Pearce leads Indians to 5-4 win over Pawtucket
Published on April 17, 2008 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
-- Right fielder Steve Pearce went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and solo homer to give Indianapolis a 5-4 victory over Pawtucket Thursday night at Victory Field.
Pearce's third-inning grand slam was his first home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to seven games. Last year, Pearce belted 31 homers and collected 113 RBI over four levels of the Pittsburgh organization.
Tribe LF Kevin Thompson turned in a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-4 with a run. Thompson, CF Andrew McCutchen (1-for-4, 1 R) and 3B Neil Walker (0-for-4, 1 R) all scored on Pearce's third-inning roundtripper.
The Indians improve to 11-4 on the season and 6-1 at home, while the Red Sox fall to 8-7 overall and 2-6 on the road. The Tribe has also won 11 of its last 13 contests.
Indianapolis RHP John Van Benschoten (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO) earned his third win in as many decisions. Then RHP Jesse Chavez (1.0 IP, 1 SO), RHP T.J. Beam (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO), RHP Jonah Bayliss (1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) bridged the gap to RHP Marino Salas (0.2 IP), who picked up his first save the season.
Pawtucket LHP Michael Tejera (5.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) was tagged with his second loss of 2008,while RHP Lincoln Holdzkom (2.1 IP, 1 SO) finished off the game for the Red Sox.
Red Sox C George Kottaras went 2-for-4 with a double, run, two RBI and his fifth long ball of the season. The home run was Kottaras's second in as many days and third off Indians pitching this season.
DH Dusty Brown (2-for-3, 1 R) and CF Jonathan Van Every (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI) also turned in multi-hit efforts for Pawtucket.
The teams finish up their four-game series on Friday at 7:15 p.m. RHP Charlie Zink is scheduled to start for Pawtucket, while RHP Bryan Bullington is expected to get the nod for Indianapolis.
The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and www.IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:55 p.m.
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Post-game quotes -- OF Steve Pearce
(on extra hitting in the cage) "I've been spending some extra time in the cage because I have to get my bat going. We played well tonight, and, fortunately, we came away with the victory."
(on his third-inning grand slam) "It was an RBI situation and I was just looking to bring home a run. I found something up in the strike zone and hit it pretty good."
(on his fifth-inning solo homer) "I felt good at the plate all night long. It's great to get another win, and we'll look forward to doing the same thing tomorrow."
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