IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Clippers Hang Four in Eighth, Rally Past Indians

Published on June 28, 2018 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


COLUMBUS, OHIO - Four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning spelled doom for the Indians in a 5-3 loss to the Clippers on Thursday night at Huntington Park. J.T. Brubaker carried his weight in the rotation with 5.2 shutout innings and eight strikeouts, his most in a Tribe uniform.

Columbus (39-39) trailed up until a troublesome eighth. Francisco Mejia hit a solo home run to start the frame, pulling the Clippers within one at 3-2. Brandon Barnes then reached on a misplayed line drive by Jordan Luplow in left field, resulting in a two-base error. Enny Romero followed with a walk to Mike Papi on five pitches, setting up a sacrifice bunt by Yu Chang and eventual intentional walk to Adam Rosales.

With the bases loaded and nowhere to put Drew Maggi, Romero (L, 1-1) walked the Clippers No. 8 hitter on five pitches to force home the game-tying run. Dovydas Neverauskas inherited the bases-loaded jam and was greeted by a go-ahead two-run single off the bat of Sam Haggerty, who was making his Triple-A debut.

Indianapolis (43-34) scored the game's first run in the opening frame. Kevin Newman doubled and later scored on a Luplow groundout. Two innings later, a Pablo Reyes walk, Newman single and fielding error led to a run-scoring fielder's choice by Luplow and sacrifice fly by Kevin Kramer.

Brubaker took a no-decision despite delivering one of his better Triple-A performances. He scattered five hits and walked two. Robert Zarate (W, 2-1) was credited with the win and Ben Taylor (S, 6) tossed a perfect ninth for the save.

Ryan Lavarnway reached on an infield single in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, tying a career high set back in 2009 with Low-A Greenville in the South Atlantic League.

Over the last five games, Indy's rotation has posted a collective 0.61 ERA (2 ER/29.2 IP), allowing just 18 hits and five walks with 34 strikeouts.

Newman scored two runs, giving him a league-high 46 this season.

The Indians and Clippers play game two of their series on Friday night at 7:15 p.m. ET. Tribe southpaw Brandon Waddell (2-3, 7.41) will take the mound against Columbus left-hander Ryan Merritt (0-1, 6.00).

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International League Stories from June 28, 2018


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