IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Marte Moves Tribe Above .500 with 4-3 Win Over Braves

June 12, 2011 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis third baseman Andy Marte tallied three hits and drove in two runs, while pinch hitter Miles Durham brought home the eventual winning run with a sixth inning sacrifice fly in support of starter Justin Wilson, who gave up just two earned runs on eight hits over six frames, to defeat the Gwinnett Braves 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Victory Field.

With the win Indianapolis improves to 33-32 on the season, while the loss drops Gwinnett's record to 33-30 this year. The win means the Indians are above the .500 mark for the first time this season and also gives the club a 2-0 series lead over the Braves.

Wilson (6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) earned his International League best eighth victory of the season after striking out five and surrendering just two earned runs on eight hits, five of which were infield base knocks. Relievers Chris Leroux (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) and Cesar Valdez (1.0 IP, 2 SO) finished the final three frames, with Leroux picking up his second hold and Valdez notching his fourth save.

Indianapolis struck first in the in the opening frame with a two-out two-run rally. CF Alex Presley singled, then stole second base before LF John Bowker walked and 1B Matt Hague singled to load the bases. Marte then singled to center to score Presley and Bowker and give the Tribe an early 2-0 advantage.

However, Gwinnett countered with a pair of scores in the third with help from three consecutive singles. CF Jose Constanza and SS Julio Lugo both reached on bunt singles, before RF Stefan Gartrell singled to right to plate Constanza and advance Lugo to third. Lugo would come home three pitches later on 1B Mauro Gomez's sacrifice fly to center to even the contest at 2-2.

The Tribe would end the draw in the fifth when Bowker brought home 2B Brian Friday with a clutch two-out single to right after Friday singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. With the clutch base knock, Bowker extended his hitting streak to eight games, which equals the longest streak by any Tribe batter this season.

Indianapolis would add an additional tally in the following frame after they loaded the bases with no outs. Marte and RF Andrew Lambo led off the inning with consecutive singles before C Kris Watts reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases. Durham would then bring in pinch runner Gorkys Hernandez with a sacrifice fly for what turned out to be the game-winning score.

The Braves would cut the deficit to one in the seventh thanks to three straight base knocks. Pinch hitter Jeff Fiorentino and Constanza singled, before a Lugo base knock to center brought home Fiorentino to make it 4-3. That would be all for Gwinnett in the frame with help from Indians SS Chase d'Arnaud, who leaped and snagged a high line drive to save at least one run from scoring.

Hague (2-for-4) was the only other Indians' batter besides Marte (3-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI) to record multiple hits in the contest and has now reached base via a hit in ten straight home games dating back to May 30. Constanza (4-for-5, 1 R) and Lugo (3-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) combined to go 7-for-10 for Gwinnett and were the only Braves to record two or more base knocks.

Gwinnett starter Erik Cordier (5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 on the year after relinquishing four earned runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings, while relievers Juan Abreu (0.2 IP) and Rowdy Hardy (2.0 IP, 1 H) tossed the final 2.2 scoreless frames, combining to allow just one hit.

Indianapolis and Gwinnett will face off again Monday night at 7:05 p.m. RHP Brad Lincoln is scheduled to take the bump for the Indians, while RHP Todd Redmond is expected to get the ball for the Braves.

The contest will be carried on WNDE 1260 AM, WNDE.com and via iheartradio, a mobile application for iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, while also being broadcast live on Comcast and Bright House Networks digital channel 81 with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.

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Post-game quotes -- OF Miles Durham

(on his pinch-hit sac fly) "In that situation I'm looking for a ball I can hit to the outfield and score that runner in from third, preferably a fastball and that's what I got."

(on being a game over .500) "We've never stopped battling. We continue to grind out at-bats, get people on base, and we continue to get big hits."

(on the quality pitching recently) "The bullpen and the starters have been great. It's fun to play."

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