Tag: Wil Ledezma

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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees �10, �Indianapolis Indians �7 (box)

This was the completion of the suspended game from last night. �(Take a look here to read more about the first 3.5 innings.)

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The start of the restart was delayed about 40 minutes because of the threat of rain. �The tarp was put down, but when the rain never happened, it was pulled, and play began. �Despite worrisome weather forcasts, it didn't rain for the rest of the evening, and there was even a bit of sunshine.

The Yankees took the field for the restart, holding an 8-5 lead. �Starter Jeremy Powell had made a shaky start, allowing all 8 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. �The Yankees had batted around in the top of the 4th, as Powell struggled on a wet and slippery mound and his teammates behind him battled soggy grass. �Steven Jackson came on in relief of Powell, but 5 runs came in �to give the Yankees the lead.

On the restart, Anthony Claggett (photo) took the mound for the Indians. �Claggett just didn't have it tonight. �He walked 6 batters in 1.1 innings, though miraculously did not give up any runs. �He walked the first two batters in the top of the 5th, then got a double play, which eliminated one runner but put the lead runner (LF Chad Huffman) on third base. �Two more walks loaded the bases, but a grounder to SS Argenis Diaz gave Claggett a force out at second base, and he had escaped his self-made jam.

The next inning was more of the same, though. �The first batter flied out, with CF Jose Tabata first coming in, then having to reverse, and then make a running over-the-shoulder catch. �Claggett put the next three batters on base, with a walk to DH Jon Weber, a hit by C Jesus Montero, and a walk to Huffman. �That was enough for manager Frank Kremblas to see. �Claggett left having walked 6 of the 10 batters he faced.

Vinnie Chulk (photo) was next out of the bullpen. �He came into the game with one out and the bases loaded -- and proceeded to strike out RF Reid Gorecki and get 3B Matt Cusick to end the inning and leave those three runners right where he found them.

Chulk came back out for the 7th inning. �He gave up a single into right field to CF Greg Golson. �A grounder moved Golson to second base. �Chulk got a gift next. �He tried to pick Golson off second base, but his throw was wide and got into center field, and Golson raced to third base. �But the umpires pointed him back to second base -- home plate ump Mark Lollo had called time out just a split second before Chulk turned and made the throw to second, making the whole thing a "no play". �Then it turned out to be moot. �A single by 1B PJ Pilittere, who had taken over for David Winfree, singled down the right field line, and Golson scored anyway.

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Pedro Alvarez takes a warm-up swing.

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Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre Yankees �7, �Indianapolis Indians �5 (box)

Former Indianapolis Indian/Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Romulo Sanchez (photo) returned to Victory Field this afternoon, making the start for the Yankees. �It was not such a happy homecoming as far as the Indians were concerned. �Sanchez pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, and striking out 7 batters.

Sanchez was effectively wild, allowing 6 walks over those 6 innings. �He was able to pitch only one 1-2-3 inning, in the 5th. �He walked 1B Brian Myrow and 3B Pedro Alvarez with two outs in the 1st, and LF Kevin Melillo with two outs in the 2nd. �CF Jose Tabata led off the 3rd with a walk, but he was thrown out trying to steal second base. �Tabata also led off the 6th with a walk, and two outs later, Alvarez walked again too. �Other than when Tabata was thrown out in the 3rd, all the other walks resulted only in runners left on base.

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RF Brandon Moss was the only Tribe batter to get a hit off Sanchez. �With two outs in the 4th, Moss squirted a single into right field. �But with C Erik Kratz at the plate, Moss took off a little too early from first base, making it easy for Sanchez to throw him out trying to steal second.

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Tribe starter Mike Crotta sailed through the top of the 1st, needing only 8 pitches to retire three batters. �Then his pitches started rising, and the Yankees starting hitting. �RF David Winfree led off the 2nd inning with a single into left field. �DH Jon Weber slipped a single through the hole into right field, putting Winfree on third base. �C Jesus Montero, a top Yankee prospect, grounded to short, where SS Argenis Diaz (left photo above) started a double play, with 2B Neil Walker (right photo above) making the turn at second base.

