Tag: Jim Negrych

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.

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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.

The 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.

Indianapolis Indians �9, �Durham Bulls �1 (box)

Message to the Pirates: �The Real Charlie Morton has been found -- he's safe and sound, and was last seen pitching a 2-hit complete game at Victory Field tonight. �Are you going to want him back soon?

Morton (photo) dominated the Bulls, throwing 109 pitches (77 strikes) over 9 complete innings. �He faced only 3 batters over the minimum -- two hits, one hit batter, and one walk, minus one double play. �He began the game totally focused, getting 6 straight outs, including two strikeouts in the 2nd inning.

The only Bulls' run came in the 3rd inning. �Morton walked 3B Angel Chavez to open the inning, then he hit former Indy Indian (2005-06) JJ Furmaniak on the shoulder (or maybe the shoulder of his jersey), moving Chavez to second base -- two on and no out, and Morton was looking like he had lost that focus he'd just had in the previous two innings. �CF Fernando Perez tapped a 1-1 pitch right back to Morton on the mound, and Morton whirled and fired to SS Argenis Diaz, covering second base, to start a double play, 1-6-3 (Morton to Diaz to Jeff Clement) (photo below). �That put Chavez on third base, but somehow, it seemed to refocus Morton and get him charged up again. �LF Desmond Jennings hit a slow roller towards third base, and Steve Pearce, playing third for the second time in his career, charged in to make the pick-up. �The speedy Jennings was nearly at first base already, and Pearce should have just held the ball, but he didn't. �Instead, he threw across his body, and the ball sailed wide of first base, heading down toward the Bull's pen. �Chavez scored from third base, and Jennings was credited with a hit and an RBI, then advanced to second base on Pearce's error.

Still, that did not disrupt Morton's rediscovered concentration. �He got SS Omar Luna to ground to first base to end the inning. �Then he retired the Bulls in order in the 4th inning, including a second strikeout of C Alvin Colina.

The only other hit Morton allowed came in the 5th. �With one out, Angel Chavez bounced a single past the diving 2B Jim Negrych and into right field. �Chavez was forced out at second base when JJ Furmaniak grounded to Negrych. �Negrych bobbled the ball for a split second, but it was long enough so that the relay throw from Argenis Diaz covering second to first base was not in time, leaving Furmaniak safe at first. �CF Fernando Perez also grounded to Negrych, who ended the inning with a little flip to second base, forcing out Furmaniak.

That was the last time the Bulls had a base runner. �Morton retired the next 12 batters in order, striking out the last batter, Justin Ruggiano. �He buzzed through the last 4 innings, not letting the Bulls hit any balls very hard, or making his teammates behind him have to make many tough plays to get the outs. �The toughest out was the 2nd in the 9th, when Omar Luna dropped a little dribbly ball, not a bunt, along the first base line about half way down. �C Erik Kratz had to scramble over, make a sliding stop to grab the ball, then make the throw to first without hitting Luna in the basepath, for the out. �Morton needed only 4 pitches to get through the 6th inning, and 9 pitches in both the 1st and the 5th.

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Doug Bernier is congratulated on his home run.

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Indianapolis Indians �9, �Durham Bulls �1 (box)

The outfield berm was a very good place to be tonight if you were at Victory Field and were looking to catch a souvenir. �The Indians blasted four home runs on their way to 9 runs on 12 hits, as they got revenge for being one-hit by the Bulls last night. �Not to be outdone by the offense, starter Hayden Penn pitched 6 strong innings, as he struck out a season-high 9 batters and allowed only one unearned run.

The Indians' offensive onslaught began in the 2nd inning. �C Erik Kratz led off the inning with a sinking line drive into left field for a hit. �DH Jeff Clement (photo) followed with a long high bomb over the right field wall and onto the grass berm for a 2-run homer. �Moments later, CF Jonathan Van Every got into the act with a long blast of his own, which landed in the right field berm about 75 feet to the left of Clement's. �The Indians had a 3-0 lead.

