IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Clippers Keep Pressure On; Defeat Indians 3-2

August 28, 2005 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Center fielder Kevin Thompson lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to bring home shortstop Caonabo Cosme with the go-ahead run and Columbus hung on down the stretch for a 3-2 win over Indianapolis Sunday afternoon at Cooper Stadium.

The Indians, who have seen their last 13 losses come by a total of 17 runs, fall to 76-60 on the season. Indianapolis now leads the International League Wild Card race by three and a half games over the Clippers, who improve to 73-64 with the victory. The magic number for a Tribe playoff berth now stands at five.

Things have definitely tightened up in the month of August. Since July 31, the Indians have seen 25 of their last 30 games decided by three runs or less. Indianapolis has also encountered 15 one-run affairs during the same span.

For a third consecutive day, Columbus opened the game with a two spot in the bottom of the first. On Friday and Saturday, the Clippers belted back-to-back home runs. On this occasion, the home team manufactured a pair of scores with help from three walks and two base knocks.

New York Yankees DH Ruben Sierra, playing in the second game of a Major League rehabilitation assignment, got things going with a base on balls. 1B Andy Phillips followed with a single through the left side before RF Mike Vento plated Sierra with a double to left field. Catcher Wil Nieves and Cosme then drew back-to-back free passes to force in the second run of the frame.

Indianapolis cut the deficit in half when catcher Paul Chiaffredo belted his seventh roundtripper in the top of the third.

The Indians knotted things with a run in the visiting half of the sixth. SS J.J. Furmaniak roped a single through the left side and came plateward on 1B Graham Koonce's double to left center.

The Clippers responded in the home half of the sixth when Cosme was hit by a pitch and moved to third on 2B Joe Thurston's single to center before Thompson accounted for the game-winning RBI with a deep fly to center.

Furmaniak extended the longest hitting streak of his career to 16 games with a 2-for-3 effort. He also tied Ronny Paulino (16 games from 6/7-24) for the longest such streak by an Indianapolis hitter this season. Koonce was the only other Indian to notch a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with one walk.

Thurston recorded a 2-for-3 performance for Columbus, while LF Kevin Reese went 2-for-4.

Clippers RHP Jorge De Paula (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) earned the win, improving to 4-2. RHP Jason Anderson (0.2 IP) registered a pair of outs in the final inning for his ninth save of the season.

Indians RHP Chris Enochs (6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) was pinned with the loss, falling to 4-4. RHP Jeff Miller (2.0 IP, 1 SO) chipped in with two perfect frames for the Tribe.

Indianapolis is now 15-for-15 in the stolen base department over its last nine games after pinch-runner Eddie Olszta swiped second with one out in the ninth.

The two teams return to Cooper Stadium Monday night at 6:05 p.m., for the four-game series finale. LHP Mike Connolly is scheduled to take the hill for Indianapolis, while RHP Chien-Ming Wang is expected to make a ML rehab start for Columbus. The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM as Howard Kellman and Robert Portnoy have the call. Monday's pre-game show begins at 5:45 p.m.

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