Tag: Jean Machi

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Van Every (#24) was supposed to be the hero

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Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs� 12,� Indianapolis Indians� 8 (box)

Two 4-run innings by the Iron Pigs stole the thunder from pinch-hitter Jonathan Van Every (photo above), as the Iron Pigs defeated the Indians for the third straight game at Victory Field this afternoon.� Van Every had given the Indians the lead in the 7th inning with the Tribe's first pinch-hit home run of the season, and the Indians were all set to have Van Every be the hero of the game... until disaster struck in the 8th and 9th.

The Indians took the early lead in the bottom of the 1st, when they jumped all over Iron Pigs' starter Michael Cisco, who was making his AAA debut.� LF Kevin Melillo led off with a grounder that hit the side of the mound and kept going right up the middle and into center field.� 3B Aki Iwamura dribbled a little oops-swing (not a bunt) down the first base line, and was tagged out, but it was just as good as a sacrifice bunt, as Melillo moved to second base.� CF Alex Presley extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single through the hole and into right field, driving in Melillo (photo).� 1B Jeff Clement moved Presley to third with another grounder to the right side, just past the Iron Pigs' first baseman, but both Presley and Clement were left on base when Cisco got a strikeout and a grounder to first to end the inning.� Cisco settled down after that first inning.� He faced just the minimum number of batters over the next three innings, striking out the side in the 2nd.� In the third, Melillo singled again, but was thrown out trying to steal second base.

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Brian Burres (photo) made the start for the Indians.� He retired the Iron Pigs in order in the 1st, and easily worked around a single to left-center field by 3B Neil Sellers in the 2nd inning.� He made a mistake in the 3rd, though, and that tied the game -- a 2-1 pitch taken over the left field wall and onto the sidewalk behind the grass berm for a solo home run by former Indy Indian LF Chris Aguila.

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The Iron Pigs broke the tie in the next inning.� Burres got the first out of the inning, then loaded the bases with the next three batters.� CF John Mayberry chopped a high bouncer off the plate and up and over the mound.� 2B Jim Negrych had to wait for the ball to drop out of the stratosphere before he could make the catch and throw to first, and by then, Mayberry had already crossed the bag.� Neil Sellers lined a single into right-center, moving Mayberry to third base, and 1B Paul Sellers walked to load 'em up.� Burres struck out C Dane Sardinha, and needed only one more out... but SS Brian Bocock, who had the huge game-winning RBI triple two days ago, doubled down the right field line, driving in both Mayberry and Sellers, and the Iron Pigs had a 3-1 lead.

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Brandon Moss is congratulated on his home run

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Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs� 10,� Indianapolis Indians� 8 (box)

Yes, that's what they did.� The Indianapolis Indians squandered a 7-run lead at Victory Field tonight. � They were one strike away from a win, when the Iron Pigs scored 3 runs to take the lead in the 9th inning, and a few minutes later, win the game.

Tribe starter Dana Eveland (photo) was going to be limited to a pitch count of about 75 pitches.� He used up 26 of them in the 1st inning.� Eveland ran the count full on the first two batters he faced, then went to a 2-2 count with an extra foul ball on the third batter.� Former Indy Indian (2007) LF Chris Aguila led off the inning with a soft single into center field.� 2B Ozzie Chavez took that full count, then took another ball, for a walk.� RF Domonic Brown (remember him from the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League?� He was a teammate of Daniel Moskos, Donnie Veal, Brian Friday, Jose Tabata, and others) grounded sharply to the right side, and 2B Jim Negrych's dive kept the ball from going into right field for a single.� Negrych knocked the ball down, then hopped up and threw to first base for the out on Brown, but Aguila moved to third and Chavez to second.� CF John Mayberry dropped a short fly into center field, driving in Aguila with the first run of the game.� With runners on the corners, Eveland caught a break -- 3B Neil Sellers bounced to short, where SS Argenis Diaz started a 6-4-3 double play, Diaz to Negrych to 1B Jeff Clement, to end the inning.

