IL1 Indianapolis Indians

8-Run 5th Boosts Bulls by Tribe 10-7

Published on June 14, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


DURHAM, N.C. -- The Durham Bulls (42-25) battled back from a 7-2 deficit with eight runs on eight hits in the bottom of the fifth inning, highlighted by a bases loaded double by second baseman Mike Fontenot, and went on to defeat the Indianapolis Indians (45-23) 10-7 on Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Indianapolis looked well on their way to earning a game one victory on Thursday night as they plated seven scores over the third, fourth and fifth frames to take what seemed to be a commanding 7-2 lead. Durham, however, had other plans as they banged out eight runs on eight hits in the bottom of the fifth and held on for the 10-7 victory.

C Tony Sanchez got the Tribe's evening started with a bang, when he led off the third inning with his eighth home run of the season. Durham, however, quickly responded with two scores of their own in the bottom half of the third as CF Brandon Guyer and SS Tim Beckham each came across on wild pitches by rehabbing Tribe starter Jeanmar Gomez (3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 2 WP).

The back and forth offensive outbursts continued in the fourth as the Indians took back the lead with two more scores. 3B Jared Goedert, LF Brett Carroll and DH Andrew Lambo drew back-to-back-to-back two-out base on balls, before Sanchez continued his hot night by launching a two-run double to deep center field.

The two-bagger, which plated Goedert and Carroll was Sanchez's 18th on the season and second in as many games. The Tribe backstop has also now collected hits in six of his last seven contests, during which he has connected on three doubles and a home run.

Indianapolis then seemed to break the game wide open in the top of the fifth, plating four scores to extend their advantage to 7-2. SS Chase d'Arnaud began the rally by reaching on an error and stealing second, before a triple and steal by CF Felix Pie set the stage for Goedert.

With two down, the Indians' third baseman came through in the clutch, launching his first triple of the season to deep center field to plate both d'Arnaud and Pie. The two-run triple was the highlight of an impressive night for Goedert, who finished 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI and two walks, and has now collected eight hits, six runs and five RBI over his last six games.

Indianapolis was not finished in the fifth, though, as following a walk to LF Brett Carroll, DH Andrew Lambo lined a two-run double to right to extend the Indians advantage to 7-2. Lambo continues to be an RBI machine this season, as the left handed slugger has driven in six runs in four games with the Tribe, after ranking second in the Double-A Eastern League in RBI at the time of his promotion.

However, after the all the positive events of the top half of the fifth for the Indians, the bottom half turned into a nightmare as the Bulls exploded for eight runs on eight hits. 1B Vince Belnome began the offensive explosion with a lead-off single, before a walk by LF Leslie Anderson and single by DH Shelley Duncan loaded the bases.

Fontenot then blasted a bases clearing double to cut the Tribe lead all the way down to just 7-5, before C Jesus Flores followed with a base hit to center to narrow the margin to just one. Following a base hit by 3B Cole Figueroa and hit by pitch by Guyer, a passed ball and two-run double by Beckham plated the Bulls final three runs and gave them a 10-7 advantage they would not relinquish.

Working in a rare relief role, LHP Mike Montgomery (3.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO), who threw 7.0 hitless innings against the Tribe on June 7 at Victory Field, earned the win to improve to 3-0, despite allowing six runs (two earned) on four hits over 3.1 innings. Following Montgomery, Bulls relievers Jeff Beliveau (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO) and Kirby Yates (1.0 IP, 1 SO) combined to allow just one hit over three scoreless innings of relief with Beliveau earning his third hold and Yates notching his fourth save

Tribe reliever Graham Godfrey (1.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) suffered the loss to drop to 5-4 after surrendering six runs on seven hits in just 1.1 innings of work. Two bright spots out of the Indianapolis bullpen were LHP Atahualpa Severino (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO) and RHP Duke Welker (1.0 IP, 1 SO), who combined for two innings of scoreless relief.

The Indians will now look to bounce back in game two of the series on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. LHP Andy Oliver (3-2, 3.27) is expected to be on the mound for Indianapolis, while RHP Merrill Kelly is scheduled to make his Triple-A debut with the Bulls.

The game will be carried on WNDE 1260 AM, 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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International League Stories from June 14, 2013


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