Tag: Kevin Melillo

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


The Indians were held to just 2 hits as they were shut out at Durham Bulls' Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina this evening.� The win by the Bulls gives them a 3-1 win of this 4-game series, and a 5-3 win of the season series.

The Bulls used 5 different pitchers, who combined to strikeout the Indians 14 times in the game.� Aneury Rodriguez made an unexpected spot start for the Bulls, and he pitched into the 5th inning.� He struck out 6 Indians, and gave up 4 walks plus one hit.� CF Alex Presley worked a walk in the 1st inning, but was left there as Rodriguez struck out two batters in that frame.� After one out in the 3rd, 2B Brian Friday (photo) blooped a single over the reach of the leaping Durham SS Elliot Johnson.� Friday stole second base and then advanced to third base on a wild pitch that bounced into the grass between the plate and the pitchers' mound.� 3B Akinori Iwamura walked, but the two runners were left standing on the corners.� Rodriguez walked two batters, SS Pedro Ciriaco and Friday in the 5th inning, then was relieved by Joe Bateman.� Bateman struck out LF Kevin Melillo, and Ciriaco steal third and Friday steal second base on strike three, but a fly out ended the inning and the Indians had still not scored.

The next three Durham pitchers,� Jake McGee, RJ Swindle, and Winston Abreu, retired all but one of the rest of the Indians' batters in the game.� The Indians went down in order in the 6th (McGee struck out the side), 7th, and 8th innings.� With two outs in the 9th, RF John Bowker grounded to third, where Bulls' 3B Angel Chavez struggled with an odd hop and fumbled the ball behind the third base bag.� Bowker reached first base, and was given a single on the play.� But pinch hitter Mitch Jones struck out, ending the game and leaving Bowker on first base.

Durham Bulls� 10,� Indianapolis Indians� 1 �� (Game 1) (box)

Two 5-run innings by the Bulls stampeded Indians' starter Brad Lincoln in the first game of today's double-header at Durham Bulls' Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.

Lincoln (photo) hit a batter in his first inning of work, then struck out the next two batters.� But in the 2nd inning, the Bulls began running.� The first three batters reached base safely-- singles by 2B Joe Dillon and LF Leslie Anderson and a 2-run double by DH Dioner Navarro.� Lincoln got C Jose Labaton to ground out, then walked 3B Angel Chavez.� CF Desmond Jennings lined a single into right field, bringing in Navarro.� A passed ball by rehabbing C Ryan Doumit moved the two runners into scoring position, then a single by SS Elliot Johnson and a double by RF Justin Ruggiano each drove in a run, to give the Bulls a 5-0 lead.� A ground out and pop out finally ended the inning.

Lincoln breezed through the 3rd inning, again striking out two batters, but got right back into trouble in the 4th.� Once again, the first three batters reached base safely, scoring 2 runs.� This time it was a single by Chavez and a walk to Jennings, followed by a triple by Johnson.� Lincoln struck out Ruggiano, then former Indy Indian 1B Chris Richard doubled, bringing in Johnson.� That was all for Lincoln.� He had given up 9 hits and 2 walks, and ultimately was responsible for 9 of Durham's 10 runs.� He had thrown 83 pitches (50 strikes) in just 3.1 innings.

Brian Bass came on to relieve Lincoln, entering the game with one out and Richard on second base.� But Bass fell victim to the Bulls' stampede too.� The first three batters he faced -- Dillon, Anderson, and Navarro -- all singled, and along with a fielding error by CF Alex Presley, two more runs scored, with one charged to Lincoln.� Bass got Lobaton to bounce back to the mound, where he started a 1-6-3 (Bass to SS Pedro Ciriaco to 1B John Bowker) double play.

Bass went on to pitch the 5th inning, allowing a single to Jennings, but getting Johnson to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play (2B Brian Friday to Ciriaco to Bowker).� Daniel Moskos took the final inning, allowing only a walk. (Only 7 innings in an International League double-header game.)

Indianapolis Indians� 5,� Norfolk Tides� 3 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians avoided being swept out to sea by the Tides with a 5-3 victory at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia this afternoon.� Starter Jeremy Powell (photo) earned his 8th win of the season, and reliever Joe Martinez earned a Save in his Indians' debut.� Another debuting Indian, 1B/RF John Bowker, made a good impression with a 3-for-4 day at the plate including 2 doubles and an RBI.

