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Melillo’s Walk Off Homer Gives Indians Sweep

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Doug Bernier, Argenis Diaz, and Jim Negrych

Indianapolis Indians �6, �Toledo Mud Hens �5 (box)

IMG_3247LF Kevin Melillo (photo) launched a pitch into the night in the bottom of the 9th at Victory Field, and when it landed in the grass berm in front of the right field scoreboard, the Indians had a walk-off win over the Toledo Mud Hens. �They also had a sweep of the 4-game series against Toledo, and combined with the Columbus Clippers' loss to the Gwinnett Braves tonight, that puts the Indians 2 games behind the first-place Clippers in the International League Western Division, and drops Toledo to 3 games behind the Indians.

Compared to last night, when the Indians cranked out 19 hits, tonight's game began rather quietly. �Only one Tribe batter reached base in the first three innings, and that was 1B Steve Pearce, who led off the 2nd inning with a line drive just over the head of Toledo SS Brent Dlugach. �Pearce stole second base, but he was left there when a flu out and two strikeouts ended the inning.

Indians' starter Brian Burres also held the Mud Hens scoreless in the early innings. �He worked his way out of a jam in the top of the 1st. �Lead-off batter 2B Will Rhymes singled up the middle, and Brent Dlugach walked. �LF Jeff Frazier made the first out, on a short fly ball to center, with CF Alex Presley making a very nice running catch. �Burres and the Indians caught a break when Rhymes made a base-running mistake: �with Burres looking right at him, Rhymes led off second base, then went a little too far, and was caught in the middle of nowhere when Burres came off the mound. �Rhymes was easily thrown out at third base, with 3B Doug Bernier putting down the tag (photo below).

IMG_3823Brent Dlugach advanced to second base while Burres and Bernier were taking care of Rhymes. � Another walk, to 1B Ryan Strieby, put two runners on base with two outs. �Burress got out of the inning by striking out 3B Jeff Larish.

Bernier allowed just one hit over the next three innings. �He retired the side in order in both the 2nd and 3rd innings. �Jeff Frazier led off the 4th with a double into left-center field, but he was still standing there on second base when Burres struck out Strieby, Larish, and RF Wilkin Ramirez and was out of the inning.

Crosby leaves game following collision

Bobby Crosby left Monday night's game against the Cubs with concussion-like symptoms. He was injured in a collision with right-fielder Lastings Milledge. The two players were chasing a shallow pop-up down the right field line.

Bucs sign two more draft picks

The Pirates have signed two more draft picks, 25th rounder Casey Sadler and 36th rounder James Archibald. Both are right-handed pitchers.

Presley Hits For The Cycle As Indians Blast 5 Homers

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Manager Frank Kremblas congratulates Alex Presley after his first AAA home run.

Indianapolis Indians �15, �Toledo Mud Hens �3 (box)

IMG_3799Indianapolis' Victory Field will celebrate its 15th anniversary in a couple of weeks, and in all that time, no player has ever hit for the cycle there.... until today. �Tribe LF Alex Presley, in his third AAA-level game, went 5-for-6 today, and hit for the cycle. �Presley tripled in the 1st inning, singled in the 2nd, homered in the third (photo), and doubled in the 5th. �Then he added a single on the first pitch he saw in the 6th inning, for good measure.

Presley had come close to hitting for the cycle 5 weeks ago. �On May 24th, playing with the AA Altoona Curve against the Akron Aeros in Akron, Presley went 4-for-5, and missed hitting for the cycle because he missed off the single. �He substituted a second home run for that single, and set a new Altoona Curve record with 8 RBI in the game.

And Presley was not the only Indian batter hitting today. �The Indians piled up 19 hits, and scored 15 runs, both of which were season highs, surpassing the 14 runs on 18 hits they had on April 9th of this year. �Their 5 home runs in the game was also the best this season, and while they have hit back-to-back home runs often enough, it was the first time the Indians have hit back-to-back-to-back home runs at Victory Field.

IMG_3777The game did not start out so amazingly for the Indians. �With starter Hayden Penn (photo) on the mound, the Mud Hens began the game by scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1st. �Penn walked the first batter of the game, SS Will Rhymes, and that adage about lead-off walks turned out to be true in this instance. �2B Justin Henry, making his AAA debut with Toledo, singled with a line drive into left field. �Penn seemed to get things under control for a few minutes, getting 1B Jeff Frazier to fly out and striking out LF Ryan Strieby. �Rhymes tagged up and advanced to third base on the fly out, and Henry stole second base on the strikeout. � Then Penn gave up a single to 1B Jeff Larish, scoring both Rhymes and Henry. �CF Wilkin Ramirez followed with a triple to the deep part of left-center field, bringing in Larish. �Penn finished the inning with a strikeout, but the Indians were behind, 3-0.

