2B Jim Negrych picked up the only Indians’ RBI that Jonathan Van Every didn’t have when he singled up the middle in the 5th.� Brandon Moss doubled off the wall in left center field with one out, then advanced to third base on a wild pitch.� Negrych slipped his single between the middle infielders, and Moss had no trouble crossing the plate to give the Indians a 3-2 lead.
The Indians were the victims of some bad luck that kept them from scoring again in the 6th.� LF Kevin Melillo looped a single into left field that dropped in just in front of LF Macri.� Aki Iwamura smashed a fly ball into right-center field, which hit the warning track and took a high bounce over the wall, hitting the base of the scoreboard and bouncing back onto the field.�� With two outs, Melillo took off from first with the pitch, and was rounding third and heading for the plate, and he would have scored — but because it was a ground-rule double, Melillo was called back to third base.� A fly out ended the inning before Melillo had the chance to score.
Mike Crotta had settled down after giving up the runs in the 3rd, and had allowed just one single over the next two innings.� He struck out 3 batters in those two innings.� But by the 6th, he was tiring.� The first three batters of the inning reached base.� Jose Morales doubled, and he scored when Brendan Harris bounced a grounder off the second base bag and into center field, tying the score at 3-3.� 3B D’Angelo Jimenez singled hard up the middle too, and that was all for Crotta.� He had thrown 89 pitches (59 strikes) and in 5+ innings, he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits and one walk, with those three strikeouts.
Reliever Steven Jackson came on to relief Crotta, with one run in, runners on first and second bases, and no outs.� The first batter he faced, 1B Brock Peterson, lifted a pop fly behind first base, heading down the right field line.� Jeff Clement went running back, and with his back to the infield, Clement made a running, over-the-shoulder catch.� The catch was close enough to the infield, and Clement got the ball back in fast enough, so that neither runner thought about tagging up.� With that little boost, Jackson went on to finish off the inning with a fly out and a strike out, then also retired the side in order in the 7th inning.
Alex Presley and Jonathan Van Every stepped up to the plate again in the 8th inning.� Presley opened the inning with a line drive into left field for a single.� Van Every ripped a double off the top of the center field wall, and the speedy Presley raced around from first base to score the go-ahead run.� Luke Carlin flied out and Van Every was thrown out trying to steal second base, but with two outs, the Indians loaded the bases for the first time in the game.� Kevin Melillo reached base when both RF Brian Dinkelman and CF Dustin Martin both watched his fly ball to right-center field fall in between them.� Aki Iwamura was intentionally walked, and then Brian Bixler worked an unintentional walk.� But Jeff Clement struck out to end the threat.� Still, the Indians were ahead, 4-3.
Steven Jackson had effectively shut down the Red Wing’s batters in the 6th and 7th.� Daniel Moskos did the same with a perfect 8th inning, needing only 11 pitches to retire the side in order.� Jean Machi came on to pitch the bottom of the 9th for the Indians.� He hit the first batter he faced, Brock Peterson.� DH Wilson Ramos bunted Peterson to second base.�� Machi got Dustin Martin to line out straight to Brian Bixler, who had moved over to second base in a double switch.� Trevor Plouffe grounded to third, and when Aki Iwamura made a low throw across the diamond, Jeff Clement was able to make the back-handed catch on a low hop for the final out, leaving Peterson still standing on second base.
The Indians hopped onto their buses after the game for the overnight ride from Rochester back to Indianapolis, where they will begin an 8-game homestand.� They will play 4 games against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, then 4 games against the Charlotte Knights.
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Indians’ Hitting Gem of the Game:� 3 RBI by Jonathan Van Every.� He launched a 2-run homer over the right-center field wall to tie the game in the 4th inning.� After the game, Van Every said that he “just tried to put it in play…I threw the head of the batt at the ball and found a way to put it over the fence.”� Then in the 8th, his RBI double drove in the go-ahead run.� Van Every has had 8 RBI on this extended road trip.
Indians’ Defensive Gem of the Game:� In the bottom of the 6th, with one run in, and runners on first and second bases, no outs, Brock Peterson popped one up along the right field line behind first base.� Jeff Clement made the spectacular catch, which kept at least one run from scoring and helped Steven Jackson shut down the Red Wings’ offense.� Clement finished off the game with a catch of a tough half-hop throw from Aki Iwamura for the final out.
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NOTES:
LHP Corey Hamman, who has been on the Indians’ Disabled List, has been reassigned to the Altoona Curve.� Hamman has been with the Curve earlier this season.
RHP Hayden Penn is going to Japan — his rights have been sold by the Pirates.� RHP Vinnie Chulk has also been placed on the inactive list, because he too is going to be heading to Japan — details not yet finalized.
Infielder Brian Friday will probably be rejoining the Indians this week, when the team is back in Indianapolis.
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Go Tribe!
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(photos by Nancy)
