Tag: Justin Thomas

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Indianapolis Indians �5, �Buffalo Bison �4 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians celebrated Mother's Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Day with pink jerseys and a few pink bats. �Like in past years, the pink agrees with them. �The score went back and forth, and there was some sloppy play on both sides of the field, but the Indians held on for the afternoon win at Victory Field.

Each team posted 12 hits, and C Erik Kratz and SS Argenis Diaz each went 3-for-4 at the plate, including a triple for Kratz. �2B Neil Walker and 1B Brian Myrow had 2 hits each, with a solo homer apiece.

Starter Jeremy Powell (photo) pitched 6 innings to earn his third win. �He worked around runners on base in each inning -- in fact, neither team went down in order in any inning -- but did not go deep into counts on many batters. �Powell threw 82 pitches (58 strikes), and used only 7 pitches against 4 batters in the 4th, and 8 pitches against 6 batters in the 5th.

The Bison loaded the bases against Powell in the 1st. �With two outs, a walk to 1B Mike Jacobs, a ball to the arm of 3B Mike Hessman, and a rare fielding error by Neil Walker at second base as he fumbled trying to pick up the ball on a grounder, filled the bases with visitors. �But Powell calmly got 2B Russ Adams to ground out to short, leaving all three runners standing there.

Walker (photo) made up for his mistake in the bottom of the inning. �CF Jose Tabata reached base on a fielding error by Buffalo SS Ruben Tejada, who also had trouble picking up the ball. �Neil Walker and his pink bat were next. �Walker, batting right-handed against knuckleball pitcher RA Dickey, smashed a double to deep left-center field. �The speedy Tabata scored easily from first base, and the Indians had an early 1-0 lead.

Powell had to work around two hits in the 2nd inning. �C Josh Thole led off with a bloop single behind first base, then Powell got two outs. �CF Jason Pridie grounded to short for what ought to have been the third out, but SS Argenis Diaz was not as aggressive making the scoop, the transfer, or the throw as he could have been, and Pridie beat out the throw to first base. �Again Powell remained calm and fired strikes to RF Jose Feliciano, striking him out. �Feliciano was apparently having issues with the way that home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez was calling the strikes. �After he swung and missed strike three, he slammed his bat and must have said the wrong words, because Gonzalez immediately ejected him. �Alex Cintron came in to the game to replace Feliciano in right field, though he later swapped positions with Russ Adams and took over at second base.

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 3, �Indianapolis Indians 1 (box)

Daniel McCutchen (photo) made his second appearance since returning to the Indianapolis Indians, but the early morning start did not agree with the Tribe. �In a game that started at 10:35 am to accommodate the school-aged crowd at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA, McCutchen did not pitch all that badly, but he did not get much run support, so he did not get the win.

The Indians were held to just 4 hits in the game -- two each by CF Jose Tabata and 3B Pedro Alvarez. The first two hits, one each, came right away in the top of the 1st. �Tabata opened the game with a single into left field. �Two outs later, after Tabata had advanced to second base on a ground out, Alvarez drove him home with an RBI double lined into center field.

And that was all the scoring the Indians would do. �They went down in order in the next two innings. �In the 4th, 1B Brian Myrow walked, but was caught stealing when he started to make a break a little to early in the pitcher's motion. �In the 5th, C Luke Carlin walked, but was erased in an double play. �Tabata was also caught stealing after his single in the 6th, though 2B Neil Walker was left stranded after he walked. �Three more Tribe batters (RF Brandon Jones, pinch-hitter Doug Bernier, and Tabata)�walked during the 7th and 8th innings, but all three were left on base. �The final Indians' hit of the game, a single by Alvarez, led off the 9th inning, but Alvarez was out in a force at second base, and the next two batters went down in order.

McCutchen needed 80 pitches (53 strikes) to go 6 innings in the game. �He gave up 7 hits, no walks, and worked around at least one runner on base in each inning but the 5th. �Two Iron Pigs' runners reached base in the 1st inning, and one in the 2nd, and both times, McCutchen left them stranded. �The third inning began with former Indy Indian CF Rich Thompson grounding sharply to second base. �Neil Walker made a diving stop of the ball, to keep it from getting into the outfield, but Thompson is too fast, and Walker had no chance of getting the ball to first base in time. �2B Luis Maza followed with a single into center field. �McCutchen got two outs, but then he made his big mistake of the game -- to RF Cody Ransom, who blasted a 3-run home run into the Indians' bullpen behind the left field wall. �Iron Pigs 3, Indians 1.