But.... it seems that Hayden Penn has this curious lucky streak going. �In his previous two starts at Victory Field, the Indians supplied Penn with a whole lot of run support in the early innings, allowing him to coast to a win. �On June 11th against Pawtucket, Penn allowed a run in the top of the 1st, and the Tribe batters came back with 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st, plus one run in the 2nd and 2 runs in the 3rd, and eventually win the game 10-3, with Penn credited for the win. �On June 22nd against the Bulls, Penn did not allow a run in the early innings (only allowed one unearned run that night), but benefited from 3 Tribe runs in the 2nd and 2 more runs in the 3rd. �Penn again got the win, as the Indians took the 9-1 victory. �Penn's luck held out this afternoon, too.

Jakubauskas Starts In Bradenton, Welker’s Save #5

Sunday action in the Pirates' minor league organization.... the GCL Pirates had the day off, and all of the rest of the affiliates won their games.

Bradenton Marauders �7, �Fort Myers Miracle �6 (box)

IMG_2353Chris Jakubauskas (photo) made the start for the Marauders, going into the 5th inning and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �Jakubauskas worked his way out of trouble in each of the first three innings. �He gave up back-to-back hits to begin the game, but got out of the 1st inning with a line out and a double play. �Two more runners got on in the 2nd, on a single and a fielding error, but Jakubauskas worked around them to keep the Miracle from scoring. �Two more singles and another error in the 3rd again had Jakubauskas in a jam, but a runner caught stealing and a fielder's choice out got him out of it again. �Finally, in the 4th, Jakubauskas could not escape -- a double and a single drove in Fort Myers' first run. �Jakubauskas began the 5th with an out, then two walks, and that was the end of his afternoon. �Tom Boleska relieved him, but threw a wild pitch, then gave up a single and a sacrifice fly to bring in those two runners, both runs charged to Jakubauskas.

Nate Adcock pitched the next 3 innings for the Marauders. �Adcock surrendered another 2 runs, on a walk, a double, an RBI single, and an RBI ground out in the 6th inning. �Adcock kept the Miracle from scoring in the 7th and the 8th, but the Marauders entered the bottom of the 8th behind by a score of 5-0.

The Marauders had gone down in order in the first three innings of the game. �They had one runner on base in each of the next two innings -- a single by 2B Jose De Los Santos in the 4th, a single by 3B Adam Davis in the 5th. �Two batters reached base in the 6th, when De Los Santos got to first on an error and C Eric Fryer walked. �None of them could come around to score.

Then, in the bottom of the 8th, it was the Marauders who found the miracle. �With one out, De Los Santos doiubled, RF Robbie Grossman singled, and Fryer also doubled, and the score was 5-2. �After a pitching change, LF Quincy Latimore walked, and DH Calvin Anderson singled, to load the bases. �CF Austin McClune doubled, driving in both Grossman and Latimore, and a passed ball allowed Anderson to score, tying the game at 5-5.

Noah Krol took the mound in relief of Adcock to begin the 9th inning. �He was greeted by a solo home run, which gave Fort Myers a 6-5 lead. �Krol gave up a triple also, but left that runner stranded.

SS Adenson Chourio led off the bottom of the 9th with a single to second base. �De Los Santos sacrifice bunted him to second base, and Grossman walked. �Fryer tied the game again with a single into right field, as Chourio raced around from second base. �Then Calvin Anderson won the game with a walk-off single, scoring Grossman for a 7-6 win.

Game 75: Miscues Costly as Bucs Drop Another

If the pitching is good and the offense is bad and the defense is bad, usually you lose. Usually happened in Oakland. The Pirates managed just two runs and committed four errors, leading to all three runs for the opponents.

Game 74: Cahill, Barton Add to Bucco Woes

I think it will be a matter of time before this team is no-hit. It was close as the Pirates had just one hit through sevena and finished with only two as Trevor Cahill was sharp and Daric Barton hit three doubles to support him.

Moskos Debuts In Indians’ Win

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The bullpen didn't get the memo that said it's 91 degrees out.

Indianapolis Indians �6, �Toledo Mud Hens �4 (box)

IMG_3752The Pirates' first round pick from the 2007 draft, LHP Danny Moskos, made his AAA debut tonight in the Inidans' win over Toledo at Victory Field. �The Indians were out-hit by the Mud Hens, 12-9, but the Indians made good use of the hits they got, including home runs by RF Brandon Moss and 2B Jim Negrych, supporting starter Jeremy Powell in his 4th win of the season.

