IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Early Offense Lifts Syracuse Past Indianapolis

Published on May 11, 2009 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


SYRACUSE, Ny. -- The Syracuse Chiefs scored in each of the first four innings, including a three-run home run by OF Corey Patterson in the fourth inning, which lifted the Chiefs past the Indianapolis Indians 6-3 on Monday afternoon at Alliance Bank Stadium.

With the loss the Indians drop to 14-16 overall and 7-6 on the road, while the Chiefs improve to 16-13 on the season and 7-5 at home. Syracuse's victory splits the first season series between the two teams, with their final four-game series to take place in Indianapolis May 16-19.

Syracuse RF Ryan Langerhans got things started with a lead off walk in the first and later came plateward on 1B Brad Eldred's RBI double. Eldred (2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI), who played for the Tribe from 2005-2007, also recorded the only multi-hit performance for either team with a single in the third.

The Chiefs continued the early scoring as they posted single runs in the second and third innings. The single tallies came by way of RBI singles off the bats of SS Alberto Gonzalez and 3B Pete Orr that plated 2B Seth Bynum and OF Justin Maxwell.

However, it was Patterson's three-run blast in the fourth inning that turned out to be the difference. Patterson entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the first inning after the Chiefs' starting left fielder, Lastings Milledge, was injured in his first at-bat, and smashed a three-run longball in his second at-bat to jump the Chiefs out to a 6-0 lead.

Chiefs' starting pitcher J.D. Martin (6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 SO) picked up his first career victory against the Indians after he allowed only one run on one hit in his six innings of work. The right-hander, who was perfect through the first four innings of the game, improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 at home with the win on Monday.

RF Garrett Jones broke up the perfect game with a solo home run in the fifth inning for his first longball in the month of May. 3B Neil Walker also later launched a solo shot in the eighth inning for his second homer of the series.

Indianapolis threatened in the seventh when CF Jeff Salazar collected an one-out double and later came around to score on 1B Steve Pearce's RBI single. Later in the inning the Indians loaded the bases on an error and a walk, but squandered the opportunity and came away with only one run.

For Pearce the single extended his hitting streak to five games and also gave him an RBI in eight of his last 10 games. Pearce has been tearing it up on the road as his Monday performance gives him a .388 average (19-for-49) with 14 RBI in 12 road games. Indians starting pitcher, Ty Taubenheim (3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO), dropped to 0-4 on the season with Monday's loss. The 6-5 righty struck out four, but allowed five earned runs on six hits in his 3.1 innings of work.

After replacing Taubenheim in the fourth, Indians' relievers Brian Slocum (2.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 SO), Denny Bautista (1.2 IP, 2 BB, 3 SO) and Chris Bootcheck (1.0 IP, 1 SO) combined to hold Syracuse hitless, while also striking out six Chiefs' hitters in 4.2 innings of relief.

Indianapolis will begin a four game series at Rochester beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. LHP Tom Gorzelanny is scheduled to start for Indianapolis, while RHP Philip Humber is expected to get the nod for the Red Wings.

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

Post-game quotes - RF Garrett Jones

(on his solo home run in the fifth) "Finally, I need to keep my swing short and smooth and I did on that pitch. When your swing is smooth it feels effortless instead of swinging hard."

(on back-to-back days in the lineup) "I feel better and it's good to get my power back after missing the past few games. They say home runs come in bunches and hopefully that's the case."

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 11, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central