The Indians kept it going in the 2nd inning. �With one out, 2B Jim Negrych singled, but before another pitch was thrown to the plate, Bulls' starter Heath Phillips turned and threw to first base. �It looked like Negrych's foot slipped a bit as he tried to dive back to the base, and it was enough delay that he was picked off. �1B Steve Pearce walked with two outs, and Erik Kratz brought him in with another home run (photo) -- this one was a drive down the left field line, which stayed just barely inside the foul pole.

The fourth home run belonged to SS Doug Bernier. Bernier had singled to lead off the 1st inning, but had been left on base. �In the 5th, he led off the inning with a home run rocketed over the left field wall and into the grass berm on that side of the field.

The Tribe added two more runs off Indiana native Heath Phillips in the 6th inning -- not by way of home runs. �Jeff Clement led off the inning with a walk, and 3B Brian Myrow lined a single into left field, moving Clement to second base. �Jonathan Van Every drove in Clement with a line drive single into right field. �RF Brandon Jones' sacrifice fly to deep center field allowed Myrow to score, and the Indians had 8 runs of Phillips, on 10 hits.

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Brian Myrow tags out Fernando Perez trying to steal third base.

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Durham Bulls �2, �Indianapolis Indians �0 (box)

Three Durham Bulls' pitchers held the Indians to just one hit as they shut out the Tribe at Victory Field tonight. �It spoiled a strong performance by Indians' starter Daniel McCutchen, who pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters.

The Indians' first batter in the bottom of the 1st, Kevin Melillo, worked a 5-pitch walk from Bull's starter Brian Baker. �Baker, who is usually a reliever, was making a spot start for Durham, because their starter who ought to have been next in the rotation ended up going on the disabled list. �RF Brandon Moss bunted Melillo to second base with a sacrifice. �2B Jim Negrych (photo) grounded to short, but instead of holding at second to see how the play would develop, Melillo headed for third. �He was an easy out at third base, with Negrych safe at first on the fielder's choice. �1B Steve Pearce, on his rehab assignment, struck out to end the inning.

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Baker pitched 4 more innings, his longest outing of the season. �He retired the Indians in order over those innings, including four strikeouts.

The Indians were happy to see Baker sitting down after 5 innings. �Another Bulls' reliever, Mike Ekstrom, came on for the next two innings, and the first batter he faced, CF Jonathan Van Every, greeted the new pitcher with a line drive single into right field. �But SS Argenis Diaz bounced to second base, where 2B Joe Dillon started a 4-6-3 double play, erasing Van Every. �Melillo struck out to end that inning, and Ekstrom retired the side in order in the 7th. �RJ Swindle pitched the last two innings for the Bulls. �He also set 6 Tribe batters down in order. �The closest any of the Indians came to getting a hit other than Van Every's, was C Erik Kratz, who hit a loud and long fly ball to left field in the 8th inning. �Not long enough, though, as Durham's LF Justin Ruggiano made the catch with his back to the left field wall.

Photo: �Daniel McCutchen is keeping his right arm warm on the bench, while Erik Kratz gets ready to move into the on-deck circle.

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Indianapolis Indians �7, �Buffalo Bison �3 (box)

For the second day in a row, the Indianapolis Indians put up a nice crooked number in the top of an extra inning to break a tie, then won the game when they held off the Bison in their half of the inning. �Today it was 4 runs in the 12th inning that did the trick.

