IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Tribe Holds Off Toledo 9-8 In Front Of 14,537

Published on June 25, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- In front of the first June sellout since 2001, the Indianapolis Indians scored six runs in the sixth inning capped by a clutch two-out, bases-clearing triple by first baseman Jeff Clement to defeat the Toledo Mud Hens 9-8 to the delight of the capacity crowd of 14,537 at Victory Field on Friday night.

With the win, Indianapolis' record improves to 41-34, while Toledo falls to an identical 41-34 mark on the season. The victory ups the Tribe's record against the Mud Hens to 3-8 and pulls the Indians into a second-place tie in the International League West Division.

Trailing 6-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Indianapolis offense exploded for six runs on six hits to take its first lead of the contest at 9-6 when Clement tripled with the bases loaded with two down in the inning.

In his first career Triple-A contest, LF Alex Presley led off the game-changing sixth with a double to center field and scored one batter later when CF Jonathan Van Every reached on an infield single to short before advancing to second on a throwing error.

A sacrifice bunt by SS Argenis Diaz moved Van Every to third base and Melillo walked before DH Brandon Moss singled home the Indians' second run of the inning to pull the Tribe to within a single run of the Mud Hens at 6-5.

Following Moss' RBI base knock, 2B Jim Negrych singled to left to load the bases before a strikeout set the stage for Clement's two-out, bases clearing triple. C Erik Kratz knocked in the eventual game-winning RBI with a ground ball single to center field to plate Clement from third base and give the Tribe the 9-6 edge.

Before the Indians' late inning rally, the Mud Hens took an early 4-0 lead in the top half of the second inning after three Toledo batters recorded extra-base hits in the frame.

DH Ryan Strieby led off the inning with a double to left field and advanced to third base on a single by 3B Jeff Larish before RF Casper Wells walked to load the bases with one out in the frame. LF Jon Weber then stepped to the plate, and. on the first offering of his at-bat, doubled home Strieby and Larish to give the Mud Hens a two-run advantage. C Jeff Kunkel capped off the scoring with a triple one batter later to plate Wells and Weber and give Toledo the 4-0 edge.

Toledo scratched across its fifth run in the top half of the third inning on back-to-back doubles by 1B Jeff Frazier and Larish, before Indianapolis started the comeback trail with two runs in the home half of third inning.

Moss opened the third with a single to right and moved to third base on a single to left off the bat of Negrych. With two outs in the inning, Clement strode to the dish, and on a 1-1 pitch, lined a double down the line in right field to cut the Toledo lead to 4-2.

The Mud Hens and Indians traded single runs in the fourth inning, before the Tribe's six-run rally in the sixth propelled Indianapolis to the series opening 9-8 win. 2B Will Rhymes doubled in the Mud Hens fourth inning tally, while LF Kevin Melillo scored the Tribe's fourth frame run on a throwing error.

Toledo made things interesting in the ninth inning, when Frazier hit his 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot to deep left field, to pull the Mud Hens to within a run of the Tribe at 9-8, but the Indians averted a ninth inning meltdown and escaped with the victory.

In a game that featured 17 runs and 22 hits, three Tribe batters and three Mud Hens' hitters recorded multiple base hits on the evening, while Clement (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI) drove in more than one run for the Indians and Frazier (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI), Weber (1-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI) and Kunkel (3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI) all had multiple RBI for Toledo.

Neither starter figured in the final decision, as Indians' RHP Mike Crotta (5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) allowed six runs in five innings of work and Mud Hens' RHP L.J. Gagnier (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) gave up two earned runs in five innings of solid work.

Indians' reliever Corey Hamman (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO) earned his first win of the season with two scoreless innings of relief, while RHP Jean Machi (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB) allowed two runs in the ninth but was able to escape with his 11th save of the season. Toledo reliever Scot Drucker (0.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) was strapped with second blown save of the season and his third loss of the year after giving up six runs in 0.2 IP.

Indianapolis continues its four-game series with division rival Toledo on Saturday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m. The Indians have yet to name a starter, while RHP Alfredo Figaro is the probable starter for the Mud Hens.

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 6:40 p.m.

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