Powell (photo) was making the spot start because Daniel McCutchen had his scheduled start moved to Oakland, with the Pirates. �This was Powell's first start in more than 3 weeks. �He had made 5 relief appearances since then, but pitched only a third of an inning in the two relief appearances in the past week. �Powell got into trouble right away in the top of the 1st. �Toledo's lead-off hitter, 2B Will Rhymes, began the game with a bloop single into short center field. �DH Jon Weber grounded slowly to 2B Jim Negrych, who tried for a double play. �Rhymes was easily out at second base, but Weber beat out SS Argenis Diaz's relay throw to first base. �A passed ball by C Erik Kratz put Weber on second base, and he scored from there when 1B Jeff Frazier followed with a line drive into the right-center alley for an RBI double. �LF Ryan Strieby drove in Frazier with another line drive, this one into center, and the Indians were down 2-0.

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Photo: �Alex Presley in center field

At that point, Powell flipped a switch. �He settled down and retired the next two batters on an easy fly out and a grounder force out to short. �He worked around a one-out double by RF Wilkin Ramirez in the 2nd, and worked around a one-out infield single by Frazier in the 3rd. �SS Brent Dlugach led off the 6th with a grounder to short, and was safe at first when Argenis Diaz's throw came in high so that 1B Jeff Clement had to leap to catch it (ruled a hit). �Powell responded by getting CF Casper Wells to bounce into a 4-6-3 (Negrych to Diaz to Clement) double play, and struck out Ramirez to end the inning. �Then Powell retired the side in order in the 5th. �He finished his night's work having thrown 64 pitches (48 strikes), and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits, no walks, with two strikeouts.

The Indians were frustrated in their first attempt at a come-back in the 2nd inning. �With one out, 3B Brian Myrow lined a single into right field, and CF Alex Presley lined a single into left field. �Myrow raced around to third, sliding into the bag head-first just ahead of the throw in from left field. �Presley alertly advanced to second base while the Mud Hens were busy worrying about Myrow. �Erik Kratz walked on 4 straight pitches, and the Indians looked like they were going to get some runs back. �But Argenis Diaz bounced into a double play, ending the inning and the threat.

Walker out at least two games with concussion

Neil Walker will miss at least two games with a concussion he sustained last night in a collision with Ryan Church.

Pirates sign 31st round draft pick

The Pirates signed their 31st round draft pick on Wednesday, right-handed pitcher Jason Townsend.

Game 73: Walker Hurt as Bucs Get Clobbered Again

Of course, things are worse than they seem. The Pirates got drilled again. But the real story is that Neil Walker was drilled in the back of the head by the thigh or knee of Ryan Church and had to leave the game. Hopefully it isn't anything that'll keep him out too long.

Clement Drives Indians Come-From-Behind Win

Indianapolis Indians 9, Toledo Mud Hens 8 (box)

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The Indianapolis Indians came back from a 5-run deficit tonight at Victory Field, led by two big hits and 5 RBI by 1B Jeff Clement (photo) and 3 hits each by DH Brandon Moss and 2B Jim Negrych. Six runs in the 6th inning made the difference, and the Tribe held off the Mud Hens' rally in the 9th to hold onto the win in front of a full house of 14,537 fans.

Mike Crotta started the game with a quick first inning, but the Mud Hens attacked in the 2nd. DH Ryan Strieby led off with a double into right field, and 3B Jeff Larish lined a single into left field, moving Strieby to third. After a strikeout, Crotta walked RF Casper Wells to load the bases. LF Jon Weber drove in both Strieby and Larish with a double that skittered down the left field chalk line, barely fair. C Jeff Kunkel made it 4-0 with a triple off the wall in right-center field. Tribe CF Jonathan Van Every could not run back fast enough, and the ball sailed over his head and bounced off the wall and away from Van Every. Both Wells and Weber scored as Van Every was busy tracking down the ball. Finally, a ground out and a pop out in foul territory ended the inning.

IMG_3729The Mud Hens added another run in the 3rd inning. 1B Jeff Frazier started the inning with a double down the left field line that tipped the end of 3B Steve Pearce's (photo) glove as he made a desperate dive. A ground out to first moved Frazier to third base, and another double, this one down the right field line by Larish, brought Frazier in to score. Crotta continued to struggle in the 3rd inning. He walked Weber on four pitches to open the inning, and once again proved that it's a bad idea to walk the lead-off batter. It came back to haunt him, when Kunkel's slow grounder moved Weber to second base, and 2B Will Rhymes' line drive double into center field plated Weber.

The Indians were already behind 5-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning, when they got onto the scoreboard. With one out, Brandon Moss dropped a bloop single over the head of Toledo 2B Will Rhymes. Jim Negrych followed with his second single of the game, a liner into left field, and since he was off and running, Moss made it to third on the hit. Steve Pearce was robbed of an RBI hit when his prospective line drive into left field ended up in the mitt of 3B Jeff Larish. Jeff Clement did the honors instead, plating both Moss and Negrych with a line drive that rattled around in the right field corner. C Erik Kratz walked, but both he and Clement were left on base when LF Alex Presley, making his AAA debut, lined out too.

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