Tag: Luke Carlin

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Charlie Morton was pouring 'em in there.

�

�

�

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.

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

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

�

�

�

�

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.

�

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.

�

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.

Indianapolis Indians� 4,� Rochester Red Wings� 3 (box)

Three RBI from RF Jonathan Van Every (photo) gave the Indians the spark they needed to get the win this afternoon at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, giving the Indians a split of the 4-game series with the Red Wings, and a 6-4 record on the extended road trip.

Like yesterday, today's game involved the teams trading the lead and playing catch-up.� Tribe starter Mike Crotta had little trouble with the Red Wings in the first two innings, allowing only a single to C Jose Morales, when his grounder into right field hopped off Van Every's glove, giving Morales the chance to reach second base.� Morales tagged and advanced to third base on the second of two fly outs, but Crotta left him standing there when he ended the inning with a ground out.

Crotta did get into more difficulty in the 3rd inning.� With one out, the next four batters reached base safely.� Crotta (photo below) walked CF Dustin Martin, then SS Trevor Plouff's knocked a bloopy hit into center field, just out of reach of Tribe CF Alex Presley. Martin had to hold up to see whether or not Presley was going to make the catch, so he was only able to get as far as third base on the hit.� LF Matt Macri singled into left field, just past the diving 3B Akinori Iwamura, and Martin scored easily.� Plouffe stepped up to third base on the play, and then scored on RF Brian Dinkelman's RBI single into right field.� Jose Morales was next, and he hit a line drive -- but right at 1B Jeff Clement, for the second out of the inning.� Clement hesitated before throwing the ball to second base, which gave Macri the extra second needed to get back to the bag safely.� It turned out to not matter, as 2B Brendan Harris grounded into a force out to end the inning.� The Red Wings were ahead, 2-0.

The Tribe batters put two runners on base in each of the first three innings, but could not bring any of those six runners around to score.� Aki Iwamura and SS Brian Bixler both singled in the top of the 1st, while Alex Presley and C Luke Carlin walked in the 2nd, and Iwamura and DH Brandon Moss walked in the 3rd.�� The Red Wings' pitching staff gave up a combined 11 walks in the game, but those four were wasted opportunities for the Indians.

Rochester starter Ryan Mullins pitched 2 innings, but when he came out to warm up prior to the top of the 3rd, he suddenly stopped and called out his training staff, then left the game.� He has been battling back problems recently, and they may have flared up again.

In the top of the 4th, Alex Presley and Jonathan Van Every took it upon themselves to erase the Red Wings' lead.� Presley led off the inning with a triple over the head of CF Dustin Martin.� Presley thought about holding up at second base, but when Martin's throw in from deep center field was coming in way high, Presley aggressively headed for third, and arrived there in plenty of time.� Van Every tied the game with a magnificent no-doubt-about-it 2-run homer over the right-center field wall.

Rochester Red Wings� 6,� Indianapolis Indians� 5 ..�������� (box)

The Indians out-hit the Red Wings 15 - 8 at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, but just getting on base is not enough� -- you have to come around to score.� That was what the Indians could not do, as they lost to the Red Wings tonight.� Each member of the Tribe's line-up had at least one hit, with RF Brandon Moss (photo) leading the charge with 3 singles.� Starter Brian Burres was charged with the loss, and reliever Brian Bass was charged with a Blown Save.

�

The two teams traded runs in the 1st inning.� Aki Iwamura, playing second base tonight, got things started for the Tribe with a one-out single into center field.� 1B Brian Myrow grounded to first, where Red Wings' 1B Brock Peterson made the scoop and threw to SS Trevor Plouffe, who forced out Iwamura at second, but could not get the ball back to first base in time to make the out on Myrow.� Three consecutive singles followed -- by DH Jeff Clement, RF Brandon Moss, and C Luke Carlin. Myrow scored on Moss's hit.� Carlin's grounder to second loaded the bases, but another ground out ended the inning.

.

Brian Burres (photo) gave up two walks in the bottom of the 1st, to RF Matt Macri and C Jose Morales.� With two outs and those runners on first and second bases, 2B Brendan Harris singled into right field, scoring Macri from second base.� A ground out ended the inning, with the score tied at 1-1.

Burres retired the Red Wings in order in the 2nd inning, but gave up another run in the 3rd inning on three straight singles, to Macri, LF Jacque Jones, and Jose Morales.� Morales' liner into left field drove in Macri, and the Red Wings were ahead 2-1.

