IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Indians outlast Columbus to earn 14-12 victory

Published on April 10, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Third baseman Pedro Alvarez blasted two home runs and drove in five as the Indianapolis Indians outlasted the Columbus Clippers in a 14-12 slugfest on Friday, April 9 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.

With the victory, Indianapolis improves its record to 1-1, while the loss drops Columbus to an identical 1-1 mark.

In a game that featured 26 total runs and 32 total hits, Columbus struck first, plating three runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Second baseman Jason Donald, who had doubled with one out, scored the first run on a double off the bat of the red-hot Carlos Santana. The Clippers went on to plate two more runs one batter later on a two run home run by DH Shelley Duncan to take a 3-0 lead.

Indianapolis responded with two runs in the top half of the second inning to pull to within a run of Columbus at 3-2. After a leadoff single by DH Neil Walker, C Erik Kratz launched a two-run blast over the wall in left field.

The Clippers regained the lead with two runs in the home half of the second inning, but the Indians erased the 5-2 deficit courtesy of a two-run longball to centerfield by Alvarez and a one-out run-scoring single by C Luke Carlin to tie the contest at 5-5.

Columbus took back the lead at 6-5 in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by 3B Brian Buscher, before the teams traded two run rallies in each half of the fourth inning to up the score to 8-7 in favor of the Clippers.

The Indians would however take the lead for good with five runs - all scored with two outs - in the top half of the fifth inning. Second baseman Brian Friday led off the frame with a single, stole second and after an out moved to third on a ground ball.

Left fielder Jonathan Van Every then walked to put runners at the corners with two outs before RF Brian Myrow tied the game at 8-8 with a single to right field. Alvarez later launched his second home run of the game, a three-run shot to center to give the Indians an 11-8 lead before Walker upped the Indianapolis advantage to 12-8 with an RBI single to drive in 1B Steve Pearce.

The Clippers staged a rally with three two-out runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 12-11, but the Tribe tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the 14-12 victory.

Nine different Indianapolis batters recorded at least one hit, with the first six players in the batting order tallying multiple hits, four different individuals scoring two or more runs and four different Indians registering at least two RBI.

Alvarez (2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI), Myrow (3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Van Every (2-for-5, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI) all tallied multiple hits and multiple RBI for the Tribe, while Tabata (2-for-6, 2 2B, 1 R), Pearce (2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R), Walker (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI), Carlin (2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Friday (2-for-6, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI) each notched multi-hit performances.

Santana (2-for-5, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI) blasted his third home run of the season and Duncan (1-for-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI) also launched a long ball to pace the Clippers' offensive attack.

Indians reliever Jeff Karstens (2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) pitched 2.2 innings and earned the win for the Tribe, while Columbus reliever Josh Tomlin (1.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO) was handed the loss after allowing five runs in 1.2 IP. RHP Brian Bass (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) pitched the final three innings of the contest to knotch his first save of the season.

Indians starter Brad Lincoln (3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) worked into the fourth inning and allowed five earned runs on eight hits, while Columbus starter Hector Rondon (3.0 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) tossed three innings and gave up seven runs.

The two teams continue their four-game series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. LHP Donnie Veal is scheduled to pitch for the Indians uniform, while RHP Jeanmar Gomez is expected to get the nod for Columbus.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and www.IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.

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