Tag: Tim Wood
Wilson and Hague Lead Indians To Win
Indianapolis Indians 9, Durham Bulls 6
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Starter Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 7 innings of one-hit, shutout ball, to earn his third win of the season for the Indians at Durham Bulls' Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. Wilson did not allow a hit until the 7th inning, when former Indy Indian 2B JJ Furmaniak singled on a line drive off the glove of Tribe 2B Pedro Ciriaco. While Wilson held the Bulls to just one hit, he put 5 Bulls on base with walks, and had to work around a fielding error by Ciriaco.
Wilson walked LF Justin Ruggiano in the 1st inning, but erased him with a double play. He walked Furmaniak in the 2nd inning and RF Desmond Jennings in the 3rd, but left both on base. The southpaw did retire the side in order in the 4th and 6th innings. He walked both 1B Russ Canzler and C Robinson Chirinos in the 5th, but an unsual play helped him out -- SS Ray Olmedo grounded to short, where SS Chase d'Arnaud made the pickup and flipped the ball to 2B Ciriaco covering the bag. But the ball hit Ciriaco's glove and bounced off, going all the way back to d'Arnaud, who still had time to step on the bag and force out Chirinos for the second out of the inning. That left runners on the corners, but Wilson got a strikeout to end the inning.
After the game, Wilson admitted that he felt "a little shaky" in the first inning, but then settled in and "felt comfortable later as I was able to get in the strike zone more and attack guys.... My plan for the whole night was to get in the strike zone early and make them swing at my pitch, and get ground balls." Wilson credited his catcher Dusty Brown for calling a great game, and also had props for his defense behind him. 1B Matt Hague made an unassisted double play in the 1st inning on a line drive by CF Brandon Guyer, doubling Ruggiano off the bag. In the 3rd, Ruggiano chopped a ball down the first base line and bounced it off the edge of the first base bag. Luckily for Wilson and the Indians, the ball ricocheted into the infield, back down along the first base line, where Hague could pick it up and make the easy tag out. D'Arnaud made a leaping stab on a line drive by Furmaniak in the 5th inning, saving a hit.
Rough First Inning Sinks Wilson and Tribe
Norfolk Tides 5, Indianapolis Indians 2
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Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 4 strong innings, allowing just 2 hits and a walk tonight at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia. Unfortunately for Wilson and the Indians, those 4 innings followed a rough 1st inning, in which he gave up 3 runs on two singles and two doubles, causing Wilson to be charged with the loss.
The Tides began the bottom of the 1st with three consecutive hits -- singles by CF Tyler Henson and former Indy Indian SS JJ Hardy. LF Nolan Reimold doubled down the left field line and into the corner, driving in Henson and putting Hardy on third base. After a strikeout, a passed ball skipped off C Dusty Brown's glove and all the way back to the backstop (passed ball), allowing Hardy to score. 3B Josh Bell bounced a grounder down the left field line for an RBI double, bringing in Reimold for a 3-0 lead.
The first six Indians' batters went down in order, before RF Andrew Lambo led off the 3rd inning with a grounder that bounced right onto the first base bag, over a Tides' infielder, and down the right field line into the corner. That put Lambo onto second base, and he moved up to third on a grounder by CF Gorkys Hernandez. He got no further, though, as DH Corey Wimberly flied out.
Tribe Splits Double-Header; Rainy Days Elsewhere
The Indians won game one of today's double header.
All the rain that was in Central Indiana yesterday moved east today.
The Altoona Curve hosting the Akron Aeros were rained out today. That game will be made up on Saturday May 21st.
The West Virginia Power hosting the Greensboro Grasshoppers were also rained out. No make-up date has been announced yet.
The Bradenton Marauders had a scheduled day off today. They are going to play their next two "home" games against the St. Lucie Mets in Port Charlotte (Charlotte Sports Park), on Wednesday and Thursday, due to roof repairs at McKechnie Field.
Indianapolis Indians 5, Durham Bulls 2
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The Indianapolis Indians and the Durham Bulls split today's double-header at Victory Field. The first game began at 11 am, with buses full of school kids present, under dark and dreary skies. As the first game wrapped up, the sun came out, and by the middle of the second game, there were sunny skies and happy clouds.
LF Alex Presley (photo) began the game on a sunny note for the Indians. With two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Presley blasted a solo home run over the right field wall at the 362' mark, into a group of lucky school kids.