The game began with the Tribe batters securing a nice packet of run support for their starter Powell, as they batted around in the top of the 1st.� The first four batters reached base safely.� LF Kevin Melillo led off with a double into center field, and a wild pitch sent Melillo to third.� SS Pedro Ciriaco blooped a single into right, scoring Melillo with the first run of the game.� Ciriaco stole second base, then advanced to third base on CF Alex Presley's single through the hole into right field.� The hot-hitting DH Brandon Moss added a double, bringing in both Ciriaco and sending Presley to third.� After a strikeout by the rehabbing RF Ryan Doumit, newcomer John Bowker began his Indians' career with an RBI single that plated Presley.� Norfolk starting pitcher Chris Tillman tried a pick-off throw, but it went wild, and Moss scored from third base.� 3B Jim Negrych also singled, moving Bowker to second base.� Both were left on base when two strikeouts ended the inning, but the Indians had secured a 4-0 lead for Powell.

Powell missed a complete game shutout by a strike in his last start (July 29th), and today he looked just as good.� He retired the first 15 batters he faced, including 3 strikeouts, zipping through 5 innings.� But in the 6th, Powell began to struggle.� He gave up a lead-off walk to 1B Brandon Snyder and a single to former Indy Indian (2008) C Michel Hernandez.� A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position.� CF Matt Angle singled, scoring Snyder, and former Indy Indian (2009) RF Jeff Salazar lifted a sacrifice fly, allowing Hernandez to score.� One more single, by SS Robert Andino, drove in Angle, and the Tides had come within a run of the Indians, 4-3.� Powell was relieved by Corey Hamman, who finished the inning with a strikeout.

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Norfolk Tides� 4,� Indianapolis Indians� 1 (box)

Tribe starter Mike Crotta (photo) gave up only 4 hits in 7 innings of work, but two of them were big hits, and that was enough for the Tides to beat the Indians for the third straight night at Harbor Park in Norfolk.� Crotta suffered his 6th loss in his time with the Tribe.

Crotta struck out 6 batters and walked only one, and he threw a total of 115 pitches (74 strikes).� He took care of the Tides, 1-2-3, in the 1st inning, but gave up a pair of runs in the 2nd.� With one out, Crotta walked LF Nolan Reimold and gave up a single up the middle to 3B Scott Moore.� A fly out gave Crotta the second out of the inning, but then C Craig Tatum lined a triple past CF Alex Presley, which scored both Reimold and Moore.

The 3rd inning was another 3-up-and-3-down for Crotta, but he again got into trouble in the 4th.� Reimold lined a one-out single into center field and stole second base.� Crotta struck out Moore, but 1B Brad Snyder took a 2-1 pitch over the left-center field wall for a 2-run home run.�

Crotta retired 9 of the 10 batters he faced over the next three innings.� The only base runner he allowed was, once again, Reimold, who he hit with a pitch in the 6th.

The Indians were not providing Crotta with much in the way of run support.� They scored one run on 5 hits.� RF Brandon Moss, who has been the team's hottest hitter recently, had 2 of the hits.� Moss led off the 2nd inning with a single into right field, and he moved to second base when DH Ryan Doumit, with the Indians on a rehab assignment, grounded out to second.� He was left stranded when a fly out and a strikeout ended the inning.� Alex Presley beat out a bunt for� single in the 4th, and went on to second base when the Norfolk C Tatum made a throwing error.� LF Kevin Melillo doubled to open the 6th inning.� Neither Presley nor Melillo got any further than second base before the inning ended.� 1B Jonathan Van Every also reached base to begin an inning when he was walked to start the 5th.� He was caught trying to steal second base.

Norfolk Tides� 3,� Indianapolis Indians� 2 (box)

A 9th-inning rally by the Tides tied up the game, and an 11th-inning rally gave them the win over the Indianapolis Indians at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia tonight in the first game of a 4-game series.� Pitching ruled in the game, as the Indians were held to just 5 hits, and the Tides were held to only 6, and a wild pitch and a fielding error made the difference in the game.

