Pawtucket Pounds Tribe 13-2
June 5, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Indianapolis on Tuesday night allowed double-digits runs for the first time in over three weeks as Tribe first baseman Jeff Clement and left fielder Jeff Larish accounted for both Indians runs in a 13-2 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium.
The Indians, who had scored 25 runs during a three-game winning streak, jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Pawtucket starter and major league veteran Daisuke Matsuzaka in the top of the first inning. SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the ballgame with a single and stole second base before Clement singled to drive in d'Arnaud, extending his hitting streak to 10 games and taking sole possession of the team lead with 24 RBI on the season.
A walk to 2B Yamaico Navarro loaded the bases full of Indians -- 3B Anderson Hernandez had walked after d'Arnaud's single and moved to third on Clement's knock -- but Matsuzaka picked up a strikeout and induced a flyout to strand three Indianapolis baserunners. In the second, RF Brandon Boggs hit a one-out single to center field and chased Matsuzaka from the game.
The Japanese hurler was replaced by former major leaguer Mark Prior, who starred with the Chicago Cubs in the early- to mid-2000s and is trying to make his way back to the big leagues, where he last pitched in 2006 before missing three straight season with injuries. d'Arnaud, the first Indians batter to face Prior, singled to put runners on first and second, but -- in throwback Prior fashion -- the righty struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
After Matsuzaka had gotten out of the bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, his teammates staked him to a 4-1 lead on a pair of two-run home runs in the bottom of the frame. Former Indianapolis SS Pedro Ciriaco drew a leadoff walk before CF Ryan Kalish homered over the right-field wall to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead, and Pawtucket would not trail again in the game. After C Ryan Lavarnway doubled to center, DH Mauro Gomez homered to left to make it 4-1. It was the 12th home run of the season for Gomez, who came into the game tied for second in the International League with 28 extra-base hits.
The Sox added a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the second inning. The first came on an infield single by Gomez, which drove in Kalish, making it 5-1. LF Alex Hassan then singled to left to drive in Lavarnway and extend the Pawtucket advantage to 6-1.
A lone run in the third inning gave the Red Sox a 7-1 lead as Kalish singled home Ciriaco; Pawtucket had started the game by scoring in three consecutive innings. Indians starter Justin Wilson (4.0 IP, 9H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 HR) tossed a scoreless fourth but was pulled after the inning, eventually taking his fourth loss of the season.
Meanwhile, Pawtucket again scored in three straight innings starting with a three-spot in the fifth. With two on and two out in the inning, Lavarnway crushed his fourth homer of the season over the left-field fence to make it 10-1 Red Sox. It was the first time the Indians pitching staff had allowed double-digit runs since an 11-6 loss at Buffalo on May 19.
Pawtucket added yet another two-out run in the sixth when pinch hitter/second baseman Tony Thomas doubled to left and drove in Gomez, making it 11-1. The Red Sox tallied their final runs of the game in the seventh on a Hassan sac fly that scored Lavarnway and a two-out single by RF Che-Hsuan Lin that drove in 1B Lars Anderson and made it 13-1. Indianapolis had not allowed 13 or more runs since a 15-2 loss at Buffalo on June 9, 2011.
Larish made it 13-2 on his first home run of the season with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, but the Indianapolis rally was short-lived. RHP Justin Germano (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR) picked up the win out of the Pawtucket bullpen, improving to 6-3 on the season.
Interestingly, the best pitching performance for Indianapolis came from Boggs (1.0 IP), who took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning and induced a pair of groundouts and a flyout in a perfect frame. It was the first professional pitching appearance for Boggs, who also went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Despite the loss, Indianapolis maintained its 7.5-game lead in the IL West as the Mud Hens lost 3-1 to the Charlotte Knights in Toledo. The Indians (34-24) will face the Red Sox (37-22) again on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. in the second game of the four-game series between the league's top two teams. While Pawtucket is expected to send RHP Billy Buckner (4-3, 3.20) to the mound, the Tribe has yet to name a starter for the contest.
The game will 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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