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IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Longball Lifts Indianapolis Over Toledo 5-3

August 27, 2009 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


TOLEDO, Ohio -- Catcher Erik Kratz broke up a 3-3 tie with a game-winning, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Indianapolis Indians over the Toledo Mud Hens 5-3 on Thursday night at Fifth Third Field.

With the win the Indians improve to 66-66 overall and 31-35 on the road, while the Mud Hens fall to 67-65 overall and 36-30 at home with the loss. The win for Indianapolis puts them at .500 for the second time this season, while they also pick up a 1-0 advantage in the current four-game series with Toledo.

After recording a double earlier in the contest Kratz picked up a multi-hit performance when he brought himself and 3B Neil Walker, who earlier singled, plateward with a longball over the left field wall. The International League All-Star has now homered in his last two contests for a total of 11 roundtrippers on the season.

The two-run dinger gave the Indians the 5-3 lead, but the Mud Hens threatened putting runners on first and second with one-out in the bottom half of the ninth. In his second inning of relief Tribe right hander Juan Mateo (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 SO) would hand Toledo 2B Scott Sizemore a lead-off base on balls and then walk 3B Mike Hessman to put two on for the Mud Hens.

However, no runs would score in the frame as Indians' RF Jose Tabata made a great running catch in right-center field and doubled up the runner at first base to end the contest. With the game-ending 9-4-3 double play Mateo would hold on for the victory to move to 6-6 on the season after he struck out two and gave up one hit in two scoreless innings of relief.

Indianapolis overcame three different deficits and scored in each of the last three innings to come back and erase a 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 disadvantage. Toledo jumped out to an early lead after they plated single scores in both the third and fourth.

DH Will Rhymes led off the third with a single and was then brought home for the first score of the contest when 1B Don Kelly slapped a triple to right field. The Tribe answered though with a run in the top of the fourth after CF Jeff Salazar led off with a single and moved to second on 2B Pedro Lopez's sacrifice bunt before RF Brian Myrow brought him home with an RBI single through the hole at second base.

But the Mud Hens regained the advantage with another score in the bottom of the fourth taking advantage of an Indians defensive miscue. SS Brent Dlugach walked with one-out and after RF Brent Clevlen singled, moved to third on a Tribe throwing error.

Dlugach would then put the Mud Hens ahead as he scored on an RBI groundout by C Dane Sardinha. After two scoreless innings the Tribe would again erase the deficit as they plated a run in the top of the seventh. Myrow led off with a base on balls and moved to second on a fielder's choice before Walker tied the game at two with a two-out RBI single.

Toledo though would regain their third and final lead with another score in the bottom of the seventh. The Mud Hens again took advantage of a Tribe throwing error as Sardinha led off with a two-bagger and then came plateward after a throwing error on a fielder's choice during Rhyme's at-bat. The miscue would be the Indians' second of the contest, but the score would be Toledo's final tally of the evening as the Tribe tied the score in the eighth.

Again Myrow came through in the clutch as he plated the game-tying run with an RBI single through the hole at second base. The base knock scored SS Argenis Diaz, who led off with a single, and would give way for Kratz's ninth inning heroics.

Along with clutch hitting the Indians also received dominant work out of their relievers. RHP Jeremy Powell (4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 HBP), RHP Jon Meloan (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO) and Mateo combined to strikeout eight batters and allow just two unearned runs on five hits in seven innings of relief.

The Tribe relief corps came through for starter Virgil Vasquez (2.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) who received a no decision after he tossed just two innings and gave up one run on four hits. Vasquez's counterpart, Nate Bump (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO), did not receive a decision either after he gave up two runs on four hits in six innings of work.

The Mud Hens' bullpen didn't fare as well though as LHP Clay Rapada (1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) blew his first save of the season after he allowed a game-tying score in the seventh. RHP Freddy Dolsi (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) then blew a save as well and was pinned with his third loss of the season as he gave up Myrow's game-tying single in the eighth and Kratz's game-winning two-run homer in the ninth.

Kratz (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI) along with Myrow (2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) and Walker (3-for-4, 1 R) all recorded multiple hits for Indianapolis, while Rhymes (2-for-5, 1 R), Sizemore (2-for-4, 2 2B, 1 BB), Kelly (2-for-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB) and Clevlen (2-for-4) all recorded multi-hit performances for the Mud Hens.

Indianapolis continues their four-game series at division rival Toledo on Friday at 7:00 p.m. RHP Eric Hacker is scheduled to start for the Indians, while RHP Ruddy Lugo is expected to get the nod for the Mud Hens.

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 6:40 p.m.

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Post-game quote -- C Erik Kratz

(on his game-winning two-run home run)

"I was able to fight off a few good pitches that maybe were balls or maybe were strikes, but I was kind of in swing mode right there. I didn't really get my barrel on any of them except for a little dribbler down the line. And then he ( Toledo RHP Freddy Dolsi) came with something a little bit slower. I don't know if it was a sinker or a splitter, but he left it out over the plate and I was able to hit it."

(on what he was looking for with a 3-2 count in the ninth)

"At that point I had seen everything and he (Toledo RHP Freddy Dolsi) didn't throw me the splitter yet. I was just trying to look for something over the middle there especially with his velocity being down there in his second inning of relief."

(on how the Indians fought back from three different deficits)

"If anybody questions whether or not we have given up this year they can see by this game that we haven't. Virgil (Indians' starter Virgil Vasquez) didn't really execute at the beginning and J.P. (Indians' reliever Jeremy Powell) came in and bailed us out again. If there is anybody that has come in the whole year and has bailed us out it has been J.P. He had only 10 pitches to warm up and he was in there. For him to do something like that and come in like that, it doesn't show up on the box score, but we as a team know that's what made our game."

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