IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Indians Explode for 16 Runs in Rout

July 15, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Second baseman Brian Bixler blasted a second inning grand slam and right-hander Kip Bouknight allowed just three runs over seven innings as Indianapolis rolled to a 16-3 victory over Rochester in front of 7,496 Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field.

The Indians improve to 49-44 on the season and 21-27 on the road, while the Red Wings fall to 50-43 overall and 30-22 at home. The Tribe snapped their longest skid of the season -- a six-game stretch -- with the win.

Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett (900-885) picked up his 900th win as a Minor League skipper. The 16th-year Pittsburgh Pirates employee and 10th-year Triple-A manager also reached his 200th victory in Indianapolis on July 1.

Bixler (1-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI) lifted the Tribe to an early 6-0 lead with his fifth homer of the season. The 24-year-old became the fourth Indian to nail a grand slam this season. 1B Yurendell de Caster (July 5 vs. Norfolk), C Ryan Doumit (April 17 at Norfolk) and INF Nick Green (May 24 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) have also went deep with the bases loaded.

Bouknight (7.0 IP, 7, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) earned the win, improving to 1-1 in his third start for Indianapolis.

The Indians established new season-high numbers in runs and RBI (16), while all nine starters recorded at least one hit in the affair. 3B Russ Johnson (3-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI) was one of seven hitters to turn in a multi-hit performance. De Caster (2-for-6, 2 R, 1 RBI), LF Michael Ryan (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI), CF Luis Matos (2-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI), C Carlos Maldonado (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI), SS Luis Ordaz (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI) and RF Chris Aguila (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI) also chipped in.

The Tribe cracked the scoreboard in the opening frame when Johnson led off with a single and moved to second on Bixler's sacrifice bunt. DH Brad Eldred (1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI) then brought Johnson plateward with a double to left.

Indianapolis padded its lead by scoring three runs in the third and sixth innings. The at bats were highlighted by Aguila's RBI triple to center in the third and De Caster's sixth roundtripper of the campaign -- a solo-shot to right -- in the sixth.

The Indians added four runs in the seventh by collecting two singles, two walks and a hit by pitch. Johnson, Bixler, De Caster and Eldred each crossed the plate in the frame.

Rochester put one run on the board in the fifth, sixth and eighth. SS Tommy Watkins (1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) highlighted the output with his fifth dinger of the season -- a solo-shot to left -- in the fifth.

Red Winigs RHP Dave Gassner (2.2 IP, 8 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss, falling to 3-10.

The Tribe kicks off an eight-game homestand on Monday at 7 p.m. against Scranton/W-B. RHP Bryan Bullington is slated to start for Indianapolis, while RHP Tyler Clippard is expected to get the nod for the Yankees.

The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:40 p.m.

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