Starter Brad Lincoln buzzed through the first two innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 2 batters. With one out in the top of the 3rd, Lincoln ran the count full then walked Bulls' SS Ray Olmedo. CF Desmond Jennings slipped a ground ball through the right side of the infield for a single, moving Olmedo to second base. RF Justin Ruggiano crushed a long ball off the top of the wall in the deepest part of the park, just inches from being a home run. The ball ricocheted off the wall, driving in both Olmedo and Jennings, as Ruggiano slid safely into third base. The Bulls had taken the lead, 2-1. 
The Tribe answered right away with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame. 2B Brian Friday led off with a bloop single into short left field. CF Gorkys Hernandez bunted Friday to second base, and DH Corey Wimberly followed by dropping another bloopy hit into the space behind third base, out of the reach of any of the Bulls. Friday scrambled around to score from second base, tying the score. Wimberly promptly stole second base. After a pop out, Presley grounded through the left side of the infield, sending Wimberly around to score. The throw in from left field was not in time to get the speedy Wimberly at the plate, but Bulls' C Robinson Chirinos alertly threw down to first base, where he caught Presley in the middle of nowhere -- too far from first to get back before the throw, and too far from second base to get there either. Presley was out in the run-down (photo), ending the inning.
Tribe Trounced Again
3B Brian Friday and 2B Chase d'Arnaud
Durham Bulls 12, Indianapolis Indians 3
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For the second night in a row, the Indianapolis Indians struggled both at the plate and in the field, as they fell to the Durham Bulls in the first game of a 4-game series at Victory Field. The Bulls posted 19 hits for 12 runs, in a game that seemed similar to last night's game against the Norfolk Tides. They scored in all but three innings (same as the Tides last night), and had runners on base in every inning (as did the Tides). In addition, the Bulls put the first runner on base in each of the first five innings, and in seven of nine innings. 
Sean Gallagher (photo) made the start tonight, and like yesterday, he had two batters reach base against him in the top of the 1st inning. Gallagher hit the first batter, CF Desmond Jennings, with a pitch. Jennings stole second base on the first pitch to LF Justin Ruggiano. Then Ruggiano lined into left field, and Jennings came around to score. An alert play by Tribe LF Alex Presley had the ball back in to the infield and to second base quickly, and Ruggiano was tagged out at second base by 2B Chase d'Arnaud.
3B Russ Canzler began the 2nd inning with a looping single into right field, but after a pop up, Canzler was erased in a strike-out-throw-out double play. Former Indy Indian 2B JJ Furmaniak led off the 3rd inning with a double into the right-center field alley, and after a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly by Jennings brought Furmaniak in to score, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead.
The Bulls increased their lead to 4-0 in the 4th. DH Chris Carter led off with a solo home run, which saw RF Andrew Lambo trying to climb up the padded right field wall (it never works) in a desperate attempt to grow 12 feet taller. Gallagher walked Canzler after the homer, and two outs later, he hit Furmaniak with a pitch. SS Ray Olmedo gr ounded sharply to first, and the ball dinged off 1B Andy Marte's glove for a single. Canzler was off and running with the pitch, and he came around to score, even though d'Arnaud got to the ball quickly. A ground out to third and an excellent scoop by 3B Brian Friday ended the inning.
Tribe Washes Tide Away
Celebrate the win!
Indianapolis Indians 7, Norfolk Tides 6
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The Indianapolis Indians pulled out another come-from-behind win over the Norfolk Tides this afternoon at Victory Field, and once again the Max Schumacher Victory Bell rang out at the end of the game. Justin Thomas earned his first win for the Indians, and Tim Wood earned his third save, while 1B Matt Hague (photo) went 3-for-4 at the plate. Three Indians hit solo home runs: Hague, LF Alex Presley, and C Dusty Brown.
The game did not start out well for the Indians. Lead-off batter 3B Josh Harrison opened the bottom of the 1st with a line drive single into left-center field, but as he took a few steps out of the batters' box, he began to limp. He limped his way down to first base (ordinarily, he might have made it to second on this hit), then called for time out. After a brief discussion with trainer Bryan Housand and manager Dean Treanor, Harrison came out of the game. Chase d'Arnaud came in as a pinch runner, then stayed in the game to play second base, while Brian Friday moved from second over to third base. There was no further word by the end of the game about Harrison's condition.
Unfortunately, before anything else could happen, d'Arnaud was picked off first base and caught stealing. The reason that it was so unfortunate for the Indians was that one out later, Presley rocketed a home run over the right field wall for his third home run of the season. It was a solo homer, but it could have been a 2-run homer. Hague slapped a sharp grounder up the middle after the home run, but he was left on base.
