IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Bulls Blank Indians, 2-0

Published on June 21, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Starting pitcher Brian Baker tossed five hitless frames, before relievers Mike Ekstrom and R.J. Swindle followed with four scoreless innings of relief to lead the Durham Bulls to a 2-0 one-hit shutout of the Indianapolis Indians on Monday night at Victory Field.

With the loss, Indianapolis' record falls to 38-33, while Durham improves to 42-28 on the season with the victory. The victory also gives the Bulls the 1-0 series advantage following the first meeting between the two clubs this season.

In what was his first start of season, Baker (5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) struck out a season-high five batters over a season-long five innings of work. The right hander improved to 5-0 with the victory after earning four wins and posting a 3.60 ERA in 20 relief appearances with the Bulls prior to his start on Monday night.

After Baker allowed just a first inning lead-off walk to Tribe LF Kevin Melillo over his five frames on the mound, Ekstrom came through with two scoreless innings of work, despite surrendering what turned out to be the only Indians' hit of the contest, a sixth inning lead-off single to CF Jonathan Van Every. Following Ekstrom's scoreless outing, Swindle (2.0 IP, 1 SO) posted a perfect eighth and ninth to seal the victory for the Bulls and earn his first save of the season.

Indians' starter Daniel McCutchen (7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) was a tough luck loser yet again as, despite allowing just two runs over seven strong innings of work, he was pinned with the loss to fall to 4-5 on the season. Though he suffered the loss, McCutchen continues to provide top-notch work in June as he has now posted a 2-3 record and 2.70 ERA (10 ER in 33.1 IP) this month. The right-hander has also turned in a 3-2 record and 2.56 ERA (11 ER in 38.2) at Victory Field this season.

The Bulls plated their only two scores of the contest with single tallies in the fifth and sixth frames. 2B Joe Dillon scored what turned out to be the game-winning run when he led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a single by 1B Chris Richard and came around to score on an Indians' double play. RF Matt Joyce then provided some insurance in the following frame when he blasted a solo home run to right field for his third longball of the season.

Following McCutchen's excellent outing, Tribe relievers Vinnie Chulk (1.0 IP, 1 H) and Wil Ledezma (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 SO) each escaped jams to keep the Indians within striking distance with two scoreless frames of relief. With the scoreless work from Chulk and Ledezma, the Indianapolis' bullpen continues to post dominant numbers in the month of June as they have now turned in a 4-0 record and 1.19 ERA (9 ER in 68 IP).

Triple-A rookie Omar Luna (2-for-3) was the only player on either team to collect multiple hits, with Joyce (1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB) coming through with the contest's only RBI.

Indianapolis continues its four-game set with Durham on Tuesday, June 22 at 7:00 p.m. RHP Hayden Penn is expected to get the call for the Indians, while LHP Heath Phillips is the probable starter for the Bulls.

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.

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International League Stories from June 21, 2010


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