IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Indians Cut Down Clippers 10-9

Published on June 2, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The Tribe was engaged in a back-and-forth battle throughout the evening before finally notching the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on an RBI infield single from left fielder Brett Carroll that sent the Indianapolis Indians (38-19) to a 10-9 extra-innings win over the Columbus Clippers (29-27) on Saturday night at Huntington Park. Through the first two games of its series in Columbus, the Tribe has produced a combined 32 hits and 21 runs.

After remaining in a 9-9 tie from the fourth through the ninth inning, the Indianapolis Indians finally broke through in their half of the 10th inning. Leadoff batter SS Chase d'Arnaud coaxed a walk to put a speedy runner on the basepaths for the Tribe, and with the Clippers defense shading to prevent any doubles, 1B Matt Hague blooped in a single in shallow center to put two men on with no outs.

CF Felix Pie was then robbed of driving in the go-ahead run as 1B Matt LaPorta made a diving stab to knock down the batter's line drive. Instead of being awarded the base knock, Pie's shot acted as a make-shift sac bunt that advanced both runners into scoring position.

Although 3B Jared Goedert was fanned for the second out of the frame, Carroll snuck in an infield single that was corralled behind second base by SS Juan Diaz, who hesitated on whether to throw to first or home plate. In the shortstop's indecision, d'Arnaud raced home to give the Indians a 10-9 lead in the tenth.

Indianapolis then turned to RHP Ryan Reid (W, 2.0 IP, H) to preserve the extra-inning victory. Although the reliever allowed two batters to send deep fly balls to the outfield, Reid ultimately prevailed by retiring the side in order to close out the 10-9 win.

From the beginning, Indianapolis' offensive attack mirrored last night's 19-hit effort by immediately loading the bases on a walk to SS John McDonald, a double from DH Chase d'Arnaud and an errant pitch that plunked 1B Matt Hague. With the bags juiced, red-hot CF Felix Pie continued his torrid stretch at the plate by lacing a bases-clearing triple that put the Tribe up 3-0.

As Hague dashed home for the third score of the play, 2B Cord Phelps cut loose a wild relay throw that scooted past Santos to allow Pie to race across the plate safely, extending the lead 4-0. With his three-run three-bagger, Pie improved his batting average over the last 14 games to an impressive .400 mark with four doubles, an International League best three triples and 11 RBI.

The Indians then appeared poised to cruise to another easy victory as they padded their lead to 5-0 in the second on an RBI single from d'Arnaud, but Columbus came roaring back in the bottom of the frame, batting around the order to score eight runs and erase the Tribe's lead.

3B Lonnie Chisenhall began the Clippers' monstrous rally with a leadoff double, and after Phelps lined a base hit into right, DH Jeremy Hermida slapped a single that scored Phelps and cut the deficit 5-1. CF Matt Carson then rolled a grounder up the middle that was misplayed by McDonald, sending Hermida home to narrow the margin to 5-2, and Diaz picked up both runners with a three-run homer that evened the score 5-5.

Having completed the comeback, the Clippers still found themselves in the fortunate situation of having no outs in the huge frame. The home squad then kept their foot on the pedal as Santos crushed a double that bounced off the left-field wall, and following a strikeout by RF Ezequiel Carrera, LF Tim Fedroff hit a run-scoring single to right to give Columbus its first lead of the game at 6-5.

Just one out later, Chisenhall capped off the uprising with a devastating two-run homer that left the entire ballpark to put the Clippers ahead 8-5. The eight-run inning marked the most scores allowed by the Indians in one frame since April 8, 2010 when Columbus again plated eight runs in the 7th inning at Huntington Park.

Once the Tribe was held scoreless in the third, the home team improved upon its advantage courtesy of a solo shot from Carson, the third Clippers homer of the first three innings.

Trailing 9-5 in the back-and-forth affair, the Indians needed just four hits to claw all the way back to even the score in the top of the fourth. RF Jerry Sands and Harrison led off the frame with back-to-back doubles, the latter of which cut the deficit 9-6. Two batters later, d'Arnaud drew a free pass in front of a two-run two-bagger from the Indians RBI leader Hague, who lined a shot in no-man's land in right field.

With the line-drive sinking quickly, Carrera laid out for an all-or-nothing diving play, but ultimately came up empty as Hague's base hit landed safely under the outstretched glove of the right fielder, sending both Harrison and d'Arnaud home to pull Indianapolis within 9-8. 3B Jared Goedert then re-tied the game with the team's fourth double of the inning, plating Hague from second to complete the comeback and knot the score 9-9.

The game would remain in deadlock through the next five frames as both teams' powerful offenses came to a screeching halt following both starters' departure. After RHP Brooks Brown (2.0 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 2 SO) was chased from the contest, RHP Tim Alderson (2.1 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, SO) allowed just one run in 2.1 frames, LHP Atahualpa Severino (1.2 IP, 2 SO) worked 1.2 hitless frames in his Tribe debut and RHP Jared Hughes (2.0 IP, BB) completed the lockdown effort with 2.0 hitless innings.

Likewise for Columbus, once RHP Carlos Carrasco (4.0 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) was forced from the mound, three Clippers relievers limited the Indians to just four hits, including RHP Jerry Gil (L, 1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, BB SO), who surrendered the game-winning score.

The Tribe and Clippers will continue their four-game series tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. Indianapolis is expected to give the ball to Pittsburgh Pirates rehabbing right-hander Charlie Morton (0-1, 4.50) while Columbus is scheduled to counter with LHP T.J. House (1-3, 5.53).

The game will 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 5:45 p.m.

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International League Stories from June 2, 2013


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