The Indians jumped out to the early lead in the top of the 1st inning.� LF Kevin Melillo looked at strike one, then took 4 balls for a walk.� Two outs later, DH Brandon Moss (photo) rocketed a 2-0 pitch over the right center field wall for a 2-run homer.

But that was all the scoring the Tribe would do, and they collected only 4 hits in the rest of the game, plus 3 more walks.� No Tribe batter got as far as third base for the rest of the game.� 1B Jonathan Van Every singled with one out in the 2nd inning, and moved to second base on a ground out by C Luke Carlin, but got no farther.� Newcomer RF Mitch Jones, in his first game with the Indians, was hit by a pitch to lead off the 4th inning, and 2B Jim Negrych followed with a single, moving Jones to second base.� But Van Every lined out to first base, and Jones was doubled off second base, and Negrych was left stranded at the end of the inning.

The Indians threatened again in the 7th, when Luke Carlin walked and 3B Brian Bixler singled, but both were left on base that time.� In the top of the 11th, Brandon Moss picked up his second hit of the game, a single lined into right field, but he was forced out at second when Mitch Jones grounded out, and moments later, Jones was picked off first and caught stealing.� Jones and SS Brian Friday were the only other batters to reach base, both on walks, and both were left stranded.

Brian Burres made the start for the Indians.� He pitched 7 innings and allowed one run on 3 hits and 4 walks, with 2 strikeouts.� Burres gave up a bunt single to the first batter he faced, CF Matt Angle, then picked Angle off first base.� He proceeded to retire the next 9 Tides' batters, until he gave up a one-out single to SS Robert Andino in the 4th.� Walks to former Indy Indian RF Jeff Salazar and 3B Scott Moore loaded the bases.� After a quick chat with pitching coach Dean Treanor, Burres got the next batter, LF Nolan Reimold to bounce to third base, where Brian Bixler stepped on third for the force out, then fired across the diamond to 1B Jonathan Van Every for the double play.

Looking heavenward for help?

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Indianapolis Indians �8, �Charlotte Knights �5 (box)

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The Indians posted 14 hits on their way to 8 runs tonight at Victory Field. �The win gives the Indians a win of this 4-game series (3 games to 1) and the season series (6 games to 2) over the Charlotte Knights. �RF�Brandon Moss led the offense by going 3-for-3 at the plate, with a double, an RBI, and a walk. �3B�Akinori Iwamura, CF�Alex Presley, 1B�Jonathan Van Every, and 2B�Brian Friday each had 2 hits, and Presley smacked his 4th home run in his 30 games with the Indians.

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The game began with Tribe starter Brian Burres (photo) getting into and out of a jam. �Back-to-back singles by Knights' CF Alejandro De Aza and 2B Luis Rodriguez, and a walk to RF Stefan Gartrell loaded the bases before Burres could record an out. �DH Josh Kroeger flied out to left field, but it was too short for De Aza to tag up and try to score from third base. �Then Burres got C Tyler Flowers to ground to Aki Iwamura, who started the around-the-horn double play, Iwamura to Brian Friday to Jonathan Van Every (5-4-3). �Big sigh of relief from the Indians' dugout and the fans in the stands.

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(Photo: �Brian Friday at second base)

Burres retired the Knights in order in the next two innings. �Things got messy again in the top of the 4th. �Stefan Gartrell and Josh Kroeger walked on 9 pitches (one strike for Kroeger). �Burres again got Tyler Flowers to bounce into a double play, this time grounding to Argenis Diaz at shortstop, who started the 6-4-3 play (Diaz to Friday to Van Every). �That erased Kroeger, but put Gartrell on third base. �Gartrell scored when LF Buck Coats grounded up the middle for a single. �3B Brent Morel also reached base on a single to short, but Burres got a ground out to end the inning.

