IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Yankees Use Longball to Down Tribe

Published on July 16, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Right fielder Justin Christian, designated hitter Shelley Duncan and left fielder Kevin Reese all clobbered home runs as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre posted an 8-5 win over Indianapolis in front 9,337 Monday night at Victory Field.

The Yankees improve to 51-42 overall and 27-23 on the road, while the Indians fall to 49-45 on the season and 28-18 at home. Scranton/W-B, which has won seven of its last nine overall, continues to lead the International League's Wild Card race by 1.5 games over Rochester.

Christian and Duncan gave Scranton/W-B a lead it would not relinquish in the sixth. Christian crushed his first Triple-A roundtripper of the season -- a two-run shot to left -- before Duncan hammered his 24th dinger of the year -- a solo blast to left center.

The Yankees added a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth. C Omir Santos brought 3B Chris Basak home with a single in the seventh. Reese then smacked his seventh long ball of the campaign in the eighth before Basak lifted a sacrifice fly to plate SS Angel Chavez with the game's final run.

Scranton/W-B RHP Chris Britton (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) was tagged with his third blown save of 2007, but improved to 3-1 with the win. Indianapolis RHP Jonah Bayliss (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 SO) fell to 1-1 with the loss.

After tying the affair in the third, the Tribe built a two-run advantage in the fifth. SS Brian Bixler and LF Michael Ryan opened the frame with singles before 1B Brad Eldred was hit by a pitch to load the bases. RF Yurendell de Caster followed with a bases-loaded walk before C Humberto Cota lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Ryan.

Duncan finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Christian contributed a 2-for-5 effort with two runs and a pair of RBI.

Ryan wrapped up the night 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI, while Bixler and Matos added two hits apiece. Matos also belted his third homer of the season -- a solo shot to left -- in the third.

Neither starter -- Scranton/W-B RHP Tyler Clippard (4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) or Indianapolis RHP Bryan Bullington (5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) -- figured in the decision.

The Tribe, which sat atop the IL's West Division for 69 straight days earlier this season, has dropped seven of its last eight and 17 of its last 23 overall.

The two clubs return to Victory Field on Tuesday at 7 p.m., for game two of the four-game series. RHP Runelvys Hernandez is expected to make his Indians debut, while LHP Chase Wright is slated to start for the Yankees.

The contest will be carried by ESPN-950 AM and IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from July 16, 2007


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