It got Crotta two outs, but Winfree was able to score from third base on the play. �1B Chad Huffman kept the inning going with a double over Brandon Moss's head in right field, as Moss first started to come in, then had to turn and try to make the catch as he ran back toward the wall. �CF Reid Gorecki plated Huffman with a single through the hole vacated on the right side by the Indians' defensive shift. �A ground out by 3B Matt Cusick ended the inning, but the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.

Crotta (photo) was still having trouble in the 3rd inning. �LF Kevin Russo led off with a line drive into left field for a double. �After a strikeout, SS Eduardo Nunez singled into right field, and Russo raced around from second base. �Brandon Moss came up throwing from right field and he fired straight in to Erik Kratz. �Kratz blocked the plate and caught the ball just as Russo arrived at the plate. �But with Russo barrelling into him, Kratz never got a good hold on the ball, and when the dust settled, Russo had crossed the plate but the ball was no longer in Kratz's possession. �Yankees 3, Indians 0

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

The Indians' bullpen collapsed out from under them this afternoon at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, allowing the Mud Hens to score 4 runs in the last two innings, and giving the Hens the walk-off win.

The Tribe was ahead 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. �Starter Hayden Penn had allowed one earned and one unearned run in his 5 innings of work, and had pitched a little better than he did in his first Indians' start last week. �Steven Jackson came on in relief to pitch the 6th and 7th innings, and he had retired 6 batters in order. �Wil Ledezma (photo)�took over for Jackson to begin the 8th, and he was greeted by a triple into the right field corner by Toledo 2B Will Rhymes. �SS Brent Dlugach followed with a grounder to short, but SS Brian Friday's throw to first pulled 1B Brian Myrow off the bag. �It was initally ruled an error on Friday, but later changed to a hit for Dlugach, since Friday had made the play pretty deep into the hole. �Rhymes scored easily on the play, and the Mud Hens had crept a little closer, 5-3. �Those were the first runs Ledezma had given up since joining the Indians.

CF Ryan Raburn was up next, and he singled into right field, through the space 2B Neil Walker had vacated when he had to move to cover second base as Dlugach took off from first. �Dlugach rounded second and stopped at third base. �Ledezma got a gift when he picked Raburn off first base, and caught him stealing, with the throw going from Ledezma to Myrow to Friday covering second. �Friday made a quick turn, keeping Dlugach standing on third base. �He didn't stay there long, though, as 1B Jeff Larish's grounder behind first base brought Dlugach in easily. �A strikeout ended the inning, and the Indians were clinging to a slim 5-4 lead.

The Indians could only get a stuttering attempt at a rally going in the top of the 9th. �RF Brandon Moss singled up the middle, but when he tried to steal second on the early part of pitcher Robbie Weinhardt's motion, he was easily thrown out -- making a somewhat ungraceful slide, but finishing with a graceful flip, and kicking SS Dlugach's glove right off his hand in the process. �Moss ran back to the dugout unhurt and laughing. �LF Kevin Melillo walked, but a ground out forced him out at second to end the inning.

No one was laughing in the bottom of the inning. �Jean Machi (photo), who came on to pitch for the Indians, had allowed only 2 earned runs in his first 10 appearances this season (both of those in one game), but now has given up runs in each of his last 3 outings. �Today he did not even record an out. �It began with 3B Max Leon's double over Kevin Melillo's head in left field. �RF Ben Guez singled through the hole into left field, moving Leon to third base. �A single by RF Deik Scram, who had had come into the game with only one hit during the month of May (1-for-24) chose this time to find his second hit of the month, a line drive into right field which scored Leon from third base to tie the score at 5-5. �It was over moments later, when former Indy Indian C Robinzon Diaz lifted a fly ball into right field, allowing Guez to come around from second base and score the winning run.

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Indianapolis Indians 5, �Rochester Red Wings �2 (box)

Indians' starter Brad Lincoln (photo) made his seventh and longest start of the season this afternoon at Victory Field, going 8 innings to earn his 4th win. �He was aided by 3 RBI by DH Pedro Alvarez, who doubled and homered, as well as RBI hits by 1B Brian Myrow and LF Kevin Melillo.

Lincoln got right down to business and worked quickly all afternoon -- the game lasted only 2 hours 12 minutes. �He began his work by retiring the first 13 batters he faced in order. �He went to a full count in only one of those 13 batters, and struck out one batter in each of the first three innings. �When the Rochester batters did make contact, they hit easy balls, mostly right to Lincoln's teammates behind him.

