IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Indians Shut out Louisville 4-0

May 5, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Four straight one-out hits and a sacrifice fly put three Indianapolis runs on the board in the first inning and left handed starter Jeff Locke held the Bats to four hits in seven shutout innings as the Indians beat Louisville 4-0 to win the first game of their season-long 10-game homestand on Saturday night at Victory Field

Indianapolis, coming off of two straight loses at Norfolk to end an eight-game road trip, jumped out to an early lead with one out in the first. LF Gorkys Hernandez, batting second in the Indians order for the second straight game, singled to right field and advanced to second on a wild pitch before 3B Matt Hague singled to put runners on the corners.

1B Jake Fox followed with an RBI double down the left field line to plate Hernandez and give the Indians a 1-0 lead with runners at second and third. SS Jordy Mercer then drove in Hague with a single to give Indianapolis a 2-0 lead. Fox advanced to third on Mercer's single and later scored when RF Brandon Boggs lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field, giving the Tribe a 3-0 lead after one just frame.

Gorkys Hernandez would provide an insurance run in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out RBI single to score 2B Anderson Hernandez, who had singled to lead off the inning, for a 4-0 Indianapolis advantage. Although the Indians offense dried up after two innings, Locke (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and the Tribe bullpen made that lead stand up.

Locke was masterful, giving up zero runs for the second straight start while scattering four hits across his seven innings. The southpaw has won three of his past four starts and lowered his season ERA to 2.61. Only one Louisville batter reached third base in the game, in the fifth inning when 3B Kristopher Negron singled with one out, then advanced to second on a sac bunt and stole third base before Locke induced a fly out to end the inning.

Making his Indians season debut, RHP Evan Meek (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) took a cue from Locke and worked through the final two innings in quick fashion. The Tribe took only two hours and 15 minutes to take a four-games-to-two advantage over Louisville in the season series.

Bats starter Chad Reineke (5.0 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) took the loss, falling to 1-1 in six starts this season. The Louisville bullpen was solid in the final three innings of the game, allowing zero runs and only one hit in a losing effort.

Indianapolis and Louisville return to action Sunday afternoon to finish off their quick two-game series at Victory Field, with first pitch slated for 1:15 p.m. The Indians are expected to send RHP Daniel Cabrera (0-1, 3.72) to the mound for his home debut while Louisville is expected to counter with veteran RHP Brett Tomko (0-3, 3.51).

The contest will be televised on HTSN (Hometown Sports and News), 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 12:55 p.m.

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