All-Star pitcher Nate Bump made the start for the Iron Pigs.� Bump had recently spent a couple of weeks on the Disabled List, and it appeared that he is not back up to speed yet.� He began the bottom of the frame a little like the way Eveland started the top of the frame.� He ran the count full, then gave up a single on a big bouncer into center field by LF Kevin Melillo, then walked 3B Akinori Iwamura on another full count. The similarilty ended there, though.� Melillo tried to time Bump's delivery and make an early jump for a stolen base, and was easily thrown out when Bump turned and saw him going.� It was an unfortunate mistake, because Melillo would have been to second base in just a moment when Iwamura walked, and Melillo could have scored when CF Alex Presley extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double off the tip of 3B Sellers' glove and into left field.� Instead, when Presley doubled, Iwamura went to third and the Indians had two runners in scoring position.

1B Jeff Clement made it back-to-back doubles with a fly that bounced on the track at the base of the wall in the right field corner, scoring both Iwamura and Presley.� RF Brandon Moss slipped a low line drive through the hole and into right field, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.� Clement had been a little slow taking off from second base, maybe thinking that Iron Pigs' RF Domonic Brown would get to the ball more quickly, and so he only reached third base instead of scoring on the play.� No matter, Jim Negrych brought in Clement with a sacrifice fly to center field.� New Tribe catcher Jason Jaramillo (photo) added the third double of the inning, a long fly to right field, where Brown made a leap -- but had the ball bounce off his glove, off the top of the wall, and then down onto the track.� That brought Moss all the way around from first base, scoring the 4th run of the inning.� A strikeout ended the inning, but the Indians had a 4-1 lead, and Nate Bump had thrown 35 pitches.

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Indianapolis Indians� 4,� Rochester Red Wings� 3 (box)

Three RBI from RF Jonathan Van Every (photo) gave the Indians the spark they needed to get the win this afternoon at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, giving the Indians a split of the 4-game series with the Red Wings, and a 6-4 record on the extended road trip.

Like yesterday, today's game involved the teams trading the lead and playing catch-up.� Tribe starter Mike Crotta had little trouble with the Red Wings in the first two innings, allowing only a single to C Jose Morales, when his grounder into right field hopped off Van Every's glove, giving Morales the chance to reach second base.� Morales tagged and advanced to third base on the second of two fly outs, but Crotta left him standing there when he ended the inning with a ground out.

Crotta did get into more difficulty in the 3rd inning.� With one out, the next four batters reached base safely.� Crotta (photo below) walked CF Dustin Martin, then SS Trevor Plouff's knocked a bloopy hit into center field, just out of reach of Tribe CF Alex Presley. Martin had to hold up to see whether or not Presley was going to make the catch, so he was only able to get as far as third base on the hit.� LF Matt Macri singled into left field, just past the diving 3B Akinori Iwamura, and Martin scored easily.� Plouffe stepped up to third base on the play, and then scored on RF Brian Dinkelman's RBI single into right field.� Jose Morales was next, and he hit a line drive -- but right at 1B Jeff Clement, for the second out of the inning.� Clement hesitated before throwing the ball to second base, which gave Macri the extra second needed to get back to the bag safely.� It turned out to not matter, as 2B Brendan Harris grounded into a force out to end the inning.� The Red Wings were ahead, 2-0.

The Tribe batters put two runners on base in each of the first three innings, but could not bring any of those six runners around to score.� Aki Iwamura and SS Brian Bixler both singled in the top of the 1st, while Alex Presley and C Luke Carlin walked in the 2nd, and Iwamura and DH Brandon Moss walked in the 3rd.�� The Red Wings' pitching staff gave up a combined 11 walks in the game, but those four were wasted opportunities for the Indians.

Rochester starter Ryan Mullins pitched 2 innings, but when he came out to warm up prior to the top of the 3rd, he suddenly stopped and called out his training staff, then left the game.� He has been battling back problems recently, and they may have flared up again.

In the top of the 4th, Alex Presley and Jonathan Van Every took it upon themselves to erase the Red Wings' lead.� Presley led off the inning with a triple over the head of CF Dustin Martin.� Presley thought about holding up at second base, but when Martin's throw in from deep center field was coming in way high, Presley aggressively headed for third, and arrived there in plenty of time.� Van Every tied the game with a magnificent no-doubt-about-it 2-run homer over the right-center field wall.

