IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Columbus Scores Late to Down Indians

July 24, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Center fielder Brandon Watson blooped an RBI single in the seventh before third baseman Kory Casto blasted a two-run homer in the eighth as Columbus scored a 5-2 victory over Indianapolis in front of 5,866 Tuesday evening at Cooper Stadium.

The Clippers improve to 46-57 overall and 25-28 at home, while the Indians drop to 51-51 on the season and 21-28 on the road.

Watson's base knock to left came after SS Melvin Dorta lined a single to center and moved to second on a wild pitch. Casto's 11th roundtripper of 2007 cleared the right-field wall and came after 2B Brent Abernathy drew a walk to open the next frame.

Two Columbus right-handers -- Jonathan Albaladejo (2.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 SO) and Winston Abreu (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO) -- blanked Indianapolis over the final three frames after both starters stepped aside in the seventh.

Albaladejo, a former Pirates Minor Leaguer, earned the win in his Triple-A debut. Abreu lowered his ERA to 0.76 and notched his third save of the campaign.

Indianapolis RHP Josh Sharpless (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) was pinned with the loss, falling to 1-5 on the year. The Tribe bullpen is now 2-10 in the month of July and has converted just 1-of-7 save opportunities during the same stretch.

Neither starter -- Indy RHP Marty McLeary (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) or Columbus RHP Emiliano Fruto (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) -- figured in the decision.

Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third. The Indians jumped ahead on LF Michael Ryan's RBI double and 1B Brad Eldred's run-scoring groundout. The Clippers evened the count on Abernathy's two-run double.

Watson and Dorta registered two hits apiece for the home team, while no individual from the visitors dugout collected more than one base knock.

The teams return to Cooper Stadium on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., for game two of the four-game set. RHP John Wasdin is slated to start for the Indians, while LHP John Lannan is expected to get the nod for the Clippers.

The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.

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