The Indians' bats had been held to just a walk to Brandon Moss in the 2nd inning and a line drive single by C Luke Carlin in the 3rd inning. �Both Moss and Carlin tried to steal second base, but only Carlin was successful. �The Tribe batters got going in the 4th inning, with three straight hits. �Aki Iwamura and Alex Presley led off with back-to back singles, both liners into right field. �Moss picked up his first hit of the game with a rocket into right field for a double, scoring Iwamura and moving Presley to third base. �DH Jim Negrych grounded out to second, plating Presley and advancing Moss to third. �Jonathan Van Every also singled, and that brought in Moss from third, to give the Indians a 3-1 lead.

It was a brief lead. �With two outs in the top of the 4th, Luis Rodriguez hit his 5th home run in 5 days, and Stefan Gartrell followed with his 20th homer of the season -- back-to-back homers, and the score was tied 3-3.

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Home plate umpire Chris Ward and manger Frank Kremblas discuss an ejection.

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Charlotte Knights� 3,� Indianapolis Indians� 2 (box)

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Indians' starter Daniel McCutchen (photo, making a pickoff throw to first base) suffered another tough loss this afternoon at Victory Field.� Like in his previous four starts, McCutchen gave up 3 runs (it was 2 runs on June 21st) but did not get enough run support to get the win.� Today McCutchen pitched 8 innings, his longest start of the season, and threw 101 pitches (67 strikes).� Other than a 3-inning rain-shortened start in May, this was McCutchen's first start in which he did not strike out anyone.

McCutchen gave up just 6 hits in his 8 innings.� The first hit, to Knights' lead-off batter CF Alejandro De Aza to begin the game, was erased when De Aza was thrown out by C Luke Carlin trying to steal second base.� After two of the hits, a double by RF Stefan Gartrell in the 4th and a single to De Aza in the 8th, the runner was left on base.� (McCutchen retired the side in order in 3 innings.)

That left just three hits that were a problem for McCutchen.� LF Josh Kroeger led off the top of the 2nd inning with a line drive single into center field.� He moved to second base when 3B Brent Morel grounded slowly to third base -- 3B Jim Negrych charged the ball, but had only the one play at first base.� A balk by McCutchen put Kroeger on third base, but that turned out to not matter.� A moment later, 1B Jeremy Reed put a long fly ball well over the right field wall, landing on the patio beyond the right field corner.� Charlotte up, 2-0.

With one out in the 6th inning, 2B Luis Rodriguez deposited a home run just barely over the wall in the right field corner.� Rodriguez has now homered in each of the three games so far in this series between the Indians and the Knights, and in fact, it is his 4th home run in his last 4 games.

Those were all the hits the Knights needed.

Yesterday, Knight's starter Carlos Torres, who leads the International League in walks with 56, walked 7 batters.� Second in the league in free passes is Charlotte's Lucas Harrell -- today's starter.� Harrell came into the game having walked 53 batters so far in the season.� Unfortunately for the Indians, he left the game with exactly the same number of walks.

The Indians had at least one runner on base in 4 of Harrell's 6 innings, with 6 hits.� Unfortunately, four of those base runners were eliminated on force plays, including two double plays.� DH Kevin Melillo led off the bottom of the 1st with a soft looper into left field.� He was removed when 2B Brian Friday bounced into a double play.� LF Brian Bixler beat out a bunt up the third base line for a hit in the 5th inning, but he was erased when SS Argenis Diaz bounced into a double play.� Diaz slipped a grounder past the Knights' 2B Rodriguez for a single in the 3rd, but Melillo's grounder to first base forced him out at second base (photo).� There wasn't time for a throw to first base on that play.

The remaining force out was part of a rally in the 2nd inning, along with one of the Indians' other hits.� The Knights had just taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the inning, and with one out, Jim Negrych lined a single into center field.� Luke Carlin followed with a grounder right to SS Rob Hudson.� Hudson tossed to second base to force out Negrych, but he airmailed the relay throw to first base, and Carlin was safe at first.� 1B Doug Bernier, lined a double down the right field line and into the corner.� Carlin raced around the bases, scoring from first base, to cut the Knights' lead to 2-1.

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Mound conference

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Indianapolis Indians� 8,� Charlotte Knights� 5 (box)

For the second night in a row, the Indians had an exciting 6th inning that gave them the lead and the eventual win over the Charlotte Knights.� Tonight, five consective hits in the 6th, with RBI from LF Kevin Melillo, 2B Akinori Iwamura, and 1B Jeff Clement, powered the Indians to the win at Victory Field.

