IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Tribe Trips up Louisville 5-3

Published on September 5, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- With one swing of the bat, right fielder Brandon Moss not only gave the Indianapolis Indians a 4-3 lead with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning, but he also claimed the top spot in the International League in RBI with his 96th run driven in of the season as the Tribe went on to earn a 5-3 win over the Louisville Bats on Sunday night at Louisville Slugger Field.

The victory improves Indianapolis' record to 71-72 on the season, while the loss drops Louisville to 78-64 on the year. The win also ups the Tribe's record to 35-36 on the road this season and gives the Indians the opportunity to post a .500 record away from Victory Field for the first time since 2006 when they posted a 36-33 mark.

With the contest tied at 3-3 and CF Alex Presley standing at first base with one out in the top of the seventh inning, Moss strode to the plate one RBI short of overtaking former Durham Bulls' and current Tampa Bay Rays' INF Dan Johnson for the IL lead in runs driven in. Moss promptly pounced on the first pitch of his plate appearance and roped a double down the right field line to plate Presley all the way around from first and give the Tribe a 4-3 lead.

The run-scoring, two-base knock drove home Moss' 96th RBI of the season and propelled him into sole possession of first place in the IL in the chase for the RBI crown. With Johnson currently in the Major Leagues, Moss is all but assured that he will finish the 2010 campaign with the most RBI in league, which would mark the first time that an Indians' batter has achieved that feat since Champ Summers drove in 124 runs in 1978.

Before Moss' seventh inning double gave Indianapolis the lead for good, the Tribe jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the top half of the first inning. LF Kevin Melillo lined the first pitch of the contest off the top of the wall in deep right field for his fifth triple of the year and was then plated one batter later on a single to center field by SS Pedro Ciriaco. Ciriaco later came around to score on a two-out single to left-center field by C Erik Kratz that gave the Indians a two-run advantage.

Louisville later evened the score with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Three consecutive singles by 3B Eric Eymann, 2B Kris Negron and pinch-hitter Mike Costanzo plated the Bats' first run of the contest, before a run-scoring groundout by CF Dave Sappelt tied the game at 2-2 one batter later.

The Indians quickly reclaimed the lead in the top half of the sixth inning when 1B Mitch Jones launched the first offering of his at-bat out to deep left field for his first home run in a Tribe uniform this season. The blast broke up a streak of 88 consecutive homer-less at-bats for the right-handed slugger since he joined Indianapolis on July 31 and also gave him his first home run since he launched his 18th blast of the year on July 17 when he was with Triple-A Gwinnett.

An RBI single by Bats' RF Luis Terrero knotted the contest at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, before Moss' league-leading 96th RBI of the season pushed across the game-winning run in the seventh for the Tribe. Indianapolis rounded out the scoring at 5-3 in the same frame when Moss, who reached third on the throw after his double, trotted plateward on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jones.

In his final Triple-A start of the 2010 campaign, Indians' RHP Chris Jakubauskas (5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings of work, but did not figure in the game's final decision. Bats' LHP Jeremy Horst (4.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) also received a no-decision in the contest after he allowed two runs on seven hits in four innings of work.

In relief of Jakubauskas, Indians' RHP Brian Bass (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 SO) tossed two perfect innings of work to earn his fourth win of the season, while LHP Justin Thomas (1.0 IP) and RHP Jean Machi (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) each contributed with a scoreless inning of relief as they earned their 12th hold and 23rd save, respectively. Louisville left-hander Daniel Ray Herrera (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 SO) was strapped with his second loss of the 2010 campaign after he allowed two runs on two hits in two innings of work.

In a contest that featured 19 combined hits, but only eight total runs, three Tribe batters - Melillo (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 3B), Ciriaco (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Moss (2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB) - collected two hits on the evening, while only Eymann (2-for-4, 1 R) tallied multiple hits for the Bats.

Indianapolis concludes its 2010 campaign with a contest against the Louisville Bats on Monday, September 6 at 1:05 p.m. RHP Brad Lincoln is expected to get the start for the Tribe, while LHP Ben Jukich is the probable starter for the Bats.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and www.IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show begins at 12:45 p.m.

Post-game quotes -- OF Brandon Moss

(on Indians' CF Alex Presley's romp from first to give Moss his 96th RBI)

"I talked to Presley (Indians' CF Alex Presley) after the game and gave him a big hug when he told me that even if Krem (Indians' manager Frank Kremblas) tried to stop him (from scoring) he was going to keep going."

(on 1B Mitch Jones' first home run in an Indians' uniform)

"I've been all over him (INF/OF Mitch Jones) since he got here and he finally hit one tonight. It wasn't a short one and he got every bit of it. It's been a rough month for him, but he's a guy that has power year in and year out."

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