The 12th began with a walk to C Erik Kratz, and a sacrifice bunt by 2B Jim Negrych, to move Kreatz to second base. �Buffalo reliever Adam Pettyjohn intentionally walked the rehabbing RF�Steve Pearce. 1B Jeff Clement (photo) made the Bison regret the walks, as he took a long fly over the head of Bison's RF Valentino Pascucci. �The double drove in both Kratz and Pearce, and gave the Indians a 5-3 lead. �Brandon Jones came on to pinch hit for Tribe reliever Brian Bass, and Jones struck out, but CF Brandon Moss smacked his 16th double of the season to right-center, where it hopped the fence for a ground-rule double, scoring Clement. �SS Argenis Diaz kept things going with a walk. �3B Doug Bernier lined a single up the middle. �The throw to the plate was a few feet up the third base line, but Moss had rounded third and was bearing down on the plate. �Moss crashed C Jason Thole, sending him flying in one direction and the ball flying in another direction, and as he rolled after the collision, Moss's foot rolled over the plate. �Diaz moved to third base and Bernier advanced to second on the throw. �A pop out ended the inning, with the Indians ahead, 7-3.

Steven Jackson came on to pitch the bottom of the frame. �He gave up a one-out single off the glove of SS Argenis Diaz to Bisons' CF Jorge Padilla, but the first pitch Jackson threw to SS Justin Turner was bounced on an easy hop right to Diaz. �Diaz started the 6-4-3 (Diaz to Negrych to Clement) double play to end the game. �Brian Bass earned the win, his second of the season. �The Indians won 3 of the 4 games in this series with Buffalo, and 6 of the 8 games in the season series.

Indianapolis Indians �9, �Buffalo Bison �3 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 10th inning, to break a 3-3 tie and put the game out of reach at Coca Cola Field in Buffalo, NY tonight. �SS Argenis Diaz (photo) had the RBI single that tied the game in the 9th, and also contributed an RBI double in the 10th, and CF Jonathan Van Every also had 2 RBI. �Rehabbing Steve Pearce had 3 hits for the Indians. �Jean Machi pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win for the Indians.

The Tribe began the game with their first four batters reaching base safely, on three consecutive hits and a hit batter. �LF Kevin Melillo led off with a double, and he scored on C Luke Carlin's single up the middle. �Carlin tried to take second base when a pitch in the dirt from Dillon Gee got away from the Buffalo catcher Josh Thole -- but not as far away as Carlin thought it was, and Thole threw Carlin out at second base. �2B Jim Negrych doubled, and Steve Pearce, playing right field tonight, was hit by a pitch. �1B Jeff Clement grounded to short, and when the Buffalo SS Justin Turner threw wide to first base, Negrych came around to score an unearned run. �Those were the only runs Gee allowed. �He retired the Indians in order in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings. �In the 4th, Pearce grounded to third, where 3B Mike Cervenak stumbled as he went to make the throw to first. �That made his throw come in high at first, with 1B Mike Jacobs leaping off the bag to catch the ball. �It was initially ruled a throwing error on Cervenak, but later changed to a hit for Pearce, who was reaching the bag as the throw came to first anyway. �Jeff Clement also singled, on a grounder that slipped through the right side of the infield. �But two strikeouts and a throw down to second when Clement was off and running with the pitch ended the inning without a run scoring.

Charlie Morton (photo) made the start for the Indians. �It was his third start since joining the Indians, and it was similar to his last. �Tonight he pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. �(On June 13th, he went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 6 strikeouts.) �Morton gave up a walk in each of the first two innings, and a double over the head of LF Kevin Melillo and off the wall in the 2nd. �Morton needed 21 pitches to get through the 1st inning and another 20 for the 2nd. �Then he retired the side in order in the 3rd inning, needing just 9 pitches.

The Bison tied the score in the 4th inning. �With one out, Morton gave up a single up the middle to CF Fernando Martinez. �After a fly out, LF Lucas Duda doubled, scoring Martinez, and C Josh Thole put a soft liner into center field to bring in Duda and tie the game.