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Jeremy Powell made the start for the Indians tonight -- his first start in almost three weeks.� (He's had three relief appearances in that interval.)� Powell breezed through the first two innings, allowing only a walk to SS Luis Rodriguez in the 1st.� He got into a little trouble in the 3rd inning, when he gave up two hits for a run.� 1B Jeremy Reed led off with a double to the base of the center field wall, and was moved over to third base by 2B Rob Hudson's sacrifice bunt.� LF Alejandro De Aza slipped a line drive past 2B Aki Iwamura and into right-center field, scoring Reed from third base.� De Aza was also bunted along, putting him on second base, and he proceeded to steal third base.� Powell struck out CF Buck Coats to end the inning and leave De Aza on third.

Powell retired the Knights in order in the 4th inning, and nearly got out of the 5th inning unscathed.� With one out in the 5th, Jeremy Reed picked up his second hit of the game, a bunt that came to a stop in no-mans'-land in front of third base and to the side of the mound.� By the time 3B Jim Negrych got to the ball, he had no play at first.� Rob Hudson grounded slowly to short, fielded cleanly by SS Argenis Diaz. Diaz made the quick toss to Aki Iwamura at second base to force out Reed, and Iwamura fired on to Jeff Clement at first.� But Hudson just barely beat out the throw to first, so instead of getting out of the inning with a double play, Powell still had to work with two outs and a runner on first.� That brought up Alejandro De Aza, who drilled a triple down the right field line and into the corner for a triple, bringing in Hudson with the Knights' second run.

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Moss' homer in the 1st.�







Indianapolis Indians� 17,� Charlotte Knights� 11 (box)

DH Brandon Moss went 3-for-5 with a double and two home runs, contributing 6 RBI, in the Indians' big win over the Charlotte Knights at Victory Field tonight.� The two teams combined for 28 runs and 31 hits (and 5 errors), with the Indians posting 17 runs and 14 hits.� That surpassed the previous season high of 15 runs in a game (June 27th against Toledo), but fell short of the most hits in a game this season (19 hits, in that same game).� The Indians scored in 5 of the first 6 innings, and they capped the offensive onslaught with a 9-run 7th inning.

Mike Crotta (photo) made the start for the Indians, and he earned his first win since June 9th.� Crotta pitched 5.1 innings and allowed 11 hits, with 5 runs and 5 strikeouts.� Crotta had some tough-luck moments in this outing.� In the top of the 1st, with one out, Charlotte's 3B Luis Rodriguez drove a fly ball to the deepest part of Victory Field, the left-center field alley at 418 feet, for a triple.�� Crotta struck out the next batter, but then RF Stefan Gartrell took a high hop right over the mound.� Crotta, going on instinct, made the leap to try to catch the ball, but only managed to deflect it, and the ball dropped to the grass behind the mound, out of everyone's reach.� It was ruled a single, and it brought in Rodriguez from third base.� 1B Josh Kroeger dribbled a slow roller to the right of the mound and in from the infield dirt.� 2B Aki Iwamura charged in to make the play, but by the time he got to it, Kroeger was nearly to the bag.� Iwamura rushed his throw and he was off-balance besides, and the throw scooted to the infield side of the first base bag, putting Kroeger safe at first.� Crotta ended that inning with a grounder to short.

The Indians came right back in the bottom of the 1st.� LF Kevin Melillo led off with a walk.� Aki Iwmura slapped a 1-2 pitch right back to the mound, where it hit Charlotte starter Brandon Hynick, probably on the glove.� The ball ricocheted off Hynick, going straight at the visitor's dugout, crossing the first base line just out of reach of Hynick, who recovered quickly enough to try to chase it.

A sacrifice bunt by CF Alex Presley moved both base runners into scoring position, and the speedy Presley nearly beat out the throw to give the Indians full bases.� Hynick struck out 1B Jeff Clement, bringing up Brandon Moss (photo).� Moss responded by taking the first pitch he saw over the wall in straight-away center field for his first home run of the season while in the Designated Hitter role.� The Indians had a 3-1 lead, which they never surrendered.