Rochester's starter Glenn Perkins held the Indians to just one single over the 2nd through 4th innings.� He struck out the side in the 2nd and again in the 4th, and only Brian Myrow reached base with his line drive single up the middle.� The Indians got to him in the 5th, with a rally started by a lead-off walk to SS Argenis Diaz. As so often happens, the lead-off walk comes back to haunt you, and that's what happend to Perkins.� Newly returned 3B Brian Bixler did what we so often have seen him do in Indianapolis -- he rocketed a ball into right field for a triple, scoring Diaz.� Aki Iwamura slipped a single just to the left of SS Plouffe, and Bixler came in with the go-ahead run.� Brian Myrow struck out, and Jeff Clement grounded right to 1B Peterson, who stepped on the first base bag for the out on Clement, then tried to get the reverse double play at second.� But that play requires a tag out at second (since with Clement out, it's no longer a force out at second), and even though the ball got to second base before Iwamura, he slid into second before Harris could get the tag down.� Brandon Moss singled into center field, and Iwamura scored from second base, giving the Indians a 4-2 lead.

The Indians were leading the Mud Hens 6-3 in the 6th...

FINAL:� Indianapolis Indians� 6,� Toledo Mud Hens� 4 (box)

�

The big news, even before the game began, was the player moves made by the Pittsburgh Pirates.� With pitcher Zach Duke done with his rehab assignment in Altoona and ready to come back onto the Pirates' active roster, someone else had to be removed from the roster.� That someone is reliever Justin Thomas, who has been optioned back to the Indians.

Secondly, the Pirates have announced that they are optioning back-up catcher Jason Jaramillo to Indianapolis.� The reason given is that he has had minimal playing time during the first half of the season, and needs to get the work in.� Jaramillo will become the regular catcher in Indianapolis after the All-Star break.� The Pirates have also moved pitcher Chris Jakubauskas to the 60-day disabled list, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster.� So, who will take his place?

The Pirates intend to make that announcement later in the week.� Possibilities include Indians' Erik Kratz and Luke Carlin, and Altoona Curve catcher Hector Gimenez (who played for the Indians in 2009).� Kratz is the Indians' only representative for the AAA All-Star game, which will be played on Wednesday in Lehigh Valley -- just a short hop from Kratz's home town.� He has a lot of family and friends coming to see him play, though he will not be the starting catcher in the game.� SO -- is the delay in the Pirates' announcement so that they can give Kratz time to participate in the All-Star game?� If he were pulled at the last minute, it might be tricky to get someone else there to represent the Indians.� Carlin has only just come back from his ankle injury and is not entirely up to speed yet.� Gimenez could certainly handle things at the major league level -- but what would that say to Erik Kratz?� "Sure, Erik, you're a great guy and we were considering you for the major league back-up back in March, and sure, you are an All-Star for two years running at the AAA level -- but we're going to promote Gimenez from AA over you.� Oh, and when you get back to Indy, you won't be the starting catcher either."

�

Back to the game.. which was delayed for about 15 minutes before even starting, then halted again due to rain in the 2nd inning.� That delay lasted over an hour.

LF Kevin Melillo got the Indians started with a double driven into right field to begin the game.� 3B Akinori Iwamura followed with a single into right field, and Melillo raced around from second to score.�� The Mud Hens came right back in the bottom of the frame, against Tribe starter Dana Eveland. SS Will Rhymes led off with a single through into left field, then Eveland struck out 3B Brent Dlugach.� LF Ryan Strieby doubled, moving Rhymes to third, and DH Jeff Larish brought in both Rhymes and Strieby with a single up the middle, to give the Mud Hens a 2-1 lead.� Eveland walked 1B Jeff Frazier, but then got CF Casper wells to bounce into a double play, ending the inning.

Eveland had gotten two outs and had 2B Max Leon on first base after a single when the rain halted play in the bottom of the 2nd.� The delay was long enough so that Eveland did not come back out, with workhorse Jeremy Powell taking the mound instead.� Powell ended the 2nd inning, then pitched two more scoreless innings, allowing only a walk.

Indianapolis Indians� 3,� Toledo Mud Hens� 1 (box)

RF Jonathan Van Every's (photo) 3-run homer in the top of the 9th gave the Indianapolis Indians the win over the Toledo Mud Hens tonight at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.� SS Argenis Diaz went 3-for-3 at the plate, including a double, and CF Alex Presley went 3-for-4, and also had a double.

The pitchers were kept busy for the first four innings of the game, though neither team scored.� Tribe starter Mike Crotta gave up a double to LF Ryan Strieby with two outs in the 1st and hit 3B Jeff Larish with a pitch, but a line out to Tribe 3B Akinori Iwamura ended the inning.� Crotta worked around a single by CF Casper Wells in the 2nd.� He walked RF Jon Weber in the 3rd, but erased him with a double play.

�

Toledo starter Rick Porcello gave up a lone single to Aki Iwamura in the 1st inning, and a double by Alex Presley in the 4th.� The Indians threatened in the 2nd, beginning with a single by Presley.� A balk moved Presley to second base.� C Luke Carlin walked, then Presley was caught trying to steal third base.� Jonathan Van Every also walked, giving the Indians runners on first and second.� Argenis Diaz took a grounder up the middle for a single, and Carlin rounded third and raced for the plate.� The throw in from center field was on-target and on time though, and Carlin was out at the plate.� The Indians also put two runners on base in the 5th, when Diaz doubled off the wall in the right-center field gap, and LF Kevin Melillo walked, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.

