IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Ford Fuels Tribe's 3-2 Walk-Off Win

Published on June 9, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- After escaping a no-out bases-loaded jam in the both the ninth and 11th inning, the Tribe finally plated the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 11th on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Darren Ford that sent the Indianapolis Indians (43-21) to a 3-2 walk-off win over the Norfolk Tides (37-26) on Saturday night at Victory Field. A throng of 13,055 patrons packed the stadium to witness the dramatic finish, and with last night's season-high 13,881 attendance, the Tribe has drawn a combined 26,936 fans over the last two games.

With the contest knotted 2-2 in the 11th, Norfolk put the Tribe on the edge of its seats by loading the bases with no outs for the second time in three innings. Instead of working out of the jam with lockdown pitching, as the Indians had previously done in the ninth frame, RF Brett Carroll single-handedly kept the contest deadlocked on what should have been a go-ahead sac fly from DH Russ Canzler. In a fortunate turn of events, Carroll snagged the line drive from Canzler and came up throwing with a frozen rope to first that doubled off SS Yamaico Navarro and ended the inning before LF Xavier Avery could tag and score from third.

The run-saving play proved to be the difference as the Indians quickly showed Norfolk they weren't planning on extending the game any longer, immediately putting the go-ahead runner on base courtesy of a leadoff single from C Tony Sanchez, who was quickly replaced with pinch-runner Oscar Tejeda. Following a flyout from DH Andrew Lambo, Carroll delivered more late-game heroics with a single to right that moved Tejeda to third base.

With the winning run just 90 feet away, Ford worked a full count before lifting a deep sac fly to center to send both Tejeda and the Indians scampering home with a 3-2 walk-off win. Ford's game-winning RBI capped off his team-leading performance, as the left fielder produced two of the Tribe's three total RBI.

Saturday's low-scoring affair began with Pittsburgh Pirates rehabbing right-hander Charlie Morton (6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 E, BB, 4 SO) working his first quality start of the season for the Tribe, as he surrendered just two earned runs through his 6.1 innings of work. The right-hander cruised through the first six frames and issued no walks while facing just four batters above the minimum. Despite his solid start, Morton was ultimately saddled with the no-decision after he was touched for two scores in the seventh.

3B Zach Wheeler drew the lone walk from Indianapolis' starter to begin the Tides' rally in the seventh, and advanced all the way to third on a double from RF L.J. Hoes. 2B Buck Britton then put Norfolk on the board with an RBI single that rolled into right field, and following an Indians pitching change, Avery lined a one-out single into left to score Hoes and knot the contest 2-2.

With only one out and a runner in scoring position, the visiting squad still found themselves in a prime position to take the lead. However, Tribe reliever Kris Johnson (1.2 IP, 3 H, BB) buckled down on the hill to induce a popout from the hot-hitting CF Jason Pridie and a fly ball from the former Indians SS Navarro to escape the inning without further damage.

In a spot start, his first since April 9, 2012 with the Indians, Norfolk RHP Daniel McCutchen (3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, SO) allowed two runs (one earned) on four scattered hits through 3.1 innings. He walked two and fanned one in the abbreviated outing, but much like Indianapolis hurler Morton, he departed from the contest without factoring into the final decision.

After being kept off the scoreboard in the opening frame, the Tribe drew first blood in the second as 3B Jared Goedert roped a single to center to dashed to third when Britton allowed a grounder to bounce off his glove and scoot into right field. After Carroll coaxed a walk to load the bases, Ford smashed a deep sac fly to center field that allowed Goedert to tag from third and put the Indians up 1-0. Goedert, along with scoring six runs over his last nine games, has now also produced 10 base hits during that nine-game span as well.

Two frames later, Indianapolis doubled its lead beginning with a pair of singles from 1B Matt Hague and Sanchez. With runners on first and second, McCutchen uncorked a wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance a bag, before the newly promoted DH Andrew Lambo picked up his first Triple-A RBI of the season with a run-scoring groundout to second that extended the lead 2-0.

Norfolk then put the Tribe on the edge of its seats by loading the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth. Although the Tides seemed all but assured of taking a lead in the final frame of regulation, flamethrowing RHP Erik Cordier (1.0 IP, 2 H, BB) retired the next three batters in order with over 10 pitches that registered at least 100 MPH, highlighted by whiffing 1B Travis Ishikawa on a 101 MPH heater.

The Tribe and Tides will continue their four-game series tomorrow at 1:35 p.m. at Victory Field. Indianapolis is expected to give the ball to LHP Andy Oliver (3-2, 2.87) while Norfolk is scheduled to counter RHP Jake Arrieta (3-3, 4.31).

For the first time this season, the contest will be broadcast live on both RTV6 and HTSN, Hometown Sports and News. Additionally, Sunday's game will also be available via cable or over-the-air on digital channel 6.2. The game will also be carried on WNDE 1260 AM, WNDE.com and via iheartradio, a mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones with Howard Kellman and Will Flemming on the call. The pre-game show begins at 1:15 p.m.

Check out the Indianapolis Indians Statistics

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



International League Stories from June 9, 2013


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