Rochester RF Dustin Martin was the first Red Wing to reach base against Lincoln, with a one-out double down the right field line in the 5th inning. �Lincoln hit the next batter, 3B Danny Valencia, then gave up another hit, a grounder through the hole and into right field by DH Jacque Jones. �That scored Martin from second base. �1B Brock Peterson next fired a liner right back at Lincoln. �The ball struck Lincoln's right leg as he finished his follow-through, but Lincoln was able to turn and recover the ball, and still make the throw to first base to get Peterson out. �Manager Frank Kremblas and the Indians' trainer Thomas Pribyl came out of the dugout to check on Lincoln, who was shrugging it off. �After a trial pitch to prove that he was indeed ok (photos below), Lincoln remained in the game and ended the inning with a ground out.

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Lincoln further proved that his leg was fine when he retired the Red Wings in order again in the 6th inning. �With one out in the 7th, Dustin Martin got to Lincoln again, this time with a little bunt into the no-man's-land between third base and the pitcher's mound. �Danny Valencia singled through the hole into right field, moving Martin to third base, and Jacque Jones picked up a second RBI with a sacrifice fly to score Martin again. �A grounder forced out Valencia at second base to end the inning.

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(Photo: �3B Doug Bernier makes an out in foul territory.)

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Lincoln had been efficient with his pitches, throwing only 37 pitches over the first four innings. �That 5th inning took 18 pitches, as Lincoln faced 6 batters. �Then he needed 12 pitches for the 6th and only 11 pitches for 5 batters in the 7th. �That was still only 78 pitches over 7 innings, and Lincoln was still not letting that leg bother him. �He may have been tiring a little in the 8th, but allowed just a two-out single to SS Trevor Plouffe, but left him stranded when he struck out LF Brian Dinkelman to end the inning. �Lincoln threw 16 pitches in the 8th, for a total of 94 pitches (63 strikes).

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Indianapolis Indians �5, �Buffalo Bison �4 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians celebrated Mother's Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Day with pink jerseys and a few pink bats. �Like in past years, the pink agrees with them. �The score went back and forth, and there was some sloppy play on both sides of the field, but the Indians held on for the afternoon win at Victory Field.

Each team posted 12 hits, and C Erik Kratz and SS Argenis Diaz each went 3-for-4 at the plate, including a triple for Kratz. �2B Neil Walker and 1B Brian Myrow had 2 hits each, with a solo homer apiece.

Starter Jeremy Powell (photo) pitched 6 innings to earn his third win. �He worked around runners on base in each inning -- in fact, neither team went down in order in any inning -- but did not go deep into counts on many batters. �Powell threw 82 pitches (58 strikes), and used only 7 pitches against 4 batters in the 4th, and 8 pitches against 6 batters in the 5th.

The Bison loaded the bases against Powell in the 1st. �With two outs, a walk to 1B Mike Jacobs, a ball to the arm of 3B Mike Hessman, and a rare fielding error by Neil Walker at second base as he fumbled trying to pick up the ball on a grounder, filled the bases with visitors. �But Powell calmly got 2B Russ Adams to ground out to short, leaving all three runners standing there.

Walker (photo) made up for his mistake in the bottom of the inning. �CF Jose Tabata reached base on a fielding error by Buffalo SS Ruben Tejada, who also had trouble picking up the ball. �Neil Walker and his pink bat were next. �Walker, batting right-handed against knuckleball pitcher RA Dickey, smashed a double to deep left-center field. �The speedy Tabata scored easily from first base, and the Indians had an early 1-0 lead.

Powell had to work around two hits in the 2nd inning. �C Josh Thole led off with a bloop single behind first base, then Powell got two outs. �CF Jason Pridie grounded to short for what ought to have been the third out, but SS Argenis Diaz was not as aggressive making the scoop, the transfer, or the throw as he could have been, and Pridie beat out the throw to first base. �Again Powell remained calm and fired strikes to RF Jose Feliciano, striking him out. �Feliciano was apparently having issues with the way that home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez was calling the strikes. �After he swung and missed strike three, he slammed his bat and must have said the wrong words, because Gonzalez immediately ejected him. �Alex Cintron came in to the game to replace Feliciano in right field, though he later swapped positions with Russ Adams and took over at second base.