The 6th inning began with a controversial grounder up the third base line by Mike Cervenak. �The ball appeared to be foul, and it bounced in foul territory once it was past third base, but 3B umpire Stephen Barga ruled that the ball was in fair territory when it sailed over the third base bag, and so it was fair, and a double for Cervenak. �Manager Frank Kremblas and C Luke Carlin protested, to no avail. �Kremblas continued on to the mound, to change pitchers, and Carlin apparently continued to express his point of view. �Before reliever Justin Thomas could come in from the bullpen, Barga ejected Carlin from the game.

Erik Kratz came into the game to replace Carlin. �Justin Thomas struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up a single to pinch-hitter Andy Green, which drove in Mike Cervenak from second base with the go-ahead run (charged to Morton).

Buffalo Bison �6, �Indianapolis Indians �4 (box)

Three home runs by Buffalo RF Valentino Pascucci powered the Bison over the Indians at Coca-Cola Park in Buffalo tonight. �The Tribe tried for a late-inning come-back, but fell short, despite another strong effort by the bullpen. �Starter Brian Burres (photo)�took the loss, as he allowed two of Pascucci's homers.

Pascucci began his big night in the bottom of the 1st. �SS Andy Green led off the inning with a double into left field. �Brian Burres walked 2B Justin Turner, then gave up the 3-run bomb over the left field wall to Pascucci. �The Bison added another run in each of the next two innings. �In the 2nd, Burres walked the lead-off batter, C Josh Thole, and CF Jonathan Malo followed with a double, moving Thole to third base. �Green's sacrifice fly plated Thole, and the Bison had a 4-0 lead. �They made it 5-0 in the 3rd, on Pascucci's second home run of the game -- at least this was a solo homer, leading off the inning.

Buffalo starter John Maine, on a rehab assignment from the Mets, had the Indians' batters well in hand for the first four innings. �He gave up a walk to RF Brandon Moss in the top of the 1st. �Moss stole second base, then went to third on 2B Jim Negrych's ground out, but Moss got no further. �Maine retired the Tribe batters in order in the 2nd, then walked two more Indians, Brian Burres and LF Kevin Melillo in the 3rd. �They were also left stranded when Maine retired the next two batters to end the inning. �Three Indians sat down in order in the 4th too.

CF Jonathan Van Every (photo) began the top of the 5th with the Indians' first hit of the game, a double into right field. �After a strikeout by SS Argenis Diaz, Brandon Jones came on to pinch hit for Burres. �Jones reached base on a grounder to second base, when Maine, covering first base, dropped the ball on the toss from 2B Justin Turner. �That put runners on the corners for the Indians, and ended Maine's evening. �Reliever Mike O'Connor came on for Buffalo. �He first faced Kevin Melillo and got him to ground out to first, but that allowed Van Every to score from third base. �It was the only run the Indians would get in the inning, as another ground out by Brandon Moss ended the brief rally.

Brian Burres also left the game after just 4 innings. �He had allowed 5 runs on a total of 5 hits -- two home runs plus the sacrifice fly. �Burres had thrown 78 pitches (46 for strikes). �Jeremy Powell took over for Burres, and struck out the side with 15 pitches. �Brian Bass took his turn in the 6th, and he also retired the side in order, on three straight ground outs. �Steven Jackson, recently reactivated from the disabled list, worked around a single for a scoreless 7th inning.

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Indianapolis Indians �2, �Buffalo Bison �0 (box)

The newest member of the Indianapolis Indians, infielder Jim Negrych (photo), played ball in his home town of Buffalo for the first time in many years. �He had hundreds, literally hundreds, of family and friends in the stands, and at times it was a bit hard to tell which team the crowd was cheering for. �And if that weren't enough, Negrych hit the game-winning home run and made some outstanding defensive plays at second base. �It was definitely the Negrych Show at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY.

Hayden Penn got the start for the Indians, and for the first few innings, he kept getting himself into trouble, then getting out of it. �He got the first two outs of the 1st inning, then walked 1B Mike Jacobs. �A wild pitch on strike three moved Jacobs to second base and put 3B Mike Cervenak on first base. �Then Penn got CF Fernando Martinez to tap back to the mound for the third out.

