a 4-6-3 double play. �Argenis Diaz reached base on a throwing error by Bats' 3B Juan Francisco in the 5th. �He was off and running with the swing by�Brian Burres, and when the ball Burres hit landed right in the glove of LF Todd Frazier, Diaz had already rounded second base. � It was an easy play for the Bats to throw the ball back to first, well ahead of Diaz, to double him up.

With one out in the 6th, the Tribe got a little something going again. �Aki Iwamura worked a walk, and Jim Negrych singled through the right side of the infield and into right field. �With two runners on, the Indians looked like they might have a chance to tie the score. �But Jeff Clement bounced to second base, where Chris Valaika started another 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and the threat.

Jakubauskas Pitches 2 Rehab Innings In Indians’ Loss

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Erik Kratz, pitching coach Dean Treanor, and Jeremy Powell confer on the mound

Columbus Clippers �6, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

IMG_3839The Clippers pounded out 12 hits, with each member of their line-up reaching base at least once, while their pitching staff held the Indians' batters to 3 hits at Victory Field tonight.

Starter Jeremy Powell, back in the Indians' starting rotation again, struck out the first batter he faced, CF Michael Brantley. �The next three batters reached base: �a single slipped past SS Doug Bernier by Clippers' 2B Josh Rodriguez, a walk to DH Luis Valbuena, and a single through the hole into left field by 3B Jared Goedert. � Goedert's hit drove in Rodriguez from second base for the Clippers' first run. �Powell got a second out when LF Jordan Brown hit a high pop fly, caught by Tribe 3B Akinori Iwamura on the infield fly rule (photo). �Then 1B Wes Hodges drove a long fly ball to center field. �CF Alex Presley, who had been playing a little shallow, turned and raced for the wall, and tried for the catch over his shoulder. �He got his glove on the ball at the warning track, but the ball popped into and out of his glove. �Instead of out #3, Hodges had a double, and had driving in two more runs. �(photos below)

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Presley at the wall -- in the second photo, the ball is partly behind Presley's left hand.

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Kratz Is An All-Star; Presley Homers Twice

IMG_3267C Erik Kratz (photo) has been named to the International League All-Star Team for the second year in a row. �Last year, Kratz was the MVP of the All-Star game, which was held in Portland, Oregon. �Kratz, who was the starting catcher, walked, doubled, and hit the game-winning 2-run homer for the IL. �This year, Kratz is the back-up catcher for the IL squad. �He is currently hitting .306 for the Indians, with 17 doubles, a triple, 8 home runs, and 30 RBI. �This year's All-Star Game, between the IL stars and the Pacific Coast League stars, will be held at Lehigh Valley, PA, which is just about an hour away from where Kratz grew up. �He'll be able to have lots of family and friends in attendance.

Manager Frank Kremblas has also been named a coach for the International League All-Star Team. �This will be his first time as a coach or manager for an International League All-Star team, though he had much success as a manager in the Pacific Coast League before joining the Pirates' organization.

Columbus Clippers �7, �Indianapolis Indians �3 (box)

IMG_3799For the second night in a row, the Clippers posted 5 runs in the 4th inning, and for the second night in a row, those 5 runs beat the Indians at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. �Tribe starter Mike Crotta did not make it to that 4th inning, leaving in the 3rd due to an injury to his left lower leg or ankle. �CF Alex Presley (photo) provided all of the Indians' runs on two home run blasts.

Presley got the game off to a good start for the Indians. �LF Kevin Melillo opened the game with a double lined into right field. �Presley drove a long fly over the right field wall for his first home run, which was his second round-tripper since joining the Indians.

Mike Crotta had to work around runners on base in the first two innings. �SS Josh Rodriguez singled in the 1st and stole second base, but was left there. �1B Jordan Brown singled and RF Nick Weglarz walked to begin the 2nd, and they pulled off a double steal when Crotta's attention was diverted, but Crotta got out of that jam by striking out the next two batters, C Lou Marson and CF Jose Constanza.

Ejections Abound In Indians’ Loss

Columbus Clippers �7, �Indianapolis Indians �3 (box)

IMG_3305A 5-run 4th inning by the Columbus Clippers made the difference tonight at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, as the Indians could not catch up after having three members of their team ejected from the game. �Manager Frank Kremblas, pitcher Corey Hamman, and DH Brian Myrow were all ejected by home plate umpire Derek Crabill.

(Photo: �Frank Kremblas chats with an umpire in Indianapolis)

The game had begun hopefully for the Indians. �2B Akinori Iwamura started the game with a single into center field, though two outs later he was thrown out trying to steal second base, ending the inning. �C Erik Kratz doubled off the top of the wall in right-center field with two outs in the 2nd inning, then went to third on a wild pitch. �Brian Myrow lined a single into center, and that brought in Kratz with the first run of the game.