Indianapolis Indians 9,

Buffalo Bison 2

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3B Pedro Alvarez smashed a 3-run homer (photo) to cap off a 7-run inning as the Indians stampeded the Bison in the first game of an 8-game homestand at Victory Field. �The Indians recorded 15 hits in the game, with each position player in the starting line-up picking up at least one hit except for 2B Brian Friday, and Friday contributed a sacrifice bunt in the big inning. �Both C Erik Kratz and LF Brandon Moss had 3 hits in the game, while CF Jose Tabata, 1B Neil Walker, and SS Argenis Diaz each had 2 hits.

The Indians went into the bottom of the 6th with a slim 2-1 lead. �Buffalo starter, Bobby Livingston, who had pitched briefly for the Indians in 2009, had completed 5 innings and reliever Kiko Calero was beginning his work on the mound. �Brandon Moss began the fun with an easy liner into center field, his second hit of the game. �Moss took off for second base, and though he did not get there before the ball did, Bison shortstop Ruben Tejada dropped the ball on the throw, and Moss was safe with a stolen base. �Erik Kratz took a fly ball to the left-center field alley, for his second double of the game, and Moss cruised home with an insurance run (1). �Brian Friday dropped down a neat sacrifice bunt, moving Kratz to third base. �Argenis Diaz lifted a little fly to short right field, which fell in between three Bison chasing after it. �Kratz had been waiting to tag up, so when the ball fell in, he headed for the plate. �The throw came in to Buffalo catcher Josh Thole on the first-base side of the plate and a little in front, as Kratz slid on the outside of the third base side, his right hand skimming the plate as he went by, scoring the second run (2). �Diaz advanced to second base on the throw. �Brian Myrow came on to pinch-hit for starter Brad Lincoln, and he took the first pitch he saw up the middle for another single, scoring Diaz (3). �Jose Tabata (photo) was next, and he was hit on the left hand by a pitch, putting runners on first and second bases. �That brought up Neil Walker, who'd already had a single and an RBI in the previous inning. �Walker smacked a liner into right-center field, which hit the ground just about a foot in front of the glove of the diving outfielder. �The ball got past him and kept rolling, and Walker had an RBI double as Myrow crossed the plate (4). �That was enough to send Calero to the showers.

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Indianapolis Indians 5, � Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 4 (box)

Starter Mike Crotta made his AAA debut with the Indianapolis Indians today in an afternoon game at Coca-Cola park in Allentown, PA, and with some help from his new teammates, it was a successful afternoon. �CF Jose Tabata supported Crotta with 4 hits and 3 stolen bases, and 1B Neil Walker contributed a triple and a home run, accounting for 3 RBI.

Tabata (photo) began the game with a single to second base. �The Iron Pigs' 2B Luis Maza was able to make the stop, but when he popped up to make the throw, Tabata beat the throw to first, then promptly stole second base. �Neil Walker, on first base today as Steve Pearce got a day off, swatted a long fly ball to straight out center field, which flew over the head of former Indy Indian (2005-06) CF Rich Thompson and bounced off the center field wall. �Tabata scored and Walker slid into third easily with a triple. �LF Brian Myrow followed with a grounder to the right side of the infield, bringing Walker home and giving the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Two innings later, things looked rather familiar: �Tabata led off that inning, too, with a single that ended up just behind third base. �Again Tabata stole second base, and again, Neil Walker drove him home. �This time, Walker did it with a long smash that hit a railing just behind the yellow line over the right field wall. �Myrow singled this time, but was left on base again. � Indians up, 4-0.

Iron Pigs' starter Nate Bump had trouble again in the 5th inning. �For the third time in the game, Tabata led off the inning with a single, this one bounced over the mound and into center field. �Walker did not have a hit this time, but he walked. �Tabata and Walker executed a double steal, which caught the Iron Pigs flatfooted. �It was Tabata's 3rd steal of the game, and his 12th of the season, and Walker's 8th stolen base of the season. �A grounder to first base by 3B Pedro Alvarez let Tabata score from third base, and the Indians had a 5-0 lead.

