Tag: Mike Crotta

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Erik Kratz is a good sport.

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Indianapolis Indians� 4,� Syracuse Chiefs� 3 (box)

2B Brian Friday (photo) and CF Alex Presley were the big heroes in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving the Indianapolis Indians a walk-off win over the Syracuse Chiefs at Victory Field tonight.� Friday, Presley, and SS Pedro Ciriaco all had 2 hits in the game and all had a hit in the 9th, and reliever Justin Thomas earned the win.

The Indians were clinging to a 2-1 lead going into the 9th inning.� Justin Thomas had come on in relief in the top of the 8th, striking out RF Pete Orr to end that inning.� He began the 9th by getting CF Michael Martinez to ground out to second.� Former Indy Indian, pinch-hitter Carlos Maldonado made the Victory Field crowd gasp as he drove the first pitch he saw on a high line drive into center field.� Tribe CF Alex Presley went back and back, but was able to catch up to the ball just in time, for the second out of the inning.

Thomas walked LF Boomer Whiting, and that was worrisome, because Whiting is a big base-stealing threat� -- he had already stolen 30 bases this season.� Before he threw even one pitch to the plate, where SS Danny Espinosa was waiting, Thomas threw to first base three times, trying to keep Whiting on first base.� Then, with the southpaw Thomas looking right at him, Whiting ventured a little too far off first.� Thomas' 4th pick-off throw clearly had Whiting, who then turned and raced for second base.� 1B John Bowker took that throw from Thomas and threw to second base, where Pedro Ciriaco was waiting to tag out Whiting by several steps -- but Bowker's throw hit Whiting in the back and bounced into short left field.� It was ruled a stolen base and a throwing error on Bowker, and by the time the ball was retrieved, Whiting was standing on third base.

Finally, Thomas pitched to Espinosa.� He got Espinosa to a 2-2 count, and Espinosa fouled off two more pitches, but Thomas was one out away of an Indians' win.� Then Espinosa lifted a long high fly to right center field... which CF Alex Presley and RF Brandon Moss quickly realized that it would do no good to chase it� -- a 2-out 2-run homer, to give the Chiefs the lead, 3-2.� A tapper back to the mound ended the inning, and sent the game to the bottom of the 9th.

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Indianapolis Indians� 7,� Norfolk Tides� 4 (box)

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OF Alex Presley (photo -- making a tricky catch in center field) and DH Brandon Moss combined for 5 RBI and each member of the Tribe line-up had at least one hit as the Indians beat the Norfolk Tides for the second day in a row at Victory Field this afternoon.� Starter Brian Burres earned his 5th win with the Indians with 6 innings of work, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.

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The Indians were the first to get onto the scoreboard, with an unearrned run in the 2nd inning.� RF Mitch Jones worked a walk from Tides' starter Tim Bascom, then LF John Bowker doubled into the right center field alled, sending Jones to third.� Jones had stopped at third base, but when he saw the throw in from Tides' RF Rhyne Hughes skip past the cutoff man, 2B Paco Figueroa, and roll into the infield grass away from everyone, Jones headed for the plate -- and was almost able to walk there.� The run was ruled unearned because even though the next batter, 1B Jonathan Van Every, hit a fly ball into left field for an out, it was felt that the fly was too shallow into left field for a runner to tag up and score from third.

Brian Burres (photo) breezed through the first two innings, allowing only a walk to LF Nolan Reimold to lead off the 2nd inning.� Then the Tides scored one run in the top of the 3rd inning.� Burres got the first out, then gave up back-to-back singles to Hughes and to Figueroa.� He loaded the bases with a 4-pitch walk to 3B Scott Moore, who had homered in each of the last two games.� SS Robert Andino tied the score with a sacrifice fly, scoring Hughes.� Burres and the Indians were lucky that it was only a sacrifice fly, because LF John Bowker caught the fly ball at the left field wall, leaning up against the new scoreboard -- it was not very far from being a grand slam.� The inning ended when C Jason Jaramillo made a snap throw down to first base, catching Moore off the bag.� A brief run-down ensued, going 2-3-6-4 (Jaramillo to Van Every to SS Pedro Ciriaco to Friday), and Moore was tagged out in the middle of the baseline.

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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.

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.

Indianapolis Indians� 7,� Syracuse Chiefs� 5 (box)

The trio of 1B Jeff Clement (photo), CF Alex Presley, and RF Brandon Moss had 7 of the Indians' 8 hits in tonight's game at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, New York, as the Indians held on to defeat the Chiefs.� Derek Hankins made his AAA debut, and earned his first AAA win with a very short one-third-of-an-inning appearance.

The Indians got the game off on the right foot, with a big blast in the top of the 1st.� 2B Brian Friday led off with a walk, and 3B Aki Iwamura singled back to the mound.� But Iwamura collided with one of the Chiefs, and had to be removed from the game, with Doug Bernier taking his place at third base.� CF Alex Presley loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch, which brought up the hot-hitting Moss.� Moss took a 1-0 pitch over the right-center field wall for a grand slam, and the Indians had an instant 4-0 lead, before an out had been recorded in the game.� Jeff Clement singled after the homer, and he was sacrifice bunted to third base by LF Jim Negrych, but two strikeouts ended the inning.� No further word at this point about Iwamura's condition.��� [UPDATE: Iwamura went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion; he'll be out for at least a few days]

Mike Crotta was the Tribe starter who was the beneficiary of a 4-run cushion before he even took the mound.� Crotta (photo below) breezed through the first two innings, allowing just one hit, a single to 3B Pete Orr in the bottom of the 1st.� He gave up an unearned run in the 3rd inning.� Former Indy Indian C Carlos Maldonado walked, then reached third base when Washington Nationals' rehabbing pitcher Jason Marquis reached base on a throwing error� by C Luke Carlin on his bunt attempt.� CF Boomer Whiting bounced into a double play, and Maldonado scored from third on the play.

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The Chiefs got within one run of the Indians in the 5th inning.� RF Kevin Mench led off with a bloopy hit over the head of Doug Bernier at third, dropping into left field.� LF Leonard Davis took Crotta's 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for a 2-run home run.� Indians 4, Chiefs 3.

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Jason Marquis held the Indians to just one hit over the next 4 innings.� That was a single by Brandon Moss in the 3rd inning.� Moss was immediately erased, though, when Jeff Clement bounced into a double play.� Marquis was relieved by Jason Jones to begin the 6th inning, and the Indians promptly got going.� Alex Presley slipped a single past Orr at third base, who was playing in a little too far.� Presley stole second base, and when Jeff Clement singled through the right side of the infield, Presley raced for the plate.� He slid in just before the throw came in to Maldonado from Kevin Mench in right field.

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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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.

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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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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.

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 �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.