The Tribe added two more runs in the 3rd inning.� Alex Presley singled off the end of his bat and into right center field, then Jeff Clement walked.� After a fly out, a walk to RF Jonathan Van Every also walked to load the bases.� 3B Jim Negrych drove a liner into center field for an RBI single, bringing in Presley and Clement for a 5-1 lead.

Mike Crotta kept the Knights scoreless in the 2nd and 3rd innings.� He had to deal with loaded bases in the 2nd, when C Donny Lucy reached base on throwing error (low throw that Clement couldn't handle) by SS Brian Friday.� DH Jeremy Reed blooped a single into short right field, where Jonathan Van Every tried to dive for it but missed.� A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, but the next batter, Alejandro De Aza lined out right to Jeff Clement.� It happened so fast that neither runner had time to even get off his respective bag.� Crotta retired the side in order in the 3rd inning, then began the 4th with a strikeout and a grounder to first.� With two outs, the next three batters all had hits.� SS Rob Hudson doubled down the left field line to the left field wall, where Kevin Melillo played the carom.� Alejandro De Aza skipped a grounder past the mound and past the second base bag for a single, and that drove in Hudson from second base.� Then Luis Rodriguez homered over the right field wall for 2 more runs, and the Knights had moved to within one run of the Indians, 5-4.

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Charlie Morton was pouring 'em in there.

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Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs� 3,� Indianapolis Indians� 2 (box)

For the past three days, the Indians have been losing, but they have been piling up the hits:� 16 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, and 12 on Wednesday.� Today, the Tribe bats were shut down by strikeouts -- a total of 16 K's -- and they were held to just 3 hits.� And, the Iron Pigs won again, sweeping the 4-game series from the Indians at Victory Field.

Former Indy Indian (2006) and Iron Pigs' starter Brandon Duckworth gave up all three of the Indians hits.� LF Kevin Melillo had two of them.� He opened the bottom of the 1st with a double off the lower part of the right field wall.� Two ground outs, both to second base, by 2B Aki Iwamura and CF Alex Presley, brought Melillo around to score.� Presley picked up the RBI.

Melillo drove a liner into right field again in the 3rd inning, but when he tried to reach second base, Iron Pigs' RF John Mayberry's perfect throw beat him to the bag.� It was unfortunate for the Indians, because if Melillo had stayed at first, he would have scored in just another moment -- when Aki Iwamura blasted a home run over the wall in straight out center field (photo).

Those were all the hits the Indians had in the game.� There were four walks, two to 3B Jim Negrych, , and one each to Melillo and RF Brandon Moss. Duckworth was also responsible for the walks, which he scattered over four innings, so that the Indians never had more than one base runner on at a time.

Duckworth also was responsible for 11 of the Indians' strikeouts.� He struck out one in the 1st, then 2 batters in each of the next 5 innings.� After two K's and a walk in the 6th, Duckworth was relieved by Michael Stutes.� Stutes finished the inning, then retired the side in order for the first time in the game, including another strikeout.� Antonio Bastardo and Scott Mathieson each pitched a perfect inning to finish the game, and each struck out two Tribe batters.� 1B Jeff Clement had the most trouble in the strikeout follies -- he struck out in all 4 of his at-bats.� Jim Negrych was the only batter who did not strike out at all.

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Van Every (#24) was supposed to be the hero

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Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs� 12,� Indianapolis Indians� 8 (box)

Two 4-run innings by the Iron Pigs stole the thunder from pinch-hitter Jonathan Van Every (photo above), as the Iron Pigs defeated the Indians for the third straight game at Victory Field this afternoon.� Van Every had given the Indians the lead in the 7th inning with the Tribe's first pinch-hit home run of the season, and the Indians were all set to have Van Every be the hero of the game... until disaster struck in the 8th and 9th.