The Bison opened the 2nd inning with a double into right field by LF Lucas Duda. �Duda got greedy, though, and tried to make it a triple -- and was thrown out by Tribe RF Brandon Moss, through cut-off man 2B Jim Negrych, to 3B Doug Bernier, who tagged out Duda at third. �That bailed out Penn, because he followed the unexpected out by giving up a signle to C Josh Thole, a walk to SS Andy Green, a sacrifice bunt to Buffalo pitcher Pat Misch, and another walk to RF Russ Adams to load the bases. �Penn got out of the inning when 2B Justin Turner bounced to Bernier at third for a grounder force out at second base.

Penn (photo) had to deal with a runner at third base in the 3rd inning too. �With two outs, he gave up a double to Martinez, and another wild pitch put Martinez on third base. �Duda walked, giving the Bison runners on the corners. �But Thole grounded to second base, where Jim Negrych made the scoop and threw to SS Argenis Diaz covering second base for the force out that ended the inning. �Penn finished the first three innings having given up 4 walks, 3 hits (2 doubles and a single), 2 wild pitches �-- but no runs.

The Indians had a hit in each of the first four innings. �The man of the night, Jim Negrych, singled with two outs in the 1st inning. �1B Jeff Clement doubled to lead off the 2nd inning, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by CF Jonathan Van Every. Brandon Moss singled with two outs in the 3rd. �Clement singled again in the 4th inning. �All four of them were left on base.

Then, Hayden Penn flipped a switch. �Or maybe brought in his not-so-evil twin. �Penn retired the next 9 batters he faced in order, including three strikeouts.

Lots of home runs in the minor leagues tonight, including Jim Negrych's 2-run homer that won the game for the Indianapolis Indians.

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Bradenton Marauders �9, �Jupiter Hammerheads �7 (box)

A 5-run inning boosted the Marauders in the early part of the game, and then the Marauders had to use three home runs to make up for making 4 errors in the field. �The two teams combined for 27 hits in the game, with the Marauders accounting for 16 of them.

Bradenton starter Nate Adcock gave up a run in each of the 2nd and 3rd innings. �Two singles and two throwing errors brought in a run in the 2nd, and a double, a single, and an RBI ground out plated the run in the 3rd.

The newest Marauder, 2B Jorge Bishop, got the party started in the bottom of the 3rd with a lead-off triple. �A single by SS Greg Picart brought in Bishop. Another single by CF Robbie Grossman and a double by rehabbing DH Steve Pearce plated Picart. �LF Quincy Latimore singled to score Grossman and Pearce. �Two more singles, by 1B Calvin Anderson and 3B Adenson Chourio scored Latimore. �The Marauders almost had another run, but Adenson Chourio was throw out at the plate after C Andrew Walker's single. �The Marauders came out of the inning with a 5-2 lead.

Adcock got into trouble in the 5th, when a fielding error began the inning. �A double, a single, a passed ball, and two RBI ground outs brought in three more runs, only one of which was earned. �Another double, a fielding error, two singles and a sacrifice fly brought in an earned run and an unearned run in the 6th.

The Marauders kept up with the help of the homers. �Calvin Anderson smacked a solo homer in the 5th. �A double by Bishop, a stolen base, and a wild pitch added another run in the 6th, to tie the score at 7-7. �Back-to-back homers by Quincy Latimore and Calvin Anderson in the 7th gave the Marauders the go-ahead run and one more for insurance.

Tyler Cox, Ramon Aguero, and Noah Krol each pitched one scoreless inning of relief, with 5 strikeouts between them. �Cox earned the win, since he was the pitcher of record when Latimore and Anderson homered in the 7th. �Aguero was credited with a Hold, and Krol earned his 16th save of the season, tying him for the lead in the Florida State League.

