IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Red Sox avoid sweep; edge Indianapolis 5-4 in 11

Published on May 4, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Pawtucket rallied for two unearned runs in the bottom of the 11th to post a 5-4 win over Indianapolis and salvage the final meeting of a four-game series Friday night at McCoy Stadium.

The Red Sox, who snap a six-game skid, improve to 10-15 overall and 3-11 at home. The Indians, who suffer just their first setback in the past five games, fall to 16-10 overall and 10-4 on the road. Indianapolis finishes its second road trip of the season 5-3 despite the loss.

Pawtucket took advantage of two miscues to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the 11th after the Tribe pushed across one in its final at-bat. SS Ed Rogers got things rolling with a base knock to center and scored the tying run on an error, while LF David Murphy beat out an infield single and plated the winning run on PH Bobby Scales' base knock up the middle.

Murphy, who recorded an RBI single in the first and run-scoring triple in the seventh, finished 4-for-6 with two RBI. Pawtucket 2B Joe McEwing added a 2-for-4 performance with two walks and one run, while 1B Jeff Bailey collected three walks and two RBI.

The Indians, who entered the night with the International League's best fielding percentage at .986, committed an uncharacteristic three errors in the game.

Indianapolis enjoyed a brief lead by scoring one in its half of the 11th. DH Luis Matos roped a lead-off single to center, SS Brian Bixler drew a base on balls and 2B Luis Ordaz tagged a single to left before C Einar Diaz forced home the go-ahead run with a one-out walk.

Bixler (11 games -- 1-for-3, 1 BB, 1 R), Ordaz (10 games -- 1-for-4, 1 BB) and Matos (8 games -- 2-for-5, 1 R) all extended their season-best hitting streaks in the setback. RF Michael Ryan and C Einar Diaz added two hits apiece as the Tribe's last three hitters went 5-for-13 with one run and three RBI.

Indianapolis CF Nyjer Morgan was solely responsible for the game's first run. He opened the contest with a walk and moved to second on a groundout before stealing both third and home.

The Red Sox answered with a run in the first, took the lead with a score in the fifth and added some insurance with a tally in the seventh. The Indians then rallied for two in the ninth to force extra frames.

Neither starter -- Indianapolis LHP Sean Burnett (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 6 SO) or Pawtucket LHP Kason Gabbard (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) -- figured in the decision.

Red Sox RHP Travis Hughes (2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) suffered a blown save, but ended up improving to 1-1 with the win. Indians RHP Franquelis Osoria (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) lost his first decision of 2007 after winning game three of the series.

Indianapolis begins a 10-game homestand on Saturday when Louisville comes to Victory Field for a 7 p.m. affair. Bats LHP Phil Dumatrait and Indians RHP Bryan Bullington, who are tied for first in the league with four wins each, are the probable starters.

The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from May 4, 2007


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