Tag: Argenis Diaz

Columbus Clippers� 10,� Indianapolis Indians� 9 (box)

It felt like a roller coaster ride -- up... then down.... then up.... then down.� The Indians had three home runs... but the Clippers had four homers.� 3B Doug Bernier had 3 hits and 1B Brian Myrow (photos) batted in 4 runs... but the Indians committed 3 fielding errors, one particularly critical.� The Indians had a 5-run 1st inning...� but Charlie Morton gave up 7 runs and let the Clippers catch up.

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The game started in the Indians' favor.� The first five batters of the game all reached base and scored:� Doug Bernier led off with a single lined into center field.� RF Brandon Moss bounced a fly ball off the center field wall, moving Bernier to third.� Brian Myrow singled into right field, scoring both Bernier and Moss.� DH Jeff Clement kept the rally going wtih a single through the right side of the infield, and C Erik Kratz blasted a 3-run home run over the left field wall.� At that point, Clippers' pitcher David Huff suddenly found his control.� He struck out 2B Jim Negrych, CF Alex Presley, and LF Jonathan Van Every, all swinging, to end the inning.

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Charlie Morton (photo) took the mound with a 5-0 lead... which he promptly began to give away.� The first three batters ripped line drives off him -- a single by CF Jose Constanza, a single by SS Josh Rodriguez, and an RBI double by 3B Luis Valbuena.� The only salvation was that when Constanza aimed for third base on Rodriguez's single, Rodriguez at first hesitated, then tried for second on the throw to third.� The hesitation was all the Indians needed to tag him out at second base.� Morton balked, moving Valbuena to third base, and Valbuena scored from there on a ground out by DH Jared Goedert.� Another groundout ended the inning, and the score was 5-2.

The Indians got the two runs right back again.� SS Argenis Diaz was the only member of the lineup to not get in on the fun in the 1st inning, so he started off the 2nd inning with a single off the top of the wall in the right field corner.� Unfortunately, Diaz stumbled as he was rounding first base, so instead of reaching second base, he had to try to scramble back to first, and didn't make it in time.� Doug Bernier doubled off the upper part of the right field wall, making Clippers' RF Jordan Brown chase the ball as it ricocheted back towards the infield.� After a ground out, Brian Myrow lifted a long fly ball over the left field wall, a 2-run shot, to give the Indians a 7-2 lead.

Morton got through the bottom of the 2nd inning, allowing only a walk to C Lou Marson -- maybe he was settling down?� No, that hope was dashed in the 3rd, when two errors, including one by Morton, contributed to 4 runs, only one of which was earned.� With one out, Rodriguez doubled into right field.� Brian Myrow had Valbuena's grounder bounce off his glove and skip a few feet away, but by the time Myrow could get to it and flip over to first base, Valbuena was safe, and Rodriguez had moved to third base.� Goedert tapped one back to the mound, where Morton did the right thing -- field the ball quickly, look at Rodriguez, then start walking toward him, still holding the ball, as Rodriguez was trapped in no-mans'-land on the third base line.� As he continued to approach Rodriguez, Morton threw to C Erik Kratz, who threw on to 3B Doug Bernier as they closed in on Rodriguez, and Valbuena sidled into third base.� Bernier threw to Morton, as the trap closed further, and Morton threw back to.... well, he was aiming for Bernier, I think, but instead the ball sailed over his head, over third base, and into the outfield.� Rodriguez, suddenly rescued from certain death, bolted for the plate and scored, and Valbuena also scored from third base, as Goedert reached second base -- a 2-run error.� The next batter, RF Jordan Brown followed with a home run to straight out center field, and the Clippers were within one run of the Indians, 7-6.

Indianapolis Indians �3, �Columbus Clippers � 2 (box)

The Clippers and the Indians are in the middle of a rain delay in Columbus, Ohio. �The Indians have a slim 3-2 lead, on the strength of a solo home run by DH Jeff Clement (photo) in the 5th inning.

The Clippers got the game going in the bottom of the 1st inning, when Tribe starter Brian Burres gave up a 2-out walk to SS Luis Valbuena, followed by a 2-run home run, a no-doubter, to 3B Jared Goedert. �Burres settled in after that, allowing only one single over the next two innings. �He worked out of a jam in the 4th inning. �With one out, RF Jordan Brown and 1B Wes Hodges smacked back-to-back line drive singles into right field. �A walk to former Indy Indian LF Brian Bixler loaded the bases. �Pitching coach Dean Treanor made a visit to the mound, and Burres responded by striking out C Chris Gimenez, then getting 2B Cord Phelps to fly out to end the inning.