Tribe starter Charlie Morton got out of a jam in the bottom of the 1st. �LF Michael Brantley led off the frame with a single, but SS Josh Rodriguez followed by bouncing into a 6-4-3 double play (SS�Argenis Diaz to 2B Aki Iwamura to 1B Jeff Clement). �2B Luis Valbuena doubled into left field and 3B Jared Goedert walked, but a strikeout ended the inning for Morton and left the two Clippers on base. �Morton gave up another double, to C Lou Marson, and a walk to CF Jose Constanza in the 2nd inning, but also got out of that inning with both runners still on base.

IMG_3556An error by Morton (photo) contributed to an unearned run in the 3rd as the Clippers tied the score. �With one out, Valbuena smacked a grounder into center field, and when Morton tried to pick Valbuena off first, his throw went wild, allowing Valbuena to reach third base. �That made it easy for a single by 1B Jordan Brown to bring in the tying run.

Then disaster struck in the bottom of the 4th. �RF Nick Weglarz led off the inning with a long fly ball for a home run over the right-center field wall, to give the Clippers a 2-1 lead. �After a ground out, Constanza blooped a single into center field. �Constanza stole second base, then went on to steal third base, not even drawing a throw. �A fielder's choice grounder to short was fielded by Argenis Diaz, but the throw to the plate was not in time, and Constanza scored, while Brantley was safe at first. �That was all for Charlie Morton, who had thrown 85 pitches (55 strikes) in just 3.1 innings, and allowed 7 hits and 3 walks. �He would ultimately be responsible for 5 runs (4 earned). �It was a disappointing start for Morton, after an outstanding effort in his last start.

Melillo’s Walk Off Homer Gives Indians Sweep

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Doug Bernier, Argenis Diaz, and Jim Negrych

Indianapolis Indians �6, �Toledo Mud Hens �5 (box)

IMG_3247LF Kevin Melillo (photo) launched a pitch into the night in the bottom of the 9th at Victory Field, and when it landed in the grass berm in front of the right field scoreboard, the Indians had a walk-off win over the Toledo Mud Hens. �They also had a sweep of the 4-game series against Toledo, and combined with the Columbus Clippers' loss to the Gwinnett Braves tonight, that puts the Indians 2 games behind the first-place Clippers in the International League Western Division, and drops Toledo to 3 games behind the Indians.

Compared to last night, when the Indians cranked out 19 hits, tonight's game began rather quietly. �Only one Tribe batter reached base in the first three innings, and that was 1B Steve Pearce, who led off the 2nd inning with a line drive just over the head of Toledo SS Brent Dlugach. �Pearce stole second base, but he was left there when a flu out and two strikeouts ended the inning.

Indians' starter Brian Burres also held the Mud Hens scoreless in the early innings. �He worked his way out of a jam in the top of the 1st. �Lead-off batter 2B Will Rhymes singled up the middle, and Brent Dlugach walked. �LF Jeff Frazier made the first out, on a short fly ball to center, with CF Alex Presley making a very nice running catch. �Burres and the Indians caught a break when Rhymes made a base-running mistake: �with Burres looking right at him, Rhymes led off second base, then went a little too far, and was caught in the middle of nowhere when Burres came off the mound. �Rhymes was easily thrown out at third base, with 3B Doug Bernier putting down the tag (photo below).

IMG_3823Brent Dlugach advanced to second base while Burres and Bernier were taking care of Rhymes. � Another walk, to 1B Ryan Strieby, put two runners on base with two outs. �Burress got out of the inning by striking out 3B Jeff Larish.

Bernier allowed just one hit over the next three innings. �He retired the side in order in both the 2nd and 3rd innings. �Jeff Frazier led off the 4th with a double into left-center field, but he was still standing there on second base when Burres struck out Strieby, Larish, and RF Wilkin Ramirez and was out of the inning.

Presley Hits For The Cycle As Indians Blast 5 Homers

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Manager Frank Kremblas congratulates Alex Presley after his first AAA home run.

Indianapolis Indians �15, �Toledo Mud Hens �3 (box)

IMG_3799Indianapolis' Victory Field will celebrate its 15th anniversary in a couple of weeks, and in all that time, no player has ever hit for the cycle there.... until today. �Tribe LF Alex Presley, in his third AAA-level game, went 5-for-6 today, and hit for the cycle. �Presley tripled in the 1st inning, singled in the 2nd, homered in the third (photo), and doubled in the 5th. �Then he added a single on the first pitch he saw in the 6th inning, for good measure.