Crotta himself got off to a little bit of a shaky start. �The speedy Rich Thompson opened the bottom of the 1st by beating out an infield hit to third base, and Crotta walked Maza. �Then he struck out LF John Mayberry. �1B Andy Tracy bounced sharply to SS Doug Bernier, who started a 6-4-3 (Bernier to 2B Brian Friday to 1B Walker) to get Crotta out of the inning without a run scoring. �After that, Crotta relaxed and settled in. �He retired the next 7 batters in order, until Mayberry singled with one out in the 4th. �RF Brandon Moss could not get to Mayberry's bloop hit before it hit the ground, but when Moss did scoop it up and fire into second base, Bernier applied the tag and they had Mayberry out trying to stretch the hit into a double. �Crotta finished that inning with a line out, then threw a 1-2-3 5th inning.

Indianapolis Indians �4, �Pawtucket Red Sox �1 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians held the PawSox to 5 hits as they earned their 6th straight win tonight. �The win moves them above the .500 mark, with an 11-10 record. �It was warmer in Pawtucket tonight than in the past couple of days, which could only help matters as far as the Indians were concerned.

Both C Luke Carlin and CF Jose Tabata recorded 2 hits each for the Indians, and four Indians contributed RBI: �Tabata, LF Neil Walker, DH Brian Myrow, and SS Brian Friday. Every member of the lineup had at least one hit, except for 3B Pedro Alvarez.

Daniel McCutchen (photo), who was recently reassigned to the Indians,� made his first AAA start of the season, and he was impressive. �McCutchen threw 103 pitches (62 strikes), and scattered 5 hits over 7 innings of work. �Pawtucket DH Josh Reddick had the most success against McCutchen, when he singled with two outs in the 3rd inning (but was thrown out trying to steal second), and homered to lead off the 6th inning. �SS Angel Sanchez doubled off McCutchen in the 4th and singled in the 6th, but both times was left stranded at the end of the inning. �McCutchen also walked two batters and hit one, but left all of them on base too.

The Indians' batters got started with their scoring in the top of the 1st. �Jose Tabata began the game with a single into center field, and when Pawtucket CF Bubba Bell threw wildly back into the infield, Tabata advanced to second base. �Brian Myrow brought him in from second base with a double ripped into right field. �The Tribe added a second run in the 2nd inning. �With one out, Luke Carlin crushed a 3-1 pitch into the right field corner, and raced all the way to third base when RF Matt Sheely had trouble coming up with the ball. �Brian Friday followed with a sacrifice fly, and Carlin scored easily, to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Indianapolis Indians 10, �Pawtucket Red Sox 9 (box)

It was a dreary, rainy, frigid afternoon in Rhode Island this afternoon, but it probably looked quite sunny to Tribe LF Neil Walker (photo). He began the day with a solo home run in his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, and he ended the day with a line drive single into center field, which drove in the game-winning run, giving the Tribe their fifth win in a row. �It also moved the Indians back to .500 (10-10), where they hadn't been since April 12th, just 4 games into the season.

Kevin Hart made the start for the Indians. �After retiring Pawtucket in order in the bottom of the 1st, including two strikeouts, Hart struggled mightily. �The second inning began with a double by 2B Tug Hulett, on a ball that fooled Tribe RF Brandon Moss, going over his head and to the wall. �A quick out, then a walk to C Dusty Brown and a single to 3B Jorge Jimenez loaded the bases. �Moss got the ball back to the infield quickly on Jimenez's hit, so the lead runner Hulett was held at third base. �It didn't matter, though, as RF Bubba Bell lined a single in to center field, scoring both Hulett and Brown to take the lead. �Bell stole second base, and SS Ryan Khoury singled next, driving in Jimenez, and moving Bell to third base. �CF Josh Reddick dropped down a bunt, meant to get Bell in from third, but the ball dropped foul, rolled into fair territory, rolled away from the grass, then stopped right on the chalk line, which is where C Erik Kratz picked it up. �Bell did not take off from third, though Khoury did advance to second base, and again the bases were loaded. �Hart struck out LF Daniel Nava, then walked DH Angel Sanchez forced in the fourth run of the inning. �Finally, a ground out by Hulett ended the inning -- 10 batters to the plate, 4 runs in, and 39 pitches from Hart.