Rehabbing Steve Pearce went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, a walk, and a strikeout in the game.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees �4, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

A 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th broke a 1-1 tie, handing starter Daniel McCutchen a hard-luck loss at PNC Field in Scranton, PA. �But there was a piece of good luck, at least for Pirates fans, after the game: �3B Pedro Alvarez (photo) was called up to Pittsburgh, to join the Pirates.

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In just his second season of professional baseball, Alvarez has played in 66 games with the Indians, hitting .280 with 15 doubles, 4 triples, 13 homers, and 53 RBI. �He leaves the International League with the league's third- highest RBI total, tied for second in triples, and tied for fourth in home runs. �Alvarez, like most of the Indians, has had trouble against the S/WB Yankees, going 1-for-15 in this 4-game series, with 2 RBI and 6 strikeouts. �The hit he had was a home run on Saturday. �Alvarez had started off the season with a slow month of April, hitting .224 though with 5 homers and 15 RBI. �He improved that average to .294 in May, with 6 more homers and 30 more RBI. �In half of June, he has hit .346 -- and that counts the 1-for-15 series -- with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. �The Pirates had challenged Alvarez to improve his average against left-handed pitchers, and he has done that. �His current splits have him hitting .266 against right-handed pitchers and .323 against southpaws.

Daniel McCutchen (photo) began tonight's game by retiring the first 6 batters he faced. �He gave up a run in the 3rd inning, which began with Yankees' 3B Matt Cusick lifting a fly ball over Tribe LF Kevin Melillo's head for a double. �2B Reegie Corona's ground out to second moved Cusick to third base. �McCutchen hit the next batter, RF Greg Golson, who then stole second base. �LF Reid Gorecki's fly ball to left field became a sacrifice fly, scoring Cusick with the first run of the game.

McCutchen gave up only one hit over the next three innings. �1B Jorge Vazquez lined a 2-out single into the right-center field alley in the 4th, and was left on base when C Jesus Montero popped out to end the inning. �The next 6 batters, over the 5th and 6th innings, all went down in order.

Yankees' starter Ivan Nova was letting Indians' batters get on base in the first half of the game, but he was getting help from his teammates, specifically in the form of double plays. �DH Brian Myrow reached base on a fielding error in the top of the 1st, when his grounder skipped off the glove of 2B Corona and into right field. �In the 2nd, 1B Jeff Clement and C Luke Carlin opened the inning with back-to-back singles, but RF Brandon Moss bounced into a double play. �That put Clement on third base and erased Carlin. �A fly out by CF Jonathan Van Every ended the inning.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre �8, � �Indianapolis Indians �6 (box)

Seven runs on 11 hits in the first four innings put the Indians in a big hole tonight at PNC Field in Scranton, PA, and though they tried mightily, they could not climb back out.

Starter Mike Crotta (photo) was hit hard by the Yankees, and did not make it out of the 4th inning. �The Yankees scored in each of the first four innings, as they piled up those 11 hits and took advantage of an Indians' error. �Crotta started the bottom of the 1st with a ground out, then gave up a single to LF Colin Curtis which slipped through the left side of the infield past the shifted-over SS Doug Bernier. Curtis was off and running on the next batter, SS Eduardo Nunez, as he took a double into left field, and Curtis was able to come around to score. �1B Juan Miranda struck out on three pitches, but Nunez stole third base, and then scored on 3B Jorge Vasquez's line drive single into left field. �C Jesus Montero doubled, bringing in Montero, before DH David Winfree struck out to end the rally. �Crotta had thrown 23 pitches to get through the inning, and the Yankees had a 3-0 lead.

They came right back at Crotta in the 2nd inning. �With one out, CF Greg Golson doubled into the left field corner, and moved to third on a ground out by RF Reid Gorecki. �Curtis grounded to 1B Jeff Clement, moving to his right to make the play. �But when Clement flipped the ball to Crotta covering first base, the throw was low and skipped past Crotta. �Instead of the inning being over, Golson scored on the hit and RBI, and Curtis advanced to second base on the throwing error. �A ground out ended the inning, with the Yankees adding the one run, 4-0. �The inning took Crotta another 23 pitches.