2B Jim Negrych was responsible for the only Indians' hit over the first two innings. �After fouling a pitch off his right shin, Negrych slipped a single through the right side of the infield. �He was left stranded on base when CF Alex Presley's ground out ended the inning.

The 3rd inning began with five Indians' batter reaching base safely. �LF Jonathan Van Every led off with a single that just edged past the diving Clippers' 1B Hodges. �SS Argenis Diaz lined a single into center field. �When RF Kevin Melillo drove the first pitch he saw over RF Jordan Brown's head and off the upper section of the right field wall, both Van Every and Diaz advanced one base -- but just one base, and Van Every was held at third instead of waved around to try to score. �Diaz stopped at second, and Melillo rounded first and started for second -- until he looked up and saw Diaz already standing there. �Melillo scrambled back to the first base bag, just in time to avoid being tagged out. �3B Akinori Iwamura was next, and he also singled, taking a low line drive through the hole at short and into left field. �Van Every scored on that hit, and the bases were still loaded. �1B Brian Myrow worked the count full, and took a walk, and Diaz trotted home from third base to tie the score.

At that point, Clippers' pitcher Josh Tomlin suddenly got his act together again. �With the bases still loaded, he struck out�Jeff Clement and C Erik Kratz on 6 straight pitches. �Jim Negrych ran the count full and fouled off another ball, but then struck out to end the inning and leave the three runners on base.

The Tribe took the lead in the top of the 5th, courtesy of Jeff Clement. �He blasted a towering home run over the right field wall, and even over the building behind the right field wall, and into a net -- the net the Clippers had hung up there after former Indian Garrett Jones had lofted a homer over the building and into the street beyond. �Seems they aren't fond of baseballs falling out of the sky in Columbus.

Indianapolis Indians � 9, �Louisville Bats �7 (box)

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The Indianapolis Indians and the Louisville Bats traded home runs at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight, but it was the Indians who held on for the win, ending their 8-game losing streak. �The Indians, who had not had a home run in almost a week, tonight had long bombs by RF Brandon Moss (photo), 3B Akinori Iwamura, and 1B Jeff Clement, while the Bats hit four home runs -- two by 3B Juan Francisco, and one each by CF Gary Matthews Jr and lF Yonder Alonso.

The game began ominously for the Indians, as their first inning looked like many of the innings they've had during their losing streak. �LF Kevin Melillo led off with a walk and stole second base. �Aki Iwamura also walked, but 2B Jim Negrych bounced right to the Bats' 2B Wilkin Castillo, who started a 2-6-3 double play. �Jeff Clement flied out to end the inning. �It was the 13th double play the Indians had batted into in the past 5 games. �The Tribe did fall victim to another double play, but not until the 9th inning, and not until after they had clearly broken their tough streak.

Things started looking up in the 2nd inning. �The Bats' starting pitcher, Mark Serrano, had just been brought up from their A+ Lynchburg Hillcats' affiliate to make a spot start because their scheduled starter Matt Maloney had been called up to Cincinnati to make a start. �Once they got going, the Indians were able to take advantage of the A+ level pitcher. �Brandon Moss led off the 2nd with a line drive into center field for a double, and CF Alex Presley beat out a bunt for an infield single, moving Moss over to third base. �A balk by Serrano let Moss score and put Presley on second base. �C Erik Kratz lined a single in to left field, which moved Presley to third base. � SS Argenis Diaz grounded back to the mound, and Serrano made the scoop then looked at Presley, who stopped in his tracks. �But instead of charging at Presley and probably catching him in a run-down, or whirling and throwing fast to second base to start a double play, Serrano hesitated. �He did throw to second, where he forced out Kratz, but that was the only out he got, and Presley scored on the play, and the Indians had a 2-0 lead.

With Jeremy Powell (photo) on the mound for the Indians, the Bats got the two runs right back in the bottom of the inning. �Juan Francisco started the Bats' scoring with a solo home run over the wall in right field. �RF Danny Dorn followed the homer with a double into right field. �Erik Kratz tried to pick Dorn off second base, and the when his throw got past second base, Dorn moved to third on the throwing error. �That put him in position to score an unearned run on SS Chris Valaika's sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Brandon Moss gave the Indians the lead again in the top of the 3rd. �With two outs, Jeff Clement singled through the hole into right field, and Moss blasted a 2-run homer over the wall in the right field corner. �Indians ahead, 4-2.

The Bats responded again in the bottom of the 3rd, also with two outs. �C Ryan Hanigan doubled to the base of the wall in right-center field, and he scored on Yonder Alonso's single. �Juan Francisco tied the game again in the 4th inning with his second home run of the game, another solo shot.