The Mud Hens got to Crotta (photo) in the 5th.� Casper Wells walked, and DH Max Leon grounded up the middle, just out of reach of Indians' 2B Jim Negrych, sending Wells to third base. C Jeff Kunkel brought in Wells with a sacrifice fly, and the Mud Hens had a 1-0 lead.� Jon Weber also singled on a line drive into left field.� Leon, eager for an extra run, came around from first base, as LF Kevin Melillo fired the ball in from left field.� The throw sailed over the first cut-off man, but went right to the second cut-off man, Aki Iwamura.� Iwamura relayed the throw to Carlin at the plate, and that throw was nearly perfect.� As Leon slid around to the foul side of the plate and tried to reach in with his left hand to tag the dish, Carlin had the ball in his hand, and only had to lean to his left to tag Leon before Leon could touch anything but dirt with his hand.� That ended the inning, and kept the score tight, at 1-0.

That one run looked bigger and bigger over the next three innings.� The Indians went down in order in the top of the 6th.� Mike Crotta worked around a double by Jeff Larish in the bottom of the 6th, but kept the Mud Hens from scoring again.� Crotta exited after 6 innings, having thrown 99 pitches (64 strikes) and allowed the run on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 7 strikeouts. Wil Ledezma relieved Crotta to begin the 7th.� He walked Casper Wells, then struck out the next three batters.� The Indians' first two batters struck out in the 7th, then Argenis Diaz had his third hit of the game, a line drive into right field.� Diaz was able to get to second base when RF Jon Weber's throw back to the infield zipped right past the first base bag, bounced off the dugout facing, and ended up by the backstop behind home plate.� Diaz was left stranded on base with a ground out.� DH Brandon Moss singled in the 8th, and was also left on base.� Jean Machi retired the side in order in the bottom of the 8th, including two strikeouts.

�

�

�

�

�

Argenis Diaz had a busy night at shortstop

�

�

�

�

�

Columbus Clippers �4, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

The Clippers rallied for 2 runs in the top of the 8th, and the Indians could not catch back up tonight at Victory Field. �The win gave Columbus a sweep of the 4-game series with the Indians, and dropped the Indians to 6 games behind the first-place Clippers in the International League Western Division.

�

Both teams posted a run in the first inning, and both got out of the other's half of the inning with a double play started by the shortstop. �With one out in the top of the 1st, starter Hayden Penn had the next three batters reach base: �Clippers' DH Josh Rodriguez singled into left field past the diving Tribe SS Argenis Diaz; SS Luis Valbuena tripled down the right field line, scoreing Rodriguez; a walk to RF Jordan Brown put runners on the corners.

Then 1B Wes Hodges bounced a grounder right to Diaz next to second base. �Diaz took three steps to touch second base and force out Brown, then fired over to 1B Brian Myrow to get Hodges and end the inning (photo sequence, with Diaz making the throw as 2B Jim Negrych looking on, as Brown slides in).

�

In the bottom of the inning, LF Kevin Melillo led off with a grounder to short. �SS Valbuena fielded the ball without any problem, then airmailed the ball over 1B Hodges' head. �Melillo was credited with a hit, and Valbuena's error sent him to second base. �3B Aki Iwamura walked on four pitches. �Melillo stole third base, as the throw to third from C Lou Marson nearly sailed into left field. �Only a long reach by former Indy Indian 3B Brian Bixler �kept the ball in the infield (photo below). 2B Jim Negrych bounced to short, where Valbuena made the same play Diaz did in the top of the inning -- a few steps to reach the second base bag and force out Iwamura, then the throw to first to get out Negrych. �Brian Myrow flied out to end the inning.

After the double play to get out of the 1st inning, Hayden Penn retired the next 7 batters he faced. �He made two of the plays himself, including fielding a high bouncer along the first base line. �As his momentum took him across the foul line, Penn whirled and tagged out the speedy Jose Constanza as he ran by.

The Clippers took the lead again in the top of the 4th. �With one out, Jordan Brown grounded through the hole and into left field. �Wes Hodges followed with a double into the right-center field alley, bringing Brown all the way around from first base to score, as RF Jonathan Van Every had to swipe at the ball twice before he could pick it up. �Penn finished the inning with two strikeouts.

C 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)

For 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.

�

�

�

�

�

�

Doug Bernier, Argenis Diaz, and Jim Negrych

�

�

�

�

�

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

LF 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).

Brent 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.

�

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.

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

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

�

�

�

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.

�

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.

�

�

�

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.