Five-run seventh carries Tribe past Bisons 6-4

June 19, 2006 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Indianapolis rallied for five runs with two outs in the top of the seventh en route to a 6-4 victory over Buffalo Monday night at Dunn Tire Park.

The Tribe registered five consecutive base knocks in the seventh after collecting just two hits over the first six innings. 1B Chris Richard walked and DH Mike Edwards singled before RF Adam Boeve tied the contest with a two-run double off the wall in left-center. C Carlos Maldonado put Indianapolis ahead with an RBI single to left, while SS J.J. Furmaniak followed with a two-run base knock through the right side.

The Indians improve to 38-32 with their third straight win, while the Bisons fall to 35-38. Indianapolis will look for its second road sweep of the season Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. when the clubs wrap up their four-game set at Dunn Tire Park.

Indianapolis will continue to sit atop the International League's West Division for a 59th consecutive day. The streak establishes a new Victory Field Era record, eclipsing the Tribe's 58-day, first-place run in 2004.

Richard went 1-for-3 with two runs and has now reached base in 33 straight games -- the longest streak of any IL batter in 2006.

Buffalo controlled the early innings, plating one run in the second and another in the sixth.

In the second, 3B Andy Marte blasted his 11th home run of the season -- a solo shot to left center. Marte has now belted a roundtripper in five consecutive contests. In the sixth, LF Ben Francisco singled through the right side, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on one of three Tribe miscues.

Indians LHP Tom Gorzelanny (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) improved to 5-5 with the win, while RHP Matt Whiteside (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) worked a scoreless ninth for his eighth save of the campaign.

Buffalo RHP Rob Bell (6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO), who worked six scoreless frames before running into a wall in the seventh, fell to 4-6 with the loss.

The Bisons crossed the dish in the seventh and eighth to round out their scoring for the night, while the Indians added an insurance run in the ninth.

Maldonado paced Indianapolis, going 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Thompson and Edwards added two hits apiece, while Furmaniak also notched a pair of RBI.

Francisco was the only individual from the home dugout to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4.

Indianapolis LHP Mike Connolly is scheduled to make his first Triple-A start of 2006 in the series finale, while Buffalo is expected to counter with LHP Jeremy Sowers.

The game will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com as Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley have the call. Tuesday's pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.

International League Stories from June 19, 2006

• Lynx rally falls just short in 4-3 loss - Ottawa Lynx
• Hens hold Wings' number - again - Rochester Red Wings
• Five-run seventh carries Tribe past Bisons 6-4 - Indianapolis Indians
• Tides shut out Bats - Norfolk Tides
• Bulls make it three straight against Knights - Durham Bulls
• Paw Sox beat Braves - Gwinnett Stripers
• R-Braves game notes - Gwinnett Stripers
• SkyChiefs game notes - Syracuse Mets
• Bisons Notes - Buffalo Bisons
• Knights Stadium to host "Knight" of USA Baseball - Charlotte Knights
• Andy Marte Named IL Batter-of-the-Week - Buffalo Bisons
• International League names players of the week - IL1
• Bisons to Make Check Presentation from Sabres Playoff Games on the Big Board - Buffalo Bisons

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