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Louisville Bats �6, �Indianapolis Indians �0 � --- � Game 1 (box)

It was all Louisville in Game 1 as the Bats battered starter Dana Eveland (photo above) in his Indians debut. �Eveland, who had not pitched since before being designated for assignment about two weeks ago, did not make it out of the third inning, and was responsible for 5 of the 6 Bats' runs, on 6 hits and a walk.

The Bats scored one run in the top of the 1st, on a single up the middle by SS Zack Cozart, a grounder by 1B Yonder Alonso to move Cozart to second, and an RBI double down the right field line by LF Todd Frazier. �Eveland began the second inning by giving up a single to RF Wladimir Balantien, then a 2-run homer by 2B Chris Valaika, to boost the Bats' lead to 3-0. � The 3rd inning opened with another home run, by Alonso, a solo blast to straight-out center field, bouncing off the top of the wall and into the ground cover in front of the batter's eye trees. �A double to the wall in the right-center field alley by Frazier followed the home run, then a groundout to second base, moving Frazier to third base.

That was all that manager Frank Kremblas wanted to see from Eveland. �He had thrown 53 pitches (34 strikes) in his 2.1 innings. �Brian Bass, who had pitched a 1-2-3 inning last night, came on in relief of Eveland. �The first batter Bass faced, Balentien, took a long fly ball to center field -- not deep enough for another home run, but plenty deep enough for Frazier to tag up and score from third base. �That run was also charged to Eveland. �Bass hit C Ryan Hanigan with a pitch and walked Valaika (unintentionally intentional?), then struck out Bats' starter Chad Reineke to end the inning.

The Bats kept going against Bass in the 4th. �With one out, Bass walked Cozart, who stole second base. �Alonso doubled into center field, bringing in Cozart from second base.

Louisville Bats �2, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

Four double plays turned by the Bats did in the Indians at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky tonight. �The Indians posted a total of 6 hits and also were given 3 walks and two more base runners due to Bats' errors, but could not take advantage of any of that, and were unable to bring any of their runners around to score.

The game began hopefully for the Indians, when LF Kevin Melillo led off with a single into right field. �3B Akinori Iwamura (photo) lined a single into left field, moving Melillo to second base. �2B Jim Negrych tried to move both runners up with a sacrifice bunt, but Bats' pitcher Jesus Delgado was fast enough in getting to the ball that he was able to fire to third base for the force out on Melillo. �That halted the Indians' little bit of momentum, and the next two batters went down quickly on a strikeout (1B Jeff Clement) and a line out (RF Brandon Moss).

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The Tribe put a runner on third base in the 2nd inning. �C Erik Kratz took a fly ball into center field for a big double, and he advanced to third on SS Argenis Diaz's ground out. �That was as far as Kratz could get, though, as a fly out ended the inning. �The Indians went down in order in the 3rd.

Starter Brian Burres (photo) retired the first 7 batters he faced. �With one out in the bottom of the 3rd, Bats' 2B Chris Valaika lined the first Bats' hit of the game into left field for a single. �Delgado dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Valaika to second base, and he scored from there when CF Gary Matthews doubled into left field, giving the Bats a 1-0 lead.

The double plays started coming in the 4th inning. �Jeff Clement led off the inning with a single slipped into left field, but he was immediately erased when Brandon Moss bounced right to 2B Valaika, who started a 4-6-3 double play. �Argenis Diaz reached base on a throwing error by Bats' 3B Juan Francisco in the 5th. �He was off and running with the swing by�Brian Burres, and when the ball Burres hit landed right in the glove of LF Todd Frazier, Diaz had already rounded second base. � It was an easy play for the Bats to throw the ball back to first, well ahead of Diaz, to double him up.

With one out in the 6th, the Tribe got a little something going again. �Aki Iwamura worked a walk, and Jim Negrych singled through the right side of the infield and into right field. �With two runners on, the Indians looked like they might have a chance to tie the score. �But Jeff Clement bounced to second base, where Chris Valaika started another 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and the threat.

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Argenis Diaz had a busy night at shortstop

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Columbus Clippers �4, �Indianapolis Indians �1 (box)

The Clippers rallied for 2 runs in the top of the 8th, and the Indians could not catch back up tonight at Victory Field. �The win gave Columbus a sweep of the 4-game series with the Indians, and dropped the Indians to 6 games behind the first-place Clippers in the International League Western Division.

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Both teams posted a run in the first inning, and both got out of the other's half of the inning with a double play started by the shortstop. �With one out in the top of the 1st, starter Hayden Penn had the next three batters reach base: �Clippers' DH Josh Rodriguez singled into left field past the diving Tribe SS Argenis Diaz; SS Luis Valbuena tripled down the right field line, scoreing Rodriguez; a walk to RF Jordan Brown put runners on the corners.

