IronPigs Salvage Series with 5-1 Win over Indians
Published on May 10, 2012 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
INDIANAPOLIS -- A sixth-inning sac fly by left fielder Jake Fox allowed Indianapolis to avoid being shut out, but the Indians could get little else going against Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Cloyd, who allowed three hits over seven innings to lead the IronPigs to a 5-1 win, ending the Tribe's five-game winning streak on Thursday afternoon at Victory Field.
Cloyd (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) continued his impressive season, going 7.0 innings while allowing a lone run and striking out six Indianapolis batters. The righty is now 3-0 with Lehigh Valley this season with a miniscule 0.90 ERA.
The righty got lots of early run support from his IronPigs teammates. 1B Cody Overbeck started off the second inning with a triple over the head of Tribe CF Gorkys Hernandez before scoring on RF Derrick Mitchell's home run over the left field fence, giving Lehigh Valley a 2-0 lead.
LF Michael Spidale followed the long ball with a single and stole second base before Tribe starter Jeff Locke induced a groundout to second and a strikeout. With two outs, CF Rich Thompson hit a groundball single to center field and scored Spidale, who crashed into Indians C Eric Fryer as Fryer awaited the throw from the outfield. Locke then induced a groundout to end the inning, but Indianapolis still trailed 3-0.
Lehigh Valley added to its lead in the top of the next inning as 2B Kevin Fransden singled to lead off the frame and moved to third on a one-out bloop double to shallow left field by Overbeck. Mitchell followed with a two-run single, victimizing Locke again and collecting his third and fourth RBI of the day, giving the IronPigs a 5-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis offense had a hard time getting anything going against Cloyd after he pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first inning. Including a strikeout to end that first frame, Cloyd retired 13 straight Tribe batters before SS Chase d'Arnaud singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.
Gorkys Hernandez followed d'Arnaud's base hit with his second single of the game to put runners at first and second before both runners moved into scoring position on 3B Matt Hague's flyout to center field. Fox nearly made the game a lot more interesting when he pulled a ball deep down the left field line, out of the stadium that ended up going foul. He would, however, lift a sacrifice fly into right field on the next pitch, plenty deep enough to score d'Arnaud and cut the deficit to 5-1.
Cloyd and his bullpen counterpart wouldn't allow much else, however. Cloyd retired the side in order in the seventh and reliever B.J. Rosenberg (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB) worked two scoreless innings, pitching around a d'Arnaud single and stolen base in the eighth. Then, in the ninth inning, Indians 2B Jordy Mercer knocked a two-out single to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and RF Brandon Boggs drew a walk to extend the inning but Rosenberg induced a groundball to second to end the game.
Locke (5.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), who came into the game 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA at Victory Field, struggled early but eventually settled in, allowing only one hit and a pair of walks in his final three innings. It was too little too late, though, and the southpaw took the loss, falling to 3-2 on the season. The Indianapolis bullpen was solid yet again as RHPs Jose Diaz (1.1 IP, 1 H) and Evan Meek (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) and LHP Doug Slaten (1.0 IP, 1 K) combined to toss 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. With the shutout inning, Slaten now has an incredible 0.54 ERA on the season.
Indianapolis fell to 19-14 with the loss, breaking a five-game winning streak, which tied for the longest this season. Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley's getaway day win gives the IronPigs an 18-15 record heading into a four-game series in Louisville.
The Indians return to action at Victory Field on Friday night, beginning a four-game set of their own against the Norfolk Tides. The Tribe is expected to send RHP Daniel Cabrera (0-0, 4.22) to the mound, while the Tides have yet to announce a projected starter for the 7:05 p.m. contest.
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 6:45 p.m.
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Post-game quotes -- SS Chase d'Arnaud
(On returning after a concussion) "I'm so thankful for being able to do physical activity in general. For three weeks, I wasn't able to do so much as work out and run. All I was really able to do was ride a bike for 10 minutes, and I wasn't able to do that until the headache subsided. It really helped me find a newfound appreciation for freedom to be able to run and jump and anything like that. I'm just happy to be out here."
(On two stolen bases in his first two games back) "I'm always looking forward to that. It's a part of my game that I take a lot of pride in. Not that I don't give attention to other facets of the game, but I give a lot of attention to pitchers and my running game is one of my strengths. I always want it to be and it's a lot of fun to be that guy on the basepaths that other teams have to worry about."
(On getting back to their winning ways after today's loss) "Shake it off. Period. That's it. You don't want to overthink anything in baseball. You're not going to win every single game. If you dwell on your losses, the losses become contagious. It's important to reinforce positivity. Negative reinforcement's never the way to go."
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- Gomez Rescues PawSox - Pawtucket Red Sox
- Gartrell's Walk-off Homer Lifts G-Braves in 10th - Gwinnett Stripers
- IronPigs Salvage Series with 5-1 Win over Indians - Indianapolis Indians
- Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - Thursday, May 10 at Pawtucket - Rochester Red Wings
- Baseball Month in Rochester - May 10 - Rochester Red Wings
- Bisons Notes - Buffalo at Gwinnett - Buffalo Bisons
- IronPigs Game Notes - Lehigh Valley IronPigs
- Knights Walk-Off with 6-5 Win in Wednesday's Night-Cap - Charlotte Knights
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