Tribe Drops Double Header; Ascanio Back
The Indianapolis Indians played a double header tonight against the Columbus Clippers in Columbus, to make up for Saturday's rain out -- and the Indians lost both games.
Columbus Clippers 6, Indianapolis Indians 1 (Game 1)
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The first game, which began at 5 pm, saw the Indians jump out to a good start. With two outs in the top of the 1st, LF Alex Presley lifted a home run over the right-center field wall to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. 1B Matt Hague tried to keep the inning going with a single lined into left field following the homer, but he was left on base.
Tribe starter Sean Gallagher (photo) could not hold on to that lead. With one out in the bottom of the 1st, Gallagher walked DH Cord Phelps and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall back-to-back, then loaded the bases with a single to LF Chad Huffman. Another single, by 1B Travis Buck, drove in both Phelps and Chisenhall, then a slip by Presley in left field let Huffman move up to third base. Gallagher caught a break when C Jason Jaramillo threw out Buck as he tried to steal second base, then Gallagher ended the inning with a strikeout.
Columbus increased the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the 2nd inning. RF Jordan Brown led off with a double, and former Indy Indian C Luke Carlin walked. Jaramillo tried to pick Brown off second base, but the throw bounced off SS Pedro Ciriaco's glove and into left-center field, putting Brown on third and Carlin on second. SS Luis Valbuena ripped a double into the left-center field gap, driving in both Brown and Carlin, and the Clippers were ahead by 3 runs. They added another run in the 3rd inning, on a walk and a stolen base by 2B Jason Kipnis, then a double into right field by Brown.
Gallagher came out to begin the 4th inning, but after a walk and two strikeouts, Gallagher had thrown 98 pitches (54 strikes), and he was relieved by Tony Watson. Watson finished the 4th with a fly out, but he gave up a solo homer to Huffman, the first batter in the 5th inning. He also gave up a walk and a single in the 6th, but kept the Clippers from scoring in that inning.
Wilson Pitches Six Scoreless In Early Game Win
Indianapolis Indians 4, Toledo Mud Hens 2
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The Indianapolis Indians battled the blustery weather as well as the Toldeo Mud Hens in a late-morning school day start in Toledo today. They earned the win, giving them a 3-1 record on the road so far this season.
Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 6 scoreless innings in his third start of the season, to earn his first AAA win. He gave up 2 hits, both in the 3rd inning. RF Andy Dirks dropped a looper into short right field, just out of reach of the leaping Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud, then 2B Scott Sizemore put a sinking liner into right field, off the glove of RF Gorkys Hernandez. Wilson left both on base with a fly out and a ground out. Wilson also worked around two singles and a batter reaching on a fielding error by SS Pedro Ciriaco in the 2nd inning. That was a wind-blown ball into short right field, with Ciriaco, 3B Josh Harrison, and LF Alex Presley all chasing after it. Ciriaco tried to make a last-second twisting over-the-shoulder catch and missed. Wilson threw 97 pitches with 62 strikes in his 6 innings.
The gusty wind helped the Indians as well as hurt them. In the top of the 2nd, DH Andy Marte lifted the first pitch he saw into the wind, which took it over the left field wall for a solo home run. Marte nearly had another home run in the 5th inning, but that time his fly to left field was just short, and was caught at the wall.
The Tribe had only one hit over the next three innings -- a double by Harrison in the 5th, when the wind did the same thing to the Mud Hens that it had done to Ciriaco and the Indians in the 3rd. Harrison's high pop got caught in the wind, and with the infielders running out and the outfielders running in, the ball fell in just out of reach of SS Cale Iorg. In both instances, the outfielders might have had a better chance at running in to make the catch, but instead they let their shortstops take over. Harrison made a quick steal of third base, but he was left stranded when Hernandez struck out.
Owens and Indians Win #2
Indianapolis Indians 7, Louisville Bats 1
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It might have been the black jerseys, or the fact that Rudy Owens was making the start, or even that they just needed a change of scenery -- but whatever it was, it worked for the Tribe. They beat the Louisville Bats, for just their second win of the season, at Louisville Slugger Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The Indians' only other win came back on Monday -- also with Rudy Owens (photo) pitching, and also the only game before today in which they wore their black alternate jersey tops.
Owens faced off against Johnny Cueto, who is with the Bats on a rehab assignment from the Cincinnati Reds. Cueto, who was tagged for the loss, lasted into the 4th inning, and gave up the first two Indians' runs on 2 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 4 Tribe batters.