The Indians got two of the runs back in the top of the 3rd. �SS Brian Friday led off with a walk, and CF Jose Tabata brought him in with a triple off the top of the wall in center field. �Neil Walker collected his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to plate Tabata, and the Indians were within one run, 4-3.

But when Hart (photo) went back out to begin the bottom of the 3rd, he got into trouble again when the first four batters reached base. �A single by 1B Aaron Bates bounced just base the outstretched glove of SS Argenis Diaz and into left field. �Hart then threw 8 straight balls, walking both Dusty Brown and Jorge Jimenez. �Bubba Bell slipped a single through the hole and into right field, bringing in Bates and leaving the bases still loaded. �That was all for Hart, who exited having thrown 68 pitches, half for strikes. Steven Jackson, who had finished serving his suspension for hitting a batter last Thursday night, came on to relieve Hart. �The first batter Jackson faced was Khoury, who grounded to third base. �It was tailor-made for a 5-2 play back to the plate to force out the lead runner, and maybe even a double play if Kratz could throw on to first. �But, 3B Pedro Alvarez got excited and had trouble picking the ball out of his glove, then threw it over Kratz's head. �Brown scored from third, and while Kratz was tracking down the ball behind him, Jimenez rounded third and scored too, just before Kratz could throw to Jackson, covering the plate. �The error was Alvarez's fourth of the season, but the first throwing error.

Indianapolis Indians 6, �Louisville Bats 1 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians made good use of their bats at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, KY tonight, not too far from where some of those bats may have been made. �The Tribe posted 15 hits, as RF Steve Pearce (photo) led the way with 4 hits, 2B Neil Walker had 3, and CF Jose Tabata and LF Brandon Moss contributing 2 hits each. �Even starting pitcher Brad Lincoln had a hit -- a double in the 6th inning -- on his way to his second win of the season.

The game got off to a very late start -- almost 9 pm, as the game was delayed 1 hr 53 minutes by rain. �The Indians had only one hit over the first two innings -- a single in the 2nd inning by Pearce. �Pearce saw the ball skip off the hand of Bats' SS Zack Cozart, who was trying to do a bare-handed pick up, and when the ball went into short left field, Pearce tried for second base -- unsuccessfully.

The Indians got onto the scoreboard in the 3rd, courtesy of a bases-clearing double by 2B Neil Walker. �C Luke Carlin led off the inning by working a walk. � SS Argenis Diaz, in his first game back from Pittsburgh, grounded to the right side of the infield, where it was stopped by Bats' 3B Juan Francisco, but not in time to make a play. �Brad Lincoln bunted, but the ball was scooped up by pitcher Sam LeCure, who forced Carlin out at third base. �CF Jose Tabata walked next, loading the bases for Walker. �Walker doubled over the head of LF Todd Frazier, easily scoring Diaz and Lincoln. �Frazier took long enough tracking down the ball in left field that Tabata had time to race around from first base and score also. �Indians up 3-0.

The Bats got one of those runs back in the bottom of the 4th. �RF Chris Burke ripped a 1-2 pitch from Lincoln down the right field line, and when Steve Pearce had trouble picking up the ball, Burke cruised into third base with a triple. �The next batter, CF Chris Heisey, brought Burke in with a RBI grounder to short. �1B Danny Dorn followed with a double, but two fly outs to Neil Walker at second base ended the inning without further scoring.

The Tribe got that run back in the 5th. �With two outs, 1B Brian Myrow lined the first pitch he saw into right field, where Chris Burke couldn't quite make the diving catch. �3B Pedro Alvarez also swung at the first pitch he saw, grounding it up the middle. �2B Chris Valaika kept the ball from going into the outfield, but did not have time to make a play. �Steve Pearce, who had singled again in the 4th inning, lashed his third hit of the game down the left field line for an RBI double, scoring Myrow. �Indians 4, Bats 1.

The Indians threatened in the 6th inning, when Brad Lincoln (photo) picked up that double into left field, his first hit of the season. �Tabata followed with a single lined into center field, and Lincoln sped around third base and headed for the plate. �The throw in from Heisey in center to Bats' catcher Corky Miller was right on target. �Miller easily turned and tagged out Lincoln as he slid and tumbled across the plate. �It was not what most people want to see their starting pitcher doing.

