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Indianapolis Indians

Vandenhurk Leads Tribe to 5-4 Win over Gwinnett

June 18, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Right-handed starter Rick VandenHurk did a little bit of everything for Indianapolis on Monday night, picking up his fifth win on the mound and driving in and scoring his first runs in nearly two years as the Indians beat the Gwinnett Braves 5-4 at Coolray Field.

The Tribe went ahead for good in the top of the second, batting around en route to scoring three runs. RF Brandon Boggs led off the frame with a double that scooted past the diving Gwinnett center fielder before scoring on a throwing error on 3B Anderson Hernandez's infield single that allowed Hernandez to advance to second. At the time, Boggs' run tied the game at 2-2.

Because both Indianapolis and Gwinnett are affiliated with National League teams, no designated hitter is in the series, so VandenHurk came up to bat with no outs and a runner on second. The pitcher promptly dumped a single into left field, advancing to second on the throw home as Hernandez scored to put the Indians ahead 3-2. It was VandenHurk's first RBI since July 28, 2010, as a member of the New Orleans Zephyrs in the Pacific Coast League.

After a walk to SS Chase d'Arnaud, VandenHurk tagged up and advanced to third on a flyout to right field and then scored on CF Starling Marte's single to center. It was the righty's first run scored since that same game in 2010 and put the Indians ahead 3-2.

On the mound, VandenHurk (7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR) improved to 5-0 with the Indians, tossing 7.0 innings and striking out five. Despite allowing the most earned runs -- four -- of any outing this season, VandenHurk has now allowed just eight earned runs in 39.0 innings for a 1.38 ERA. The native of Eindhoven, Netherlands, has also lasted seven innings in back-to-back starts.

Indianapolis had jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the first inning when LF Gorkys Hernandez ripped his first triple of the season with one out in the frame and scored on a sacrifice fly by Marte to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead. Indianapolis is now 31-11 on the season when scoring the first run of a contest.

Gwinnett took a quick 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first when RF Felix Pie drove in CF Luis Durango, who had singled, and 1B Ernesto Mejia, who had doubled. After the Tribe's three-run second, Mejia hit his 13th homer of the season to lead off the bottom of the third and cut the Indianapolis advantage to 4-3, but Gwinnett was unable to tie the score or take a lead for the remainder of the contest.

The Indians added the eventual game-winning run in a weird top half of the fourth. After a would-be home run was ruled just foul, d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a bunt single by Gorkys Hernandez. On the play, Gwinnett pitcher Jose Lugo made a throw to second in an attempt to cut down d'Arnaud, who made an ill-advised break for third when the ball got away briefly but slid in safely on an error as the throw to third bounced and could not be corralled. d'Arnaud then scored on a flyout to deep center field off the bat of Marte, but Gorkys Hernandez, trying to advance to second on the play,was thrown out by Durango.

That run proved crucial as Gwinnett scored a run in the bottom of the fourth. Former Indianapolis infielder Josh Wilson led off with a ground-rule double and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch to cut the Tribe's advantage to 5-4, but neither team would score again in the contest.

In support of VandenHurk, RHP Bryan Morris (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) pitched a perfect eighth before allowing a walk and a single in the ninth, but 2B Yamaico Navarro made a diving stop on a two-out grounder and threw to first to end the game, giving Morris his fifth save of the season. For Gwinnett, Lugo (6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) took the loss, his second of the season.

With the Columbus Clippers loss to the Charlotte Knights, the Tribe now owns an 8.5-game lead in the International League's West Division. Indianapolis (41-29) and Gwinnett (37-35 ) will continue their four-game series with a 7:05 p.m. start time on Tuesday. LHP Jeff Locke (5-3, 3.27) is expected to take the mound for the Indians, but with RHP Jair Jurrjens scheduled to make a major league start in Boston on Friday for Atlanta, the Triple-A Braves have yet to name a probable starter for Tuesday's contest.

The game will be carried on WNDE 1260 AM-WFBQ-HD2, WNDE.com and via iheartradio, a mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones with Howard Kellman and Will Flemming on the call. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.

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