IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Indians Knock Off Knights 17-11

Published on July 23, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Designated hitter Brandon Moss blasted a three-run home run in the first inning, a solo shot in the fifth and a two-run double in a nine-run sixth en route to a career-high six RBI as the Indianapolis Indians claimed a 17-11 victory over Charlotte on Friday night at Victory Field for their highest offensive output since beating the Knights 19-3 in 2004.

The victory for Indianapolis improves their record to 51-50 on the season, while Charlotte drops to an identical 51-50 mark with the loss. The win for the Indians also improves their head-to-head record against the Knights to 4-1 on the season after the Tribe won three of four games at Knights Stadium in late May.

Moss, who saw his season-high 12-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday night, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first with two runners on base and blasted the first pitch of his plate appearance out to straight-away center field for his 15th home run of the year and a 3-1 Indians' advantage.

With the Tribe leading by a 6-5 score in the bottom of the fifth, Moss dug in at the dish to open the inning and, for the second time in the contest, launched a longball out to deep right field to give the Indians a two-run advantage. The home run marked the first time since July 27, 2008 - when Moss was a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox - that the Indians' outfielder clubbed two longballs in the same contest.

Moss concluded his offensive outburst amidst a nine-run sixth with a bases loaded, two-run double that opened up the scoring in the Indians' highest scoring inning of the 2010 campaign. The nine runs scored in the frame were the most in an inning for the Tribe since they scored nine in a 10-9 win against the Buffalo Bisons on May 22, 2007.

Aside from Moss' monster night at the plate, 2B Jim Negrych collected a two-run single in the home half of the third inning to give the Tribe a 5-1 lead, before C Luke Carlin and 1B Jeff Clement each contributed two-run hits in the Indians' nine-run sixth to lead Indianapolis to a 12-run advantage at 17-5.

In a game in which the Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning, 3B Luis Rodriguez blasted his ninth home run of the season in the top of the fourth to pull Charlotte to within a single run of the Tribe at 5-4 and RF Stefan Gartrell later hit his 19th blast of the year to cut the Tribe's advantage to 6-5 before the Indians put the contest away in the sixth.

Offensively, eight of the nine starters for both the Indians and the Knights recorded at least one hit and four players on each side collected multiple RBI in the contest. Moss (3-for-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI) paced the Tribe at the dish with three hits and six total RBI, while Rodriguez (3-for-4, 4 R, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) fell just a double short of the cycle for the Knights, but reached base safely five times and scored four runs.

Also, prior to Moss' six-RBI evening at the plate, the last time an Indians' batter drove in six base runners came on August 25, 2007 when infielder Jose Hernandez completed the feat against the Toledo Mud Hens.

In a game that featured 28 total runs and 31 combined hits, pitching was an after-thought, but Indians' RHP Mike Crotta (5.1 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) earned his first win since June 9 after he allowed five runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings of work. Charlotte RHP Brandon Hynick (5.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) was strapped with his first loss at the Triple-A level this season after he was tagged for eight runs on nine hits in 5.0 IP.

Indianapolis continues its four-game series with the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, on Saturday, July 24 at 7:00 p.m. The Indians have yet to announce a starter, while RHP Carlos Torres is expected to get the call for the Knights.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and broadcast live on Comcast and Bright House Networks digital channel 81 with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show on WXLW-950 AM begins at 6:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from July 23, 2010


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