"I thought I'd be held up because he (Tabata) hit the ball hard," related Lincoln after the game. �"When I got to third, Frank (Manager Frank Kremblas, coaching at third base) was already waving me home. �I see Corky (Miller) moving to his right, he catches it... �I thought 'I've got to do something here', and I decided to slide. �I've done it before."

Indianapolis Indians 6, �Louisville Bats 1 (box)

2B Neil Walker and C Erik Kratz provided the in-game fireworks, which went along nicely with the post-game fireworks at Victory Field on Friday night. �Walker went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, and gave the Tribe 4 RBI, while Kratz hit a 2-run homer to account for the remaining Indians' runs. �Kevin Hart (photo) made the start for the Indians and earned his first win of the season.

Bats' starter Justin Lehr got through the first inning rather easily, walking 3B Pedro Alvarez but striking out two batters. �In the 2nd inning, Lehr gave up a one-out single to RF Brandon Moss. Kratz followed with a line drive that just cleared the left field wall, to land in a collection of kids on the grassy berm. �Indians 2, Bats 0.

Lehr got into trouble right away in the 3rd inning. �LF Jose Tabata (photo below) led off with a single lined into center field. �CF Jonathan Van Every grounded a single into right field, moving Tabata to second base. �Lehr got a little help from his catcher, Corky Miller, who caught Tabata with a big lead off second base, and fired across the diamond to pick him off the base.

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Pedro Alvarez was next to reach base, when his grounder to short kicked off the glove of SS Zack Cozart. �1B Steve Pearce loaded the bases when he worked a walk. �That brought up Neil Walker. �Walker took the first pitch down the first base line and into the right field corner, to clear the bases and give the Indians a 5-0 lead. �Pearce came all the way around from first base to score, drawing the throw from RF Wladimir Balantien. �The throw to home was wide and Pearce was in easily, but C Corky Miller alertly relayed the throw to third base, where Walker had headed on the throw in from the outfield. �Miller's throw was on time, and Walker was tagged out at third.

Lehr got out of a jam in the 4th inning. �Erik Kratz led off with a walk, and SS Brian Friday slipped a single through the hole and into left field. �Kevin Hart was batting for the first time this season in tonight's game, and he had grounded to first in the 2nd inning. �Now in the 4th, with runners on first and second with no outs, it was time for a sacrifice. �Hart fouled off two bunt attempts, but on his third try, he dropped down a bunt that was a little too hard. �The ball landed to the left of the mound, within easy reach for Lehr. �Lehr fielded, whirled, and threw to third base, where Kratz was forced out. �Tabata still had two runners on for him, and he lined a single into left field. �Friday rounded third and headed for the plate, but the throw from LF Juan Francisco reached Corky Miller just a second before Friday. �Miller reached across the plate to tag Friday for the second out. �A strikeout ended the threat.

Not really a "prospect", but a veteran who had a very good year in 2009:

Jean Machi is a Venezuelan native who was first signed by the Phillies in 2000. �He came to the US for the 2002 season, and spent two seasons in the Phillies' organization here, then one more season (2004) back in the Venezuelan Summer League. �He was selected by Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft, and spent two seasons in their organization, then moved on to Toronto, who signed him as a free agent. �In 2006 with Tampa Bay's AA level team, he earned a 6-1 record, 16 saves, and a 2.55 ERA in 48 relief appearances. �The following season for the Blue Jays' AA affiliate, Machi made another 48 appearances and earned a 2-4 record, just 2 saves, and a 3.53 ERA. �Machi missed the early part of 2008 due to injuries, and he had a tougher time when he got back onto the mound -- a 4.65 ERA and a 2-6 record in 21 appearances. �That lead him to the Pirates and a minor league contract for the 2009 season. �The right-hander was sent to AA Altoona in the middle of the April, and in 28 relief appearances, he earned a 2-3 record with 6 saves and a 2.08 ERA. �He pitched 34.2 innings, and allowed 8 earned runs on 28 hits and 13 walks, with 25 strikeouts. �That was a significant drop in his walk rate -- 3.4 BB/9 innings, compared to 5.2 BB/ 9 innings in 2008. �His ERA was just 0.84 in 10.2 innings in April, up to 3.11 ERA in 8.2 innings in May, and 2.77 ERA in 13 innings in July.