Then 1B Wes Hodges bounced a grounder right to Diaz next to second base. �Diaz took three steps to touch second base and force out Brown, then fired over to 1B Brian Myrow to get Hodges and end the inning (photo sequence, with Diaz making the throw as 2B Jim Negrych looking on, as Brown slides in).

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In the bottom of the inning, LF Kevin Melillo led off with a grounder to short. �SS Valbuena fielded the ball without any problem, then airmailed the ball over 1B Hodges' head. �Melillo was credited with a hit, and Valbuena's error sent him to second base. �3B Aki Iwamura walked on four pitches. �Melillo stole third base, as the throw to third from C Lou Marson nearly sailed into left field. �Only a long reach by former Indy Indian 3B Brian Bixler �kept the ball in the infield (photo below). 2B Jim Negrych bounced to short, where Valbuena made the same play Diaz did in the top of the inning -- a few steps to reach the second base bag and force out Iwamura, then the throw to first to get out Negrych. �Brian Myrow flied out to end the inning.

After the double play to get out of the 1st inning, Hayden Penn retired the next 7 batters he faced. �He made two of the plays himself, including fielding a high bouncer along the first base line. �As his momentum took him across the foul line, Penn whirled and tagged out the speedy Jose Constanza as he ran by.

The Clippers took the lead again in the top of the 4th. �With one out, Jordan Brown grounded through the hole and into left field. �Wes Hodges followed with a double into the right-center field alley, bringing Brown all the way around from first base to score, as RF Jonathan Van Every had to swipe at the ball twice before he could pick it up. �Penn finished the inning with two strikeouts.

C Erik Kratz (photo) has been named to the International League All-Star Team for the second year in a row. �Last year, Kratz was the MVP of the All-Star game, which was held in Portland, Oregon. �Kratz, who was the starting catcher, walked, doubled, and hit the game-winning 2-run homer for the IL. �This year, Kratz is the back-up catcher for the IL squad. �He is currently hitting .306 for the Indians, with 17 doubles, a triple, 8 home runs, and 30 RBI. �This year's All-Star Game, between the IL stars and the Pacific Coast League stars, will be held at Lehigh Valley, PA, which is just about an hour away from where Kratz grew up. �He'll be able to have lots of family and friends in attendance.

Manager Frank Kremblas has also been named a coach for the International League All-Star Team. �This will be his first time as a coach or manager for an International League All-Star team, though he had much success as a manager in the Pacific Coast League before joining the Pirates' organization.

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Columbus Clippers �7, �Indianapolis Indians �3 (box)

For the second night in a row, the Clippers posted 5 runs in the 4th inning, and for the second night in a row, those 5 runs beat the Indians at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. �Tribe starter Mike Crotta did not make it to that 4th inning, leaving in the 3rd due to an injury to his left lower leg or ankle. �CF Alex Presley (photo) provided all of the Indians' runs on two home run blasts.

Presley got the game off to a good start for the Indians. �LF Kevin Melillo opened the game with a double lined into right field. �Presley drove a long fly over the right field wall for his first home run, which was his second round-tripper since joining the Indians.

Mike Crotta had to work around runners on base in the first two innings. �SS Josh Rodriguez singled in the 1st and stole second base, but was left there. �1B Jordan Brown singled and RF Nick Weglarz walked to begin the 2nd, and they pulled off a double steal when Crotta's attention was diverted, but Crotta got out of that jam by striking out the next two batters, C Lou Marson and CF Jose Constanza.

Columbus Clippers �7, �Indianapolis Indians �3 (box)

A 5-run 4th inning by the Columbus Clippers made the difference tonight at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, as the Indians could not catch up after having three members of their team ejected from the game. �Manager Frank Kremblas, pitcher Corey Hamman, and DH Brian Myrow were all ejected by home plate umpire Derek Crabill.

(Photo: �Frank Kremblas chats with an umpire in Indianapolis)

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The game had begun hopefully for the Indians. �2B Akinori Iwamura started the game with a single into center field, though two outs later he was thrown out trying to steal second base, ending the inning. �C Erik Kratz doubled off the top of the wall in right-center field with two outs in the 2nd inning, then went to third on a wild pitch. �Brian Myrow lined a single into center, and that brought in Kratz with the first run of the game.

