June 18, 2013
127
Games Today




Columbus Rallies Past Tribe 5-2

August 31, 2010 - International League (IL) Indianapolis Indians

INDIANAPOLIS -- Starting pitcher Paolo Espino allowed just three hits over seven innings, while third baseman Jared Goedert and second baseman Cord Phelps combined to go 3-for-6 with two runs and three RBI to lead the Columbus Clippers past the Indianapolis Indians 6-4 on Tuesday night at Victory Field.

With the loss, Indianapolis' record falls to 68-70 on the season, while the win improves Columbus to 77-61 on the year. The victory also gives Columbus a 12-8 advantage in the season series and propels the Clippers into first place in the West Division.

Espino (7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO) was brilliant on the evening as he allowed just two runs on three hits and struck out seven over seven innings of work to earn the victory and improve to 3-2 on the season. Relievers Jess Todd (1.0 IP, 1 H) and Vinnie Pestano (1.0 IP) would close out the victory for the Clippers with two innings of scoreless relief, with Todd earning his fourth hold and Pestano notching his 14th save.

Though Indianapolis managed just four hits on the evening they did jump out to an early 2-0 lead with two tallies in the bottom of the third. LF Kevin Melillo began the rally when he rolled a single to left with one out, before he moved up to second when 3B Akinori Iwamura drew a base on balls.

After Iwamura's walk, CF Alex Presley beat out a potential inning-ending double play to leave runners at first and third for RF Brandon Moss, who came through with a clutch two-run double to center to give the Tribe the 2-0 advantage. The RBI for Moss were his team leading 88th and 89th on the season and moved him into sole possession of second place in the International League.

However, this would be all the offense the Indians would get as the Columbus pitching staff shut down the Tribe over the final six frames and got just enough offense to earn the victory. Phelps began the Clippers' first scoring rally when he led off the fourth with a hard-hit double to center, before eventually trotting home on a clutch two-out, two-run longball by Goedert.

The home run which sailed over the left field wall was Goedert's 20th on the season, giving him, at the time, the sixth highest homer total in the IL this season. The round tripper also continued an amazing run of success against the Tribe for the Triple-A rookie who has now hit .386 (17-for-44) with 12 runs, five home runs and 11 RBI in 12 games against the Indians this season.

After evening the score in the top of the fourth, the Clippers pulled ahead for good with a single tally in the top of the fifth. Following a lead-off single by SS Josh Rodriguez, RF Jose Constanza laid down a sacrifice bunt and CF Ezequiel Carrera grounded out to move Rodriguez to third where Phelps would bring him plateward with a clutch two-out double to center. Though they would not need it, the Clippers would add two insurance runs in the top of the ninth as LF Matt McBride doubled home Constanza, before trotting home himself on base hit by 1B Wes Hodges.

Overall, Columbus collected 10 hits on the evening with Rodriguez (2-for-3, 1 R), Phelps (2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) and LF Drew Sutton (2-for-3) all posting multi-hit efforts, while only Moss (2-for-4, 2 RBI) managed to collect multiple base knocks for the Tribe.

Despite allowing just three runs, while scattering seven hits, Tribe starter Chris Jakubauskas (5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-4 on the season. Indians' reliever Corey Hamman (3.0 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 SO) provided some excellent relief as he allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings of work.

Indianapolis now wraps up their three-game series with the Columbus Clippers on Wednesday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. Neither team has yet to announce a starter for the contest.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and broadcast live on Comcast and Bright House Networks digital channel 81 with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show on WXLW-950 AM begins at 6:40 p.m.

• Discuss this story on the International League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us


International League Stories from August 31, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.