IL1 Columbus Clippers

Indy tops Columbus, 5-4

Published on April 26, 2009 under International League (IL1)
Columbus Clippers News Release


COLUMBUS, OH- The Columbus Clippers were clear sailing to victory during the first seven and two third innings, then the seas got rough and everything seemed to go wrong. Five runs with two outs in the eighth inning by the Indianapolis Indians highlighted a 5-4 defeat Sunday afternoon.

Clippers starter Tomo Ohka pitched six dazzling innings, allowing only two hits and facing one batter over the minimum. Zach Jackson came on in the seventh and recorded outs on five of the first six batters he faced. With two outs in the eighth inning, Erick Kratz got things going with a single, and Chris Barnwell and Andrew McCutchen would follow with singles of their own to load the bases. Jackson then walked Luis Cruz to bring in the first run and was replaced on the mound by Ryan Edell.

A possible rally seemed to be stopped when Edell got the first batter he faced, Jeff Salazar, to ground to first base. Michael Aubrey, however, threw to second base to get the final out instead of stepping on first. His throw was in the dirt and couldn't be handled by Valbuena, allowing two more runs to score. After another walk, this time to Garret Jones, a single by Steve Pearce brought in runs four and five and gave the Indians the lead they needed for the victory.

While Ohka had every Indian batter frustrated early on, the Clippers offense gave him some support starting in the second. Andy Marte doubled with one out and would be brought home on a single by the next batter, Josh Barfield. Barfield would add another RBi in the sixth inning when he singled home Aubrey, and Andy Cannizaro followed with a fielder's choice groundball that plated Matt LaPorta.

Michael Brantley manufactured a run in the seventh without the help of a hit. He walked, advanced on a walk to Valbuena, then strolled to third on a fly ball and used his speed to score on a wild pitch by Jeremy Powell. That gave the Clippers a 4-0 lead after seven innings.

Columbus will try and bounce back tomorrow night as they begin a ten game, eleven day road trip. The trip starts with division rival Toledo at 6:30 pm. Taking the mound for the Clippers will be RHP Kirk Saarloos (1-2, 6.00) and opposing him will be Mud Hen RHP Ron Chiavacci (0-2, 5.14)

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International League Stories from April 26, 2009


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