The Indians took the early lead in the bottom of the 1st, when they jumped all over Iron Pigs' starter Michael Cisco, who was making his AAA debut.� LF Kevin Melillo led off with a grounder that hit the side of the mound and kept going right up the middle and into center field.� 3B Aki Iwamura dribbled a little oops-swing (not a bunt) down the first base line, and was tagged out, but it was just as good as a sacrifice bunt, as Melillo moved to second base.� CF Alex Presley extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single through the hole and into right field, driving in Melillo (photo).� 1B Jeff Clement moved Presley to third with another grounder to the right side, just past the Iron Pigs' first baseman, but both Presley and Clement were left on base when Cisco got a strikeout and a grounder to first to end the inning.� Cisco settled down after that first inning.� He faced just the minimum number of batters over the next three innings, striking out the side in the 2nd.� In the third, Melillo singled again, but was thrown out trying to steal second base.

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Brian Burres (photo) made the start for the Indians.� He retired the Iron Pigs in order in the 1st, and easily worked around a single to left-center field by 3B Neil Sellers in the 2nd inning.� He made a mistake in the 3rd, though, and that tied the game -- a 2-1 pitch taken over the left field wall and onto the sidewalk behind the grass berm for a solo home run by former Indy Indian LF Chris Aguila.

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The Iron Pigs broke the tie in the next inning.� Burres got the first out of the inning, then loaded the bases with the next three batters.� CF John Mayberry chopped a high bouncer off the plate and up and over the mound.� 2B Jim Negrych had to wait for the ball to drop out of the stratosphere before he could make the catch and throw to first, and by then, Mayberry had already crossed the bag.� Neil Sellers lined a single into right-center, moving Mayberry to third base, and 1B Paul Sellers walked to load 'em up.� Burres struck out C Dane Sardinha, and needed only one more out... but SS Brian Bocock, who had the huge game-winning RBI triple two days ago, doubled down the right field line, driving in both Mayberry and Sellers, and the Iron Pigs had a 3-1 lead.

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Conference time

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Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs� 4,�� Indianapolis Indians� 2 (box)

Back-to-back home runs in the 3rd inning was all the Iron Pigs needed to beat the Indians at Victory Field tonight.� Former Indianapolis Indian CF Chris Duffy smacked the first homer, and 2B Ozzie Chavez followed with the second.

The start of the game was delayed by nearly 90 minutes, though it wasn't raining, and in fact the sun was shining for part of that time.� The sun was not shining in downtown Indianapolis at around 5 pm, though.� That's when a sudden downpour sprang up with virtual no warning, catching the Victory Field ground crew without the tarp on the field.� By the time the tarp could be spread, quite a lot of water had gotten onto the infield.� Shortly before 6 pm, the tarp was pulled back and the crew went to work, first on the third base line and the third base and home plate areas, then later on the opposite side of the infield.� Several times in the process there was a conference on the field (photo above), including Lehigh Valley manager Dave Huppert, two of the umpires (black shirts on the left), head groundskeeper Joey Stevenson (red shirt), Indians' assistant general manager Randy Lewandowski (white shirt), and Indians' manager Frank Kremblas (far right).� It took the crew more than 2.5 hours to get the infield into a safe and playable condition, and the game began at about 8:30 pm.

Daniel McCutchen (photo) made the start for the Indians, and he generally looked sharp.� He threw 80 pitches (52 strikes) over 5 innings, and was only removed at that point because his turn in the batting order came around in the bottom of the 5th and the Indians had a runner on base and were trying to catch up.

McCutchen gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk, and struck out 5 batters.� He retired the side in order only one time, in the 5th.� He worked around one base runner in the 1st (a walk to LF Domonic Brown), in the 2nd (a single by C Dane Sardinha), and the 4th (he hit Sardinha with a pitch).� The only inning that gave him any serious trouble was the 3rd.

That inning began with Iron Pigs' pitcher JA Happ taking a 2-2 pitch down the right field line and into the corner for a double.� Happ is a lifetime .070 hitter, who has had one previous double, in 2009.� Chris Duffy took McCutchen's next pitch for a ride over the wall in right-center field, for a no-doubt 2-run homer.� Then Ozzie Chavez also hit the first pitch from McCutchen ove rthe right field wall, to the right of where Duffy's sailed out.� McCutchen took a deep breath, and struck out the next batter, Domonic Brown, then ended the inning with two ground outs.� After the homers, McCutchen faced only one batter over the minimum for the rest of his might, and that was when he hit Sardinha with a pitch.