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IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Braves Edge Indianapolis 3-2 In Series Opener

May 5, 2008 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond overcame three errors and escaped two late-inning jams to register a 3-2 victory over Indianapolis Monday night at The Diamond.

The Braves improve to 18-12 overall and 12-5 at home, while the Indians fall to 16-16 on the season and 8-10 on the road. The two clubs, which split a 12-game series in 2007, will play seven more times over the next 11 days.

Indianapolis threatened in the eighth and ninth innings, but couldn't get the job done. A single by RF Steve Pearce and double by C Michel Hernandez put two runners in scoring position with one out in the eighth. Then, a Braves fielding error and single by CF Andrew McCutchen put two runners on with no outs in the ninth.

But the Richmond bullpen slammed the door in both instances. RHP Vladimir Nunez (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) danced through the eighth for his second hold of the season, while RHP Andy Shibilo (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) survived the ninth for his first save of the campaign.

Braves LHP Chuck James (7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO), who has won 22 Major League games over the past two seasons, earned the win after dropping his first Triple-A decision.

Indians RHP Ty Taubenheim (7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) turned in his second quality start of 2008, but fell to 2-5 overall and 0-4 on the road with the loss.

The contest remained air tight until the seventh inning when Richmond pushed across the game-winning score. C Clint Sammons opened the frame with a double to left, moved to third on a groundout and came plateward on LF Josh Anderson's single to right.

The Braves plated both early runs in the third, thanks to three consecutive base knocks by CF Omar Infante (single to third base), RF Brandon Jones (double to left center) and 1B Scott Thorman (single to right).

LF Kevin Thompson (1-for-4) scored both Indianapolis runs. The International League's No. 3 hitter extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a first-inning walk and hitting streak to 11 affairs with a sixth-inning double.

McCutchen (1-for-5), who entered the night among the IL's leaders for hits, runs, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, stolen bases, walks, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, extended the IL's longest on-base streak to 26 contests with base knock in the final inning.

C Michel Hernandez (3-for-4, 1 RBI) recorded the game's only three-hit performance and picked up the Tribe's only RBI of the evening.

Sammons (2-for-3, 1 R) and Infante (2-for-4, 1 R) notched the Braves' only multi-hit games. Infante, who has played in nearly 500 Major League games over the past six seasons, recently joined Richmond on a big league rehabilitation assignment.

The teams continue their four-game set on Tuesday at 7 p.m. RHP Luis Munoz is slated to start for Indianapolis, while LHP Damian Moss is expected to get the nod for Richmond.

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 6:40 p.m

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Post-game quotes -- OF Kevin Thompson

(on his 11-game hitting streak and 22-game on-base streak) "I've been getting to the ballpark early, and putting in a lot of extra work. (Hitting Coach Hensley) "Bam Bam" (Meulens) has been spending a lot of time with me, and that's certainly helped. We've been focused on my top hand, and it's been good to see those results on the field."

(on the atmosphere in the eighth and ninth innings) "The eighth and ninth innings were really intense. I always feel like the pressure is on the pitcher. He's the one who has to put the ball over the plate. As a hitter, you have to do your best to relax in those plate appearances. You have to get locked in and maintain that focus. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don't. We didn't get the job done in those eighth and ninth innings, and ended up losing the game."

(on the performance of Indians RHP Ty Taubenheim) "Ty (Taubenheim) has gone through some ups and downs this season, but he was excellent tonight. It seemed like he was 0-2 on every hitter, and you can do so many more things when you get ahead of the guy you're facing. If our starting pitchers continue to throw strikes, the wins will eventually come."

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