It didn't get any better in the 3rd inning. �Miranda began the inning with a double off the center field wall, and Jorge Vasquez followed with a home run over the left field wall. �Montero singled through the hole at short, past Doug Bernier, for a single after the homer. �Then Crotta got some better breaks -- a strikeout by Winfree, a grounder off Crotta's glove that 2B Jim Negrych (photo) saved from going into center field. �Negrych made a dive behind second base, then recovered in time to flip the ball back over his shoulder to Bernier covering second for the force out. �Bernier's throw on to first base was high, but it was not in time to get Reegie Corona. �A ground out ended the inning, and that took Crotta 18 pitches -- the pitch count was climbing quickly, and the Yankees led 6-0.

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees �3, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

Tribe pitcher Charlie Morton (photo) made his second rehab start with the Indianapolis Indians this afternoon at PNC Field in Scranton, PA, and despite being charged with the loss, Morton had a better outing than he had last week. �Morton pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �Back on Tuesday, Morton had not made it through the 4th inning and had given up 5 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �Opposing batters hit .353 against Morton last week, but hit .292 against him today. �Not wonderful, not great, but at least better.

What was even more telling, though, was that after Morton allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in the first three innings, Morton settled down. �Over the last three innings he pitched today, Morton gave up just one hit, a single to Yankees' SS Eduardo Nunez in the 5th. �Nunez stole second base, but was left there when Morton finished the inning with a ground out. �Morton retired the Yankees in order in the 4th and the 6th, and he struck out 4 batters in those last three innings.

That does mean that Morton had trouble in the first three innings. �In fact, the first four batters he faced in the bottom of the 1st, all singled, and all made good solid contact with Morton's pitches. �RF Reid Gorecki singled up the middle, and DH Colin Curtis slipped a grounder into right field, moving Gorecki to third base. �Gorecki scored on Nunez's single into left field, and 1B Juan Miranda's single loaded the bases. �After a quick visit by pitching coach Dean Treanor, Morton got 3B Jorge Vasquez to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play, started by SS Argenis Diaz, to 2B Jim Negrych, and on to 1B Jeff Clement, who was pulled a little to the infield side of the bag by Negrych's throw, but still was able to tag Vasquez as he ran past. �Curtis scored from third on the play. �Morton struck out C Jesus Montero to end the inning.

Morton had a little momentum from the double play and the strikeout, and he retired the Yankees in order in the 2nd, aided by an impressive catch by Jim Negrych on a short soft liner by CF Greg Golson. �Negrych had to go behind him and to his right to make the play.

The Indians had managed only one hit over the first two innings. �Jeff Clement smacked a double over the head of LF David Winfree, who did not judge the wind and the ball very well, and then couldn't readjust fast enough. �The top of the 3rd began with a single into center field by RF Brandon Jones. Argenis Diaz (photo) hit a fly ball into right field, which Yankees' RF Reid Gorecki let bounce just in front of him, making the catch on a very short hop, about at the level of his ankles. �Jones had had to hold up because he thought Gorecki might be able to catch the ball, and then when the catch was made after the bounce, Jones had to race to second. �Gorecki was expecting it, and was easily able to fire to second base to force out Jones. �Diaz was safe at first, and he moved to second base on a wild pitch from Yankees' starter Tim Redding. �LF Kevin Melillo first slugged a long ball down the right field line which curved foul at the last moment, missing a home run by only about 10 feet. �Melillo eventually�flied out, and Diaz tagged up and advanced to third base. �Then Jim Negrych collected his first AAA hit and his first AAA RBI with a double off the wall in left field, scoring Diaz, and cutting the Yankees' lead to 2-1.

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