Tribe starter Charlie Morton got out of a jam in the bottom of the 1st. �LF Michael Brantley led off the frame with a single, but SS Josh Rodriguez followed by bouncing into a 6-4-3 double play (SS�Argenis Diaz to 2B Aki Iwamura to 1B Jeff Clement). �2B Luis Valbuena doubled into left field and 3B Jared Goedert walked, but a strikeout ended the inning for Morton and left the two Clippers on base. �Morton gave up another double, to C Lou Marson, and a walk to CF Jose Constanza in the 2nd inning, but also got out of that inning with both runners still on base.

An error by Morton (photo) contributed to an unearned run in the 3rd as the Clippers tied the score. �With one out, Valbuena smacked a grounder into center field, and when Morton tried to pick Valbuena off first, his throw went wild, allowing Valbuena to reach third base. �That made it easy for a single by 1B Jordan Brown to bring in the tying run.

Then disaster struck in the bottom of the 4th. �RF Nick Weglarz led off the inning with a long fly ball for a home run over the right-center field wall, to give the Clippers a 2-1 lead. �After a ground out, Constanza blooped a single into center field. �Constanza stole second base, then went on to steal third base, not even drawing a throw. �A fielder's choice grounder to short was fielded by Argenis Diaz, but the throw to the plate was not in time, and Constanza scored, while Brantley was safe at first. �That was all for Charlie Morton, who had thrown 85 pitches (55 strikes) in just 3.1 innings, and allowed 7 hits and 3 walks. �He would ultimately be responsible for 5 runs (4 earned). �It was a disappointing start for Morton, after an outstanding effort in his last start.

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Doug Bernier, Argenis Diaz, and Jim Negrych

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

LF 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).

Brent 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.

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

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

The 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.

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.

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.

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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.

The 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.

Indianapolis Indians �9, �Durham Bulls �1 (box)

Message to the Pirates: �The Real Charlie Morton has been found -- he's safe and sound, and was last seen pitching a 2-hit complete game at Victory Field tonight. �Are you going to want him back soon?

Morton (photo) dominated the Bulls, throwing 109 pitches (77 strikes) over 9 complete innings. �He faced only 3 batters over the minimum -- two hits, one hit batter, and one walk, minus one double play. �He began the game totally focused, getting 6 straight outs, including two strikeouts in the 2nd inning.

The only Bulls' run came in the 3rd inning. �Morton walked 3B Angel Chavez to open the inning, then he hit former Indy Indian (2005-06) JJ Furmaniak on the shoulder (or maybe the shoulder of his jersey), moving Chavez to second base -- two on and no out, and Morton was looking like he had lost that focus he'd just had in the previous two innings. �CF Fernando Perez tapped a 1-1 pitch right back to Morton on the mound, and Morton whirled and fired to SS Argenis Diaz, covering second base, to start a double play, 1-6-3 (Morton to Diaz to Jeff Clement) (photo below). �That put Chavez on third base, but somehow, it seemed to refocus Morton and get him charged up again. �LF Desmond Jennings hit a slow roller towards third base, and Steve Pearce, playing third for the second time in his career, charged in to make the pick-up. �The speedy Jennings was nearly at first base already, and Pearce should have just held the ball, but he didn't. �Instead, he threw across his body, and the ball sailed wide of first base, heading down toward the Bull's pen. �Chavez scored from third base, and Jennings was credited with a hit and an RBI, then advanced to second base on Pearce's error.

Still, that did not disrupt Morton's rediscovered concentration. �He got SS Omar Luna to ground to first base to end the inning. �Then he retired the Bulls in order in the 4th inning, including a second strikeout of C Alvin Colina.

The only other hit Morton allowed came in the 5th. �With one out, Angel Chavez bounced a single past the diving 2B Jim Negrych and into right field. �Chavez was forced out at second base when JJ Furmaniak grounded to Negrych. �Negrych bobbled the ball for a split second, but it was long enough so that the relay throw from Argenis Diaz covering second to first base was not in time, leaving Furmaniak safe at first. �CF Fernando Perez also grounded to Negrych, who ended the inning with a little flip to second base, forcing out Furmaniak.

That was the last time the Bulls had a base runner. �Morton retired the next 12 batters in order, striking out the last batter, Justin Ruggiano. �He buzzed through the last 4 innings, not letting the Bulls hit any balls very hard, or making his teammates behind him have to make many tough plays to get the outs. �The toughest out was the 2nd in the 9th, when Omar Luna dropped a little dribbly ball, not a bunt, along the first base line about half way down. �C Erik Kratz had to scramble over, make a sliding stop to grab the ball, then make the throw to first without hitting Luna in the basepath, for the out. �Morton needed only 4 pitches to get through the 6th inning, and 9 pitches in both the 1st and the 5th.