IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Tribe Lights up Louisville 6-1 in Front of 14,504

July 4, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Before a sellout crowd of 14,504 enjoyed a Independence Day fireworks display at Victory Field, the Tribe offense put on a show of their own as they belted four home runs, including two longballs from first baseman Jeff Clement, to support starter Jeff Locke, who tossed seven one-hit innings in the Indianapolis Indians 6-1 win over the Louisville Bats on Wednesday night.

SS Chase d'Arnaud began the power outburst when he connected on a two-run longball in the bottom of the first after CF Jose Tabata led off the frame with a double to left. The homer, which was d'Arnaud's third on the season and second in the month of July, gave the Tribe a 2-0 advantage they would not relinquish.

Following d'Arnaud's dinger, RF Starling Marte would rip his minor league-best 11th triple of the season, but would be gunned at the plate later in the frame. The Indianapolis offense would not miss a beat, however, as Clement led off the bottom of the fourth with his team-leading 24th double, moved to third on a passed ball and came plateward on a sacrifice fly by LF Yamaico Navarro.

Sanchez then kept the offensive outburst going as he followed Navarro's sac fly with a solo home run to left field to extend the Indianapolis advantage to 4-0. The shot by Sanchez was the second of his Triple-A career and first at Victory Field.

Louisville would get their only score of the contest in the top of the sixth, when RF Kristopher Negron broke up Locke's no-hit bid by leading off the frame with a triple to center field before eventually trotting home on a sacrifice fly by 2B Cody Puckett. The triple by Negron was one of only two hits on the evening for Louisville and was the only blemish against Locke, who began the contest with five straight no-hit frames.

From there, Clement would finish out the power surge by clobbering two solo bombs to give the game its final score of 6-1. Clement first connected on his team-leading 11th longball in the bottom of the sixth before capping the scoring with another solo blast in the bottom of the eighth.

The Indians home run barrage came in support of a masterful effort by Locke (7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO), who earned his seventh win of the season by holding the Bats to just a single run on a single hit while striking out six over seven innings of work. The effort by Locke continued a season of dominance over Louisville as in four starts against the Bats the southpaw has now posted a 3-0 record and 1.71 ERA (5 ER in 26.1 IP), surrendering just 12 hits and four walks while striking 28 over 26.1 innings pitched.

Following Locke, Tribe relievers Bryan Morris (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO) and Evan Meek (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 SO) would finish out the victory with two scoreless frames of relief.

On the other side, Louisville starter Ryan Feierabend (4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-3 on the season after surrendering four runs on six hits over just four innings pitched. LHP Travis Webb (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO) was the lone bright spot out of the Bats' bullpen as he struck out the side in seventh inning.

With the victory, the Indians (55-31) have now won a season-best eight straight games and four consecutive at home. The Tribe and Bats will now wrap up their home-and-home series on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. with RHP Daniel Cabrera expected to make the start for Indianapolis and RHP Chad Reineke scheduled to take the mound for Louisville.

The contest will be televised on HTSN (Hometown Sports and News), available via cable or over-the-air on digital channel 6.2. The game will also be carried on WNDE 1260 AM-WFBQ-HD2, 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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Post-game quotes -- 1B Jeff Clement

(On whether he's ever been on a team that is as hot as the Indians currently are) "No, not in professional baseball. Not close to this. It's fun to show up to the ballpark every day and expect to win every day, and recently, we have been."

(On the team's confidence) "If you come out and you win ball games, you're going to believe in yourself. That's what we do. We've got a lot of confidence, we've got great starting pitching that gives us a chance to win every single day. I think (starting pitcher Jeff) Locke only gave up one hit today. You're going to win most of your games when your pitcher goes seven and gives up one hit."

(On the importance of Independence Day) "We went through this on Memorial Day. We wouldn't be where we're at today without the troops leading the charge overseas and protecting us over here. We tip our caps to the troops everywhere. We're so thankful for what they do. That's what really matters. We've got the greatest country in the world."

(On the fans in Indianapolis, including the sellout crowd Wednesday night) "They make it fun to come out here and play and obviously we've been doing well. It's great to see a packed house and that makes it even more fun. Thank you for coming out."

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