The Tribe made Cueto work in each inning he pitched, with at least one runner on base in every inning. LF Alex Presley singled up the middle in the 1st, and 3B Josh Harrison walked and stole second base in the 2nd. The Indians put runners on the corners in the 3rd inning. With two outs, CF Gorkys Hernandez reached base when he grounded to short and Bats' SS Zack Cozart's throw to first base pulled 1B Danny Dorn off the bag (Hernandez was credited with an infield single). Hernandez promptly stole second base, and when he did, Bats' C Devin Mesoraco's off-target throw skittered into right field. Hernandez advanced to third base when Cueto threw a wild pitch on strike three to SS Pedro Ciriaco, giving the Indians runners on the corners. Cueto bore down and struck out Presley to end the inning, but the Tribe had not made it easy.
The Tribe struck again in the 4th inning. With one out, RF Andrew Lambo bounced a double off the concrete part of the center field wall for a double. Harrison grounded to short, where Cozart made his second throwing error of the game, again giving the Indians runners on the corners. Harrison stole second base, and Cueto walked C Wyatt Toregas to load the bases. That was the end of Cueto's afternoon. He was relieved by Jeremy Horst. 2B Brian Friday (photo) greeted Horst with a single through the hole into left field, which drove in Lambo and Harrison. Horst struck out the next two batters to end the inning, but the Indians had the early lead for the first time all season. Both runs were charged to Cueto, though Lambo's run was earned and Harrison's was not.
At the same time, Rudy Owens was busy mowing down the Louisville batters. He did not allow a hit until the 6th inning, and then when LF Yonder Alonso did line a single into center field, Owens erased him with a double play. Owens had to deal with some base runners in the early innings -- a walk and a hit batter in the 2nd, another hit batter in the 4th, a walk and a 2-error play in the 5th. In that play, with 2B Chris Valaika on first base (walk), Horst grounded to third base, where Harrison scooped up the ball. Harrison's throw to second base was high, so Valaika was safe at second when Brian had to leap to make the catch. Friday made an off-balance relay throw on to first base, and the ball sailed into the dugout, which let Horst advance to second base. But Owens maintained his composure, and he calmly got a pop out and a ground out to end the inning and leave both runners standing in scoring position.
Three Homers Top The Tribe
Andrew Lambo and Corey Wimberly just "hanging out" in the dugout
Louisville Bats 5, Indianapolis Indians 2
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Three home runs by the Bats, including two in one inning, put the Bats on top of the Indians tonight at Victory Field. Starter Justin Wilson (photo) gave up the three homers, accounting for 4 of Louisville's runs, and he was charged with his first loss of the season.
Chris Reineke made the start for Louisville, and he and Wilson seemed intent on matching one another for the first 5 innings of the game. Both Reineke and Wilson retired the side in the 1st inning. Both gave up a walk (to C Devin Mesoraco and 3B Josh Harrison) and a hit (single to 2B Chris Valaika and double to 1B Andy Marte) in the 2nd inning. Both retired the side in order in the 3rd and 4th innings.
Both Reineke and Wilson gave up one run in the 5th inning. Wilson retired the first two Bats' batters of the inning, giving him a streak of 10 batters retired in order. Then CF Kris Negron lifted a home run over the left-center field wall, to give the Bats a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Reineke gave up a lead-off single when Harrison beat out a surprise bunt. 2B Pedro Ciriaco grounded deep to short, forcing Harrison out at second, but SS Zack Cozart was not able to make a throw to first, and Ciriaco was on with a fielder's choice. After a fly out, Justin Wilson came to the plate. Instead of being an easy out, Wilson worked a full count, then fouled off three more pitches. Then he blasted a ball off the left field scoreboard for an RBI double. Ciriaco scored from first, and the score was tied at 1-1.
Tough Day For Ciriaco And The Indians
Joe Beimel pitched one quick inning
Toledo Mud Hens 4, Indianapolis Indians 2
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It was a beautiful afternoon at Victory Field, with sunny skies and a little wind, but not a happy afternoon for the Indianapolis Indians, who lost the second game of a short 2-game series to the Toledo Mud Hens. Even with the wind blowing in for most of the game, two Mud Hens and one Indian were able to blast home runs, and those accounted for half of each team's runs. 