Rochester Red Wings� 6,� Indianapolis Indians� 5 ..�������� (box)

The Indians out-hit the Red Wings 15 - 8 at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY, but just getting on base is not enough� -- you have to come around to score.� That was what the Indians could not do, as they lost to the Red Wings tonight.� Each member of the Tribe's line-up had at least one hit, with RF Brandon Moss (photo) leading the charge with 3 singles.� Starter Brian Burres was charged with the loss, and reliever Brian Bass was charged with a Blown Save.

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The two teams traded runs in the 1st inning.� Aki Iwamura, playing second base tonight, got things started for the Tribe with a one-out single into center field.� 1B Brian Myrow grounded to first, where Red Wings' 1B Brock Peterson made the scoop and threw to SS Trevor Plouffe, who forced out Iwamura at second, but could not get the ball back to first base in time to make the out on Myrow.� Three consecutive singles followed -- by DH Jeff Clement, RF Brandon Moss, and C Luke Carlin. Myrow scored on Moss's hit.� Carlin's grounder to second loaded the bases, but another ground out ended the inning.

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Brian Burres (photo) gave up two walks in the bottom of the 1st, to RF Matt Macri and C Jose Morales.� With two outs and those runners on first and second bases, 2B Brendan Harris singled into right field, scoring Macri from second base.� A ground out ended the inning, with the score tied at 1-1.

Burres retired the Red Wings in order in the 2nd inning, but gave up another run in the 3rd inning on three straight singles, to Macri, LF Jacque Jones, and Jose Morales.� Morales' liner into left field drove in Macri, and the Red Wings were ahead 2-1.

Rochester's starter Glenn Perkins held the Indians to just one single over the 2nd through 4th innings.� He struck out the side in the 2nd and again in the 4th, and only Brian Myrow reached base with his line drive single up the middle.� The Indians got to him in the 5th, with a rally started by a lead-off walk to SS Argenis Diaz. As so often happens, the lead-off walk comes back to haunt you, and that's what happend to Perkins.� Newly returned 3B Brian Bixler did what we so often have seen him do in Indianapolis -- he rocketed a ball into right field for a triple, scoring Diaz.� Aki Iwamura slipped a single just to the left of SS Plouffe, and Bixler came in with the go-ahead run.� Brian Myrow struck out, and Jeff Clement grounded right to 1B Peterson, who stepped on the first base bag for the out on Clement, then tried to get the reverse double play at second.� But that play requires a tag out at second (since with Clement out, it's no longer a force out at second), and even though the ball got to second base before Iwamura, he slid into second before Harris could get the tag down.� Brandon Moss singled into center field, and Iwamura scored from second base, giving the Indians a 4-2 lead.

The Indians were leading the Mud Hens 6-3 in the 6th...

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

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The big news, even before the game began, was the player moves made by the Pittsburgh Pirates.� With pitcher Zach Duke done with his rehab assignment in Altoona and ready to come back onto the Pirates' active roster, someone else had to be removed from the roster.� That someone is reliever Justin Thomas, who has been optioned back to the Indians.

Secondly, the Pirates have announced that they are optioning back-up catcher Jason Jaramillo to Indianapolis.� The reason given is that he has had minimal playing time during the first half of the season, and needs to get the work in.� Jaramillo will become the regular catcher in Indianapolis after the All-Star break.� The Pirates have also moved pitcher Chris Jakubauskas to the 60-day disabled list, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster.� So, who will take his place?

