IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Tribe Trips up Toledo with 6-4 Win

July 11, 2010 - International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


TOLEDO, Ohio -- A one hour, nine minute rain delay in the bottom of the second inning did little to dampen the efforts of the Indianapolis Indians' offense as the Tribe scored five runs over the third and fourth innings en route to a 6-4 win over the Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday night at Fifth Third Field.

The victory improves Indianapolis' record to 48-44 on the season, while, with the loss, Toledo falls to 44-47. The Indians' win gives the Tribe their sixth straight victory over the Mud Hens and just their third win in eight tries at Fifth Third Field this season.

With the Tribe trailing by a 2-1 score in the top of the third inning, LF Kevin Melillo tied the contest with a solo home run to deep right field with one out in the frame before 2010 International League All Star Erik Kratz lined a two-out, two-run single to right field to give Indianapolis a 4-2 lead.

Indianapolis plated two more runs in the top half of the fourth to cap their scoring in the contest and take a 6-2 advantage over the Mud Hens. CF Alex Presley singled to open the inning and after an out, stood at second base following a single by SS Argenis Diaz.

After a successful double steal moved Presley to third and Diaz to second, Melillo recorded his second RBI of the contest on a run-scoring groundout, before 3B Akinori Iwamura plated the Tribe's sixth run of the game on an infield single to third to give the Indians' a four-run cushion.

Before the lengthy rain delay, the Tribe plated the game's first run in the top half of the first inning on back-to-back hits by Melillo and Iwamura. With the count in his favor at 3-1, Melillo lined the sixth pitch of his plate appearance to right field for his 15th double of the season and was plated one batter later when Iwamura singled to right to give the Indians the 1-0 lead.

Toledo quickly responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the first inning to erase Indianapolis' early lead and take a 2-1 advantage. SS Will Rhymes kicked off the frame with a single to left field, and, following a strikeout, moved to third on a double by LF Ryan Strieby. Two pitches later, DH Jeff Larish laced a base knock to center field to drive home both Mud Hens baserunners.

With the score 6-2 in Indianapolis' favor after the Tribe scored three runs in the third and two more in the fourth, Rhymes pulled the Mud Hens to within three runs of the Indians at 6-3 with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Toledo later cut the Indianapolis lead to 6-4 with a single run in the bottom half of the seventh inning. After C Robinzon Diaz lined a pitch to deep center field that was flagged down by Indians' outfielder Presley to open the inning, Rhymes tested the Indians' center fielder one pitch later with a line drive in the gap and legged out his sixth triple of the season. A run-scoring groundout by 3B Brent Dlugach plated Rhymes one batter later to account for the Mud Hens' fourth run.

Following the hour-long rain delay in the second inning, neither starting pitcher returned to the mound as each team's bullpen took the hill for the remainder of the contest. Indians' LHP Dana Eveland (1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) allowed two runs on four hits in 1.2 innings of work before the weather cut his outing short, while Mud Hens' RHP Alfredo Figaro (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO) gave up one run in two innings of work before giving way to the bullpen.

In relief of Eveland, Indians' RHP Jeremy Powell (5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO) earned his sixth win of the season with 5.1 innings of strong work out of the Tribe bullpen, while fellow relievers RHP Brian Bass (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) and LHP Daniel Moskos (0.1 IP, 0 R) earned holds to pave the way for RHP Jean Machi's (0.1 IP, 0 R, 1 SO) 12th save of the season.

Mud Hens' LHP Gilbert De La Vara (3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) was strapped with his first loss in his Triple-A debut, while RHP Brendan Wise (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) held the Indians scoreless over three innings of work out of the Toledo bullpen.

On the offensive side of things, three Indians' batters - Melillo (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI), Iwamura (3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI) and Kratz (1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB) - drove in two runs, while Rhymes (3-for-5, 3 R, 1 3B, 1 HR) fell a double short of the cycle for the Mud Hens.

Indianapolis will now take a brief, three day respite for the Triple-A All Star Break before returning to regular season play against the Rochester Red Wings on Thursday, July 15 at 7:05 p.m.

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 6:45 p.m.

Post-game quotes -- OF Kevin Melillo

(on his solo home run in the third inning after the rain delay)

"It was a big part of the game. It was a momentum shift for us. I saw what he was throwing to (Indians' SS Argenis) Diaz before me. He started me off with a curveball and I was thinking he was going to come inside with a heater and that's exactly what he threw me and I was able to get it."

(on winning both games of the two-game series against Toledo heading into the All Star Break)

"It was a pretty rough stretch for a while. It seemed like we were right in the hunt for our division and next thing you know we started slipping. Yet here we are, finishing out strong to end the first half to get momentum going into the second half."

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