IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Clement Continues Cruising as Tribe Beats Chiefs

Published on June 4, 2012 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Indians first baseman Jeff Clement launched his seventh home run of the year and drove in three runs on Monday night as Indianapolis beat the Syracuse Chiefs 4-3 at Victory Field.

Clement has been hands-down the hottest Indianapolis hitter of late, compiling a nine-game hitting streak. In his past ten games, the left-handed hitter has batted .429 (15-for-35) with six home runs, three doubles, a triple, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored.

After Syracuse 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by LF Mark Teahen to put the Chiefs ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Clement ripped a two-out, two-run home run deep onto the seating berm beyond the right-center-field fence to put the Indians ahead 2-1. Also scoring on the longball was Tribe CF Starling Marte, who had drawn a two-out walk.

Chiefs CF Corey Brown tied the game at 2-2 with a solo home run to lead off the top of the third inning, but Marte and Clement teamed up to put the Tribe ahead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out and SS Chase d'Arnaud on first base, Marte tripled to center field, his International League-leading seventh three-bagger of the season. d'Arnaud easily scored ahead of the relay throw to the plate and put the Indians ahead 3-2.

Up next, Clement hit a line drive to center field that was caught by Brown. Marte had broke for the plate before going back to third and tagging up, but his speed allowed him to slide into home safely and turn Clement's liner into a sac fly. It was Clement's third RBI of the game and 23rd of the season, putting Marte and Clement in a tie for the team lead.

The four runs were enough for Indianapolis starter Rudy Owens (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR), who recovered from a shaky start to earn his fourth win of the season. The Indians are now 9-4 overall when scoring exactly four runs, 8-1 at home in that situation.

Former Indianapolis LHP Zach Duke (6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR) took the loss, just his third of the season. Duke is now 4-3 in eight career starts at Victory Field.

The Chiefs did get back one inconsequential run in the eighth inning off of RHP Evan Meek (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K), when RF Brett Carroll singled to drive in Teahen, who had doubled earlier in the frame. RHP Tim Wood (1.0 IP) tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his fifth save of the season and third in three games.

The Indians are now 34-23 on the season and hold a 7.5-game lead in the IL West Division. The Tribe hits the road for a quick four-game trip against the Pawtucket Red Sox starting on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. Indianapolis expects to send LHP Justin Wilson (4-3, 3.59) while Pawtucket is expected to counter with major league veteran LHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2, 3.33).

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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Post-game quotes -- C Jake Fox

(On Monday night's 4-3 victory) "It was a good night. We came out and we played hard and we finished the homestand with a good win tonight. We're going to head to Pawtucket and hopefully do the same thing there."

(On starting the game at catcher) "It felt great. Catching is still one of my favorite positions. It's like a game within a game, so getting back there and getting to work hard and getting to work with (starting pitcher) Rudy (Owens) tonight was really a pleasure. I really enjoyed every minute of it."

(On Owens' performance) "I think you can tell a lot about a pitcher by the way he handles himself when he doesn't have his best stuff. He came out tonight, he battled hard, he made the pitches when he had to and you've got to be proud of him coming out and putting up some innings like he did and keeping them at bay so we could come back and win that game."

(On his two hits during the game) "It was good to get in there, see a few good pitches and see the ball. Sometimes, I think, when you get behind the plate and catch, it helps you see the ball at the plate. You're seeing balls coming at you, seeing the ball's trajectory and that sort of thing. It just felt good to get in there and square a few balls up and it's something I haven't done in a couple games, so it felt good."

(On Jeff Clement's recent hot streak) "He's swinging the bat great. It's always cool to see a guy who's locked in like he is and I just hope he continues going. Who knows what may happen down the road."

(On the team's increased offensive production to close the homestand) "We have a lot of great hitters on this team. Early, we were trying to find our swing, trying to find our identity, and I think we finally found that. We're coming out, we're playing hard, we're putting good at-bats together and we're getting good results. I think you're finally seeing what this team is capable of at the plate and on the mound."

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