The Pirates intend to make that announcement later in the week.� Possibilities include Indians' Erik Kratz and Luke Carlin, and Altoona Curve catcher Hector Gimenez (who played for the Indians in 2009).� Kratz is the Indians' only representative for the AAA All-Star game, which will be played on Wednesday in Lehigh Valley -- just a short hop from Kratz's home town.� He has a lot of family and friends coming to see him play, though he will not be the starting catcher in the game.� SO -- is the delay in the Pirates' announcement so that they can give Kratz time to participate in the All-Star game?� If he were pulled at the last minute, it might be tricky to get someone else there to represent the Indians.� Carlin has only just come back from his ankle injury and is not entirely up to speed yet.� Gimenez could certainly handle things at the major league level -- but what would that say to Erik Kratz?� "Sure, Erik, you're a great guy and we were considering you for the major league back-up back in March, and sure, you are an All-Star for two years running at the AAA level -- but we're going to promote Gimenez from AA over you.� Oh, and when you get back to Indy, you won't be the starting catcher either."

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Back to the game.. which was delayed for about 15 minutes before even starting, then halted again due to rain in the 2nd inning.� That delay lasted over an hour.

LF Kevin Melillo got the Indians started with a double driven into right field to begin the game.� 3B Akinori Iwamura followed with a single into right field, and Melillo raced around from second to score.�� The Mud Hens came right back in the bottom of the frame, against Tribe starter Dana Eveland. SS Will Rhymes led off with a single through into left field, then Eveland struck out 3B Brent Dlugach.� LF Ryan Strieby doubled, moving Rhymes to third, and DH Jeff Larish brought in both Rhymes and Strieby with a single up the middle, to give the Mud Hens a 2-1 lead.� Eveland walked 1B Jeff Frazier, but then got CF Casper wells to bounce into a double play, ending the inning.

Eveland had gotten two outs and had 2B Max Leon on first base after a single when the rain halted play in the bottom of the 2nd.� The delay was long enough so that Eveland did not come back out, with workhorse Jeremy Powell taking the mound instead.� Powell ended the 2nd inning, then pitched two more scoreless innings, allowing only a walk.

Indianapolis Indians� 3,� Toledo Mud Hens� 1 (box)

RF Jonathan Van Every's (photo) 3-run homer in the top of the 9th gave the Indianapolis Indians the win over the Toledo Mud Hens tonight at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.� SS Argenis Diaz went 3-for-3 at the plate, including a double, and CF Alex Presley went 3-for-4, and also had a double.

The pitchers were kept busy for the first four innings of the game, though neither team scored.� Tribe starter Mike Crotta gave up a double to LF Ryan Strieby with two outs in the 1st and hit 3B Jeff Larish with a pitch, but a line out to Tribe 3B Akinori Iwamura ended the inning.� Crotta worked around a single by CF Casper Wells in the 2nd.� He walked RF Jon Weber in the 3rd, but erased him with a double play.

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Toledo starter Rick Porcello gave up a lone single to Aki Iwamura in the 1st inning, and a double by Alex Presley in the 4th.� The Indians threatened in the 2nd, beginning with a single by Presley.� A balk moved Presley to second base.� C Luke Carlin walked, then Presley was caught trying to steal third base.� Jonathan Van Every also walked, giving the Indians runners on first and second.� Argenis Diaz took a grounder up the middle for a single, and Carlin rounded third and raced for the plate.� The throw in from center field was on-target and on time though, and Carlin was out at the plate.� The Indians also put two runners on base in the 5th, when Diaz doubled off the wall in the right-center field gap, and LF Kevin Melillo walked, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.

The Mud Hens got to Crotta (photo) in the 5th.� Casper Wells walked, and DH Max Leon grounded up the middle, just out of reach of Indians' 2B Jim Negrych, sending Wells to third base. C Jeff Kunkel brought in Wells with a sacrifice fly, and the Mud Hens had a 1-0 lead.� Jon Weber also singled on a line drive into left field.� Leon, eager for an extra run, came around from first base, as LF Kevin Melillo fired the ball in from left field.� The throw sailed over the first cut-off man, but went right to the second cut-off man, Aki Iwamura.� Iwamura relayed the throw to Carlin at the plate, and that throw was nearly perfect.� As Leon slid around to the foul side of the plate and tried to reach in with his left hand to tag the dish, Carlin had the ball in his hand, and only had to lean to his left to tag Leon before Leon could touch anything but dirt with his hand.� That ended the inning, and kept the score tight, at 1-0.

