IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Walker Leads Tribe To 10-9 Win Over Red Sox

Published on April 28, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Left fielder Neil Walker capped a two-run rally in the top of the ninth inning with a one-out RBI single and the Indianapolis Indians overcame an early 9-3 deficit to defeat the Pawtucket Red Sox 10-9 on Wednesday afternoon at McCoy Stadium.

The win moves the Indians record to 10-10, while the loss drops the Red Sox to 8-12 on the season. With the victory, the Tribe has won five consecutive contests for the first time since April 11-15, 2008.

With the game tied at 9-9 and CF Jose Tabata standing at second base with one out in the top of the ninth inning, Walker stepped to the plate with three hits already to his credit. The outfielder watched the first pitch sail in for a called strike, but pounced on the next offering to deliver his fourth hit of the contest, a line shot single to center field that drove home Tabata and gave the Indians the decisive 10-9 lead.

Walker, who went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, was involved in a bit of drama early on in the contest as well.

In the top half of the seventh inning with PawSox leading 9-8, 3B Pedro Alvarez stepped to the dish with one out and lofted a fly ball to medium-depth right field. Red Sox RF Bubba Bell positioned himself under the flyout and, in one fluid motion, caught the drive and fired the ball home. Pawtucket C Dusty Brown blocked home plate beautifully and kept Walker from scoring to preserve the Red Sox' 9-8 lead until the ninth inning heroics.

In a game that's beginning varied greatly from its ending, the Red Sox sent 10 men to the plate in the home half of the second inning and scored four runs on five hits in the frame. 3B Jorge Jimenez singled to load the bases before back-to-back run-scoring singles by RF Bubba Bell and SS Ryan Khoury gave Pawtucket a 3-1 advantage. The Red Sox scored an additional run in the inning on a bases loaded, five-pitch walk by DH Angel Sanchez to take a 4-1 lead.

After the Tribe cut the Red Sox lead to 4-3 with an RBI triple by CF Jose Tabata and a sacrifice fly by Walker in the top half of the third, Pawtucket upped its lead to 9-3 in the bottom half of the inning. Back-to-back walks, sandwiched between two singles gave the PawSox the first of their five runs in the frame. A two-run error accounted for two additional runs and consecutive RBI singles capped the scoring in the third.

The Indians pulled to within two runs of the PawSox at 9-7, on a two-out grand slam by DH Brian Myrow in the fifth inning. With two outs and C Erik Kratz at first, Tabata walked and Walker singled to set the stage for Myrow's four-run, full-count bomb.

In a game that saw 19 runners touch home plate, only four players recorded multiple hits. Jimenez (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB), Bell (2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB) and Khoury (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) each tallied two hits for the Red Sox, while Walker (4-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI) was the only Tribe batter to record more than one hit.

Neither starter was effective in Wednesday's afternoon affair, as Indians' RHP Hart (2.0 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) allowed a season-high seven runs and was chased in the third inning, while PawSox RHP Michael Bowden (4.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) also allowed seven runs, including Myrow's grand slam in the top half of the fifth inning.

RHP Anthony Claggett (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB) earned his second win of the season for the Tribe with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, while reliever Wil Ledezma (0.1 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO) recorded his first save of the season. Pawtucket closer Fernando Cabrera (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) was strapped with the loss after giving up two runs in the top half of the ninth inning.

The two teams continue their four-game series on Thursday, April 29 at 6:15 p.m. RHP Daniel McCutchen is expected to get the call for Indianapolis, while RHP Randor Bierd is the probable starter for Pawtucket.

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 5:55 p.m.

Post-game quotes -- LF Neil Walker

(on the team's rally to overcome a 9-3 deficit)

"We stayed persistent and we had a good approach today. We had good at-bats and we really took advantage today. Myrow's grand slam was a huge part of the game and it really propelled us. We all felt like we were in the game today, but it got away from us for a little while there in the early innings. It's easy to just say "let's get this over with" when you're down 9-3, but we didn't do that today and we pulled out a great win."

(on the cold weather and the strong winds)

"It was extremely cold and the wind was the big factor today. It was moving from the left field foul pole to the right field foul pole so any ball hit to left field was going to make its way back to the infield. You had to overplay every ball that was hit. We had a couple balls give us some trouble, but ultimately the wind helped us out a bunch in the last inning with the should-be sacrifice fly turning into a double."

(on the team's wild wins over the last few days)

"I think the one thing that this does when you come out on top is that it's a confidence builder. Especially from an offensive standpoint, you don't feel like you have to get a hit right away or that you have to get the runs back. You have to stick with it. You have to keep pushing forward and try to take advantage of opportunities and let the game come to you."

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