Indianapolis Indians 7, �Pawtucket Red Sox 2 (box)

On a damp and shivery night in Pawtucket, a sleepy set of Indians took advantage of good pitching and some strong defense to win their fourth game in a row. �They must have brought the rain with them on the early morning (following a very late night) flight from Louisville; �the start of tonight's game was delayed by nearly an hour while the McCoy Stadium grounds crew got the field ready.

Jeremy Powell made the start for the Tribe, despite limping around on a swollen ankle, where he got hit by a pitch while pinch-hitting last night. �The ankle was taped up, and the veteran Powell just kept going. �He pitched 5 innings, using 77 pitches (53 strikes). �Powell zipped through the first 5 batters, then gave up a double and a single, but got out of that jam with a pop out. �He walked the lead-off batter in the 3rd, but got a double play to end that inning. �A double in the 4th was also no problem. �Powell was getting a little tired in the 5th, when a lead-off single by PawSox 2B Kevin Frandsen and back-to-back doubles by LF Daniel Nava and CF Josh Reddick brought in two runs.

But by then, the Indians had already scored three times, as the lower end of their batting order was hot tonight -- SS Argenis Diaz singled twice and drove in 4 runs, while 2B Brian Friday went 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. �1B Steve Pearce got the rally started in the 2nd inning with a walk. �RF Brandon Moss was hit by a pitch, and Friday also walked to load the bases for Diaz. �Diaz, who has had 7 hits in his last 4 games with the Indians, ripped a single into right field, tipping off the glove of Pawtucket 1B Aaron Bates and down the line. �Both Pearce and Moss scored, and the throw in from right field to the plate was not even close. �

The Indians threatened in the 4th inning, when C Luke Carlin and Friday opened the frame with back-to-back singles. �Diaz bunted them up a base, but CF Jose Tabata's grounder to third was fired back to the plate, and Carlin was out at the plate, without even a slide. �Neil Walker, in left field again tonight, walked to load the bases, but a ground out ended the inning without a run scoring.

Walks to Steve Pearce and Luke Carlin put two runners on for the Tribe with two out in the top of the 5th. � The two went for a double steal, with Carlin getting off about a step behind Pearce. �Pawtucket's C Mark Wagner saw Carlin's slightly late start, and tried to throw him out at second base, but the throw sailed into center field, and Pearce charged home with the unearned run.

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Columbus Clippers 6, �Indianapolis Indians 1 (box)

Too many runners left on base were the downfall of the Indians this afternoon at Victory Field. �Too many times left in scoring position, too many times when the Tribe ran themselves out of the inning. �The Clippers did not have that problem, and they were able to take advantage of the runners they put on, to take the win and split this short 2-game series with the Indians.

Jeremy Powell (photo) made another spot start for the Indians, since Chris Jakubauskas's start was pushed back to Thursday. �Powell worked around runners on base in the 1st and 2nd innings, giving up two singles and a walk.

In the 3rd inning, the Clippers got an unhappy surprise. �With two outs, their star prospect, C Carlos Santana, fouled a 1-0 pitch off his left knee. �Santana fell to the ground at the plate, and remained on the ground for several minutes, eventually needing help to leave the field. �The Columbus back-up catcher, Damaso Espino, came in to finish Santana's at-bat, and he worked a walk. �The next batter, DH Shelley Duncan, hit a towering fly ball well over the left field wall, for a 2-run homer.

Powell finished off the 3rd inning, and then retired the Clippers in order in the 4th.

The Indians had also started the game quietly, as Columbus starter Jeanmar Gomez struck out 6 batters over the first 3 innings. �2B Neil Walker had the Tribe's first hit, a single into right field, and he proceeded to steal second base, but was stranded there on second.

C Erik Kratz walked to lead off the 3rd inning, but he was forced out when LF Jose Tabata grounded to short. �Tabata beat out the relay throw to first base, avoiding the double play. �He advanced to second base when Gomez's pickoff throw to first went wide and ended up over by the Columbus bullpen. �Tabata stole third base, tying him for the league lead in stolen bases with 8. �But another strikeout ended the inning with Tabata still standing on third base.

The Tribe scored one run in the 4th inning. �DH Brian Myrow led off with a double to deep center field, and when the Columbus CF Jose Constanza dropped the ball while transfering it from his glove to his throwing hand, Myrow kept going and slid into third (photo) as the 3B Brian Buscher had to chase after the wide throw. �3B Pedro Alvarez (photo below) took the first pitch he saw into right field, allowing Myrow to score what would by the Indians' only run. �1B Steve Pearce followed with a sharply hit grounder along the third base line, which Buscher could only knock down and keep from getting into left field.