That one run looked bigger and bigger over the next three innings.� The Indians went down in order in the top of the 6th.� Mike Crotta worked around a double by Jeff Larish in the bottom of the 6th, but kept the Mud Hens from scoring again.� Crotta exited after 6 innings, having thrown 99 pitches (64 strikes) and allowed the run on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 7 strikeouts. Wil Ledezma relieved Crotta to begin the 7th.� He walked Casper Wells, then struck out the next three batters.� The Indians' first two batters struck out in the 7th, then Argenis Diaz had his third hit of the game, a line drive into right field.� Diaz was able to get to second base when RF Jon Weber's throw back to the infield zipped right past the first base bag, bounced off the dugout facing, and ended up by the backstop behind home plate.� Diaz was left stranded on base with a ground out.� DH Brandon Moss singled in the 8th, and was also left on base.� Jean Machi retired the side in order in the bottom of the 8th, including two strikeouts.

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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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.

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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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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, �Buffalo Bison �3 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 10th inning, to break a 3-3 tie and put the game out of reach at Coca Cola Field in Buffalo, NY tonight. �SS Argenis Diaz (photo) had the RBI single that tied the game in the 9th, and also contributed an RBI double in the 10th, and CF Jonathan Van Every also had 2 RBI. �Rehabbing Steve Pearce had 3 hits for the Indians. �Jean Machi pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win for the Indians.

The Tribe began the game with their first four batters reaching base safely, on three consecutive hits and a hit batter. �LF Kevin Melillo led off with a double, and he scored on C Luke Carlin's single up the middle. �Carlin tried to take second base when a pitch in the dirt from Dillon Gee got away from the Buffalo catcher Josh Thole -- but not as far away as Carlin thought it was, and Thole threw Carlin out at second base. �2B Jim Negrych doubled, and Steve Pearce, playing right field tonight, was hit by a pitch. �1B Jeff Clement grounded to short, and when the Buffalo SS Justin Turner threw wide to first base, Negrych came around to score an unearned run. �Those were the only runs Gee allowed. �He retired the Indians in order in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings. �In the 4th, Pearce grounded to third, where 3B Mike Cervenak stumbled as he went to make the throw to first. �That made his throw come in high at first, with 1B Mike Jacobs leaping off the bag to catch the ball. �It was initially ruled a throwing error on Cervenak, but later changed to a hit for Pearce, who was reaching the bag as the throw came to first anyway. �Jeff Clement also singled, on a grounder that slipped through the right side of the infield. �But two strikeouts and a throw down to second when Clement was off and running with the pitch ended the inning without a run scoring.

Charlie Morton (photo) made the start for the Indians. �It was his third start since joining the Indians, and it was similar to his last. �Tonight he pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. �(On June 13th, he went 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 6 strikeouts.) �Morton gave up a walk in each of the first two innings, and a double over the head of LF Kevin Melillo and off the wall in the 2nd. �Morton needed 21 pitches to get through the 1st inning and another 20 for the 2nd. �Then he retired the side in order in the 3rd inning, needing just 9 pitches.

The Bison tied the score in the 4th inning. �With one out, Morton gave up a single up the middle to CF Fernando Martinez. �After a fly out, LF Lucas Duda doubled, scoring Martinez, and C Josh Thole put a soft liner into center field to bring in Duda and tie the game.

The 6th inning began with a controversial grounder up the third base line by Mike Cervenak. �The ball appeared to be foul, and it bounced in foul territory once it was past third base, but 3B umpire Stephen Barga ruled that the ball was in fair territory when it sailed over the third base bag, and so it was fair, and a double for Cervenak. �Manager Frank Kremblas and C Luke Carlin protested, to no avail. �Kremblas continued on to the mound, to change pitchers, and Carlin apparently continued to express his point of view. �Before reliever Justin Thomas could come in from the bullpen, Barga ejected Carlin from the game.

Erik Kratz came into the game to replace Carlin. �Justin Thomas struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up a single to pinch-hitter Andy Green, which drove in Mike Cervenak from second base with the go-ahead run (charged to Morton).