Brian Burres (photo) got the start for the Indians. He gave up just two hits over his first 5 innings -- but both of those were solo home runs. The first homer came off the bat of LF Scott Thorman with one out in the top of the 2nd inning, sailing over the right field wall. RF Andrew Lambo made a leap -- but he would have had to have been another 6 feet taller to have had any chance. Burres hit SS Cale Iorg with a pitch (right foot) after the homer, then retired the next 9 batters he faced. With one out in the 5th, CF Clete Thomas also homered over the right field wall.
The Indians had managed just 3 hits off Toledo starter Andy Oliver by the end of the 5th inning. LF Alex Presley slipped a single through the hole into right field in the top of the 1st, but was left on base. 2B Pedro Ciriaco walked on 4 pitches and stole second base in the 3rd, but he was not careful taking his lead off second base and was caught too far away from the base. A brief rundown, 1-5-4-1, and he was out.
SS Chase d'Arnaud (photo below) led off the 4th inning with a low liner down the right field line. The ball bounced under the bench in the Mud Hens' bullpen, and RF Andy Dirks just looked at the bench and lifted his arms into the air. Sorry, Dirks, this isn't the Wrigley Field ivy -- the bullpen benches in Victory Field are in play, and you don't get to just bail out like that. He realized his mistake after a couple of seconds, and dove under the bench for the ball, but by then 
d'Arnaud had rounded second and was heading into third base. Unfortunately, the Indians could not take advantage of the man on third and no outs. Oliver struck out both Presley and DH Andy Marte, then got 1B Matt Hague to ground out, leaving d'Arnaud still on third.
3B Josh Harrison had the only home run for the Indians. With one out in the bottom of the 5th, he blasted another long fly ball to the left field wall -- just a little to the left and two feet further than his bomb last night, which ended up bouncing on the narrow top of the scoreboard. This one definitely went over the wall, onto the grass, and into the hands of some of the students who were sitting on the berm.
The only other Indians' batter to reach base against Oliver was CF Gorkys Hernandez, who got on when his grounder to second skipped up and off the glove of 2B Scott Sizemore. Hernandez stole second base, but a short fly out and two strikeouts left him stranded. Oliver struck out a total of 8 Indians' hitters in his 6 innings of work. He allowed one walk along with those 3 hits, and he threw 101 pitches (65 strikes).
Tribe Come Within Inches Again
Pitching coach Tom Filer, catcher Wyatt Toregas, and pitcher Justin Wilson
Columbus Clippers 8, Indianapolis Indians 7
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For the third night in a row, the Indians were down by one run in the bottom of the last inning with at least one runner on base -- and couldn't capitalize. In addition, it was Pedro Ciriaco who was the last man to bat in each game. That's not to place the blame for the losses on Ciriaco -- other players had also had opportunities to drive in runs and were not able too. It's just an odd coincidence that Ciriaco ended the three games with a grounder into a double play, a ground out, and tonight a pop out. 
Like in the first two games, the Clippers were first onto the scoreboard. Indians' starter Justin Wilson (photo) retired the first 8 batters he faced, including 5 strikeouts, with 4 of those in a row. He struck out the side in the 2nd inning, then struck out the first batter of the 3rd inning. Like the first two games, this game featured a diving catch of a low line drive by the Indians' shortstop. In the first two games, that shortstop was Ciriaco; tonight it was Chase d'Arnaud, who recorded the second out in the 3rd inning. The Clipper's ninth batter, RF Jerad Head, then rocketed Wilson's 2-1 pitch over the wall in right-center field for a solo homer. Wilson then walked the next batter, CF Ezequiel Carrera, who promptly stole second base on the first pitch to the SS Cord Phelps. Phelps slipped a grounder up the middle, just out of reach of d'Arnaud, and Carrera came around to score from second. A walk to 3B Lonnie Chisenhall prompted a visit by pitching coach Tom Filer (photo above). After catching his breath, Wilson got a fly out to end the inning.
Wilson also had to work around base runners in the 4th inning. After another strikeout, Wilson gave up an infield single to 1B Jordan Brown. Brown grounded back to the mound, and the ball tipped off Wilson's glove and over towards short. SS d'Arnaud had to change his direction, but he got to the ball and made a rushed throw to first. The throw pulled 1B Matt Hague off base, though it appeared that Brown might have beat the ball to the bag anyway. DH Wes Hodges also tapped back to the mound, where Wilson whirled and threw to second, forcing out Brown. But 2B Brian Friday's throw on to first went wide, and Hodges was safe. C Paul Phillip walked, but then Head grounded to short, and the inning ended on the force out at second base.