Presley had come close to hitting for the cycle 5 weeks ago. �On May 24th, playing with the AA Altoona Curve against the Akron Aeros in Akron, Presley went 4-for-5, and missed hitting for the cycle because he missed off the single. �He substituted a second home run for that single, and set a new Altoona Curve record with 8 RBI in the game.

And Presley was not the only Indian batter hitting today. �The Indians piled up 19 hits, and scored 15 runs, both of which were season highs, surpassing the 14 runs on 18 hits they had on April 9th of this year. �Their 5 home runs in the game was also the best this season, and while they have hit back-to-back home runs often enough, it was the first time the Indians have hit back-to-back-to-back home runs at Victory Field.

IMG_3777The game did not start out so amazingly for the Indians. �With starter Hayden Penn (photo) on the mound, the Mud Hens began the game by scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1st. �Penn walked the first batter of the game, SS Will Rhymes, and that adage about lead-off walks turned out to be true in this instance. �2B Justin Henry, making his AAA debut with Toledo, singled with a line drive into left field. �Penn seemed to get things under control for a few minutes, getting 1B Jeff Frazier to fly out and striking out LF Ryan Strieby. �Rhymes tagged up and advanced to third base on the fly out, and Henry stole second base on the strikeout. � Then Penn gave up a single to 1B Jeff Larish, scoring both Rhymes and Henry. �CF Wilkin Ramirez followed with a triple to the deep part of left-center field, bringing in Larish. �Penn finished the inning with a strikeout, but the Indians were behind, 3-0.

But.... it seems that Hayden Penn has this curious lucky streak going. �In his previous two starts at Victory Field, the Indians supplied Penn with a whole lot of run support in the early innings, allowing him to coast to a win. �On June 11th against Pawtucket, Penn allowed a run in the top of the 1st, and the Tribe batters came back with 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st, plus one run in the 2nd and 2 runs in the 3rd, and eventually win the game 10-3, with Penn credited for the win. �On June 22nd against the Bulls, Penn did not allow a run in the early innings (only allowed one unearned run that night), but benefited from 3 Tribe runs in the 2nd and 2 more runs in the 3rd. �Penn again got the win, as the Indians took the 9-1 victory. �Penn's luck held out this afternoon, too.

Clement Drives Indians Come-From-Behind Win

Indianapolis Indians 9, Toledo Mud Hens 8 (box)

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The Indianapolis Indians came back from a 5-run deficit tonight at Victory Field, led by two big hits and 5 RBI by 1B Jeff Clement (photo) and 3 hits each by DH Brandon Moss and 2B Jim Negrych. Six runs in the 6th inning made the difference, and the Tribe held off the Mud Hens' rally in the 9th to hold onto the win in front of a full house of 14,537 fans.

Mike Crotta started the game with a quick first inning, but the Mud Hens attacked in the 2nd. DH Ryan Strieby led off with a double into right field, and 3B Jeff Larish lined a single into left field, moving Strieby to third. After a strikeout, Crotta walked RF Casper Wells to load the bases. LF Jon Weber drove in both Strieby and Larish with a double that skittered down the left field chalk line, barely fair. C Jeff Kunkel made it 4-0 with a triple off the wall in right-center field. Tribe CF Jonathan Van Every could not run back fast enough, and the ball sailed over his head and bounced off the wall and away from Van Every. Both Wells and Weber scored as Van Every was busy tracking down the ball. Finally, a ground out and a pop out in foul territory ended the inning.

IMG_3729The Mud Hens added another run in the 3rd inning. 1B Jeff Frazier started the inning with a double down the left field line that tipped the end of 3B Steve Pearce's (photo) glove as he made a desperate dive. A ground out to first moved Frazier to third base, and another double, this one down the right field line by Larish, brought Frazier in to score. Crotta continued to struggle in the 3rd inning. He walked Weber on four pitches to open the inning, and once again proved that it's a bad idea to walk the lead-off batter. It came back to haunt him, when Kunkel's slow grounder moved Weber to second base, and 2B Will Rhymes' line drive double into center field plated Weber.

The Indians were already behind 5-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning, when they got onto the scoreboard. With one out, Brandon Moss dropped a bloop single over the head of Toledo 2B Will Rhymes. Jim Negrych followed with his second single of the game, a liner into left field, and since he was off and running, Moss made it to third on the hit. Steve Pearce was robbed of an RBI hit when his prospective line drive into left field ended up in the mitt of 3B Jeff Larish. Jeff Clement did the honors instead, plating both Moss and Negrych with a line drive that rattled around in the right field corner. C Erik Kratz walked, but both he and Clement were left on base when LF Alex Presley, making his AAA debut, lined out too.