IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Longballs Lead Lehigh Valley Past Tribe 4-2

Published on July 20, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS-- Former Tribe outfielder Chris Duffy blasted a two-run home run that plated starting pitcher J. A. Happ, before second baseman Ozzie Chavez followed with a longball of his own to lead the Lehigh Valley IronPigs past the Indianapolis Indians 4-2 on Tuesday night at Victory Field.

The loss for Indianapolis drops their record to 50-48 on the season, while Lehigh Valley improves to 40-57 with the victory. The win for the IronPigs also improves their season record to 4-2 against the Tribe, with the two teams having split a four-game series in Lehigh Valley in early May.

Happ (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) struck out three over three scoreless innings of work and sparked the IronPigs' key scoring rally when he led off the third inning with a line drive double to right. Following Happ, relievers Mike Zagurski (1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R), Oscar Villarreal (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 SO) and Scott Mathieson (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 SO) combined for four scoreless innings of relief, while RHP Mike Stutes (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) surrendered both Tribe tallies.

Following Happ's lead-off two-bagger, Duffy, who played with the Tribe during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, blasted his fifth round-tripper and collected his 33rd and 34th RBI of the season. Chavez then made it back-to-back jacks when he launched the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

The IronPigs added an insurance tally in the seventh when another former Tribe outfielder, Chris Aguila, who played with Indianapolis during the 2007 season, lifted a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to plate C Dane Sardinha and give Lehigh Valley the 4-2 advantage. Sardinha (2-for-3, 1 R) along with Chavez (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI) posted the only multi-hit efforts for the IronPigs, while Duffy (1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) was the only player on either side to collect multiple RBI>

Despite collecting 10 hits, the Indians managed only two runs with 1B Jeff Clement coming through with the only Tribe RBI of the game in the fourth inning when he launched a solo shot to right for his eighth home run of the season. The Indians' other tally came in the fifth when C Jason Jaramillo led off the frame with a single, moved to third on pinch-hit base knock by Kevin Mellilo and came around to score on a Lehigh Valley wild pitch.

On a positive note, Tribe RF Brandon Moss (2-for-4) ripped two singles to help extend his hitting streak to 11 games, during which time he is hitting .396 (19-for-48) with 10 runs, three home runs and 12 RBI. Fellow outfielder Alex Presley also collected a base knock to help extend his hitting streak to an Indians' season-best 12 games, during which time the Triple-A rookie is hitting .468 (22-for-47) with 10 runs, three RBI and two stolen bases.

Indianapolis starter Daniel McCutchen (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) was saddled with the loss to fall to 4-7 on the season after he allowed three runs on four hits, while striking out five and walking just one. Tribe relievers Jeremy Powell (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) and Justin Thomas (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) both pitched well out of the Indians' bullpen, with Powell allowing just one hit over two innings and Thomas striking out three over two scoreless frames of relief.

Indianapolis continues its four-game series with Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, July 21 at 1:00 p.m. LHP Brian Burres is expected to get the start for the Tribe, while the IronPigs have yet to name a starter.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and broadcast live on Comcast and Bright House Networks digital channel 81 with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show on WXLW-950 AM begins at 12:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from July 20, 2010


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