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Tides Sink Indians With Home Runs

Norfolk Tides  8,  Indianapolis Indians  2
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IMG_5275Yesterday the Indians blasted 3 home runs in their win over the Tides.  Today the Tides returned the favor, with 3 home runs off the Indians' pitchers, accounted for all but one of their 8 runs, to tie the series at 1 game each at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia.  

The Indians put runners on base in both the 1st and 2nd innings.  2B Chase d'Arnaud opened the game with a line drive single into left field, but he was erased when SS Pedro Ciriaco bounced into a double play.  1B Matt Hague led off the 2nd inning with another liner into left field.  He advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and moved to third on C Jason Jaramillo's ground out, but a pair of strikeouts left Hague on third.  

3B Brian Friday (photo) began the Indians' third inning in a row with a lead-off single, this time lining into center field.  CF Gorkys Hernandez dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Friday to second base.  Next up was d'Arnaud, who lifted a long fly ball to center field.  The Tides' CF Matt Angle had trouble finding the ball at first, losing it in the hazy lights.  D'Arnaud, thinking that Angle was not going to find the ball, put his head down, rounded first, and headed for second. Friday held up part way to third, in case the ball was caught.  Angle caught sight of the ball at the last second, raced in and made a desperate lunging catch.  As Friday was scrambling back to second base with a head-first dive, d'Arnaud also was diving head-first into second base.  D'Arnaud crashed into Friday's upper body, knocking him completely off the bag with a roll.  Luckily, the throw back from center field was not right to the second base bag -- and luckily, d'Arnaud did not slide in spikes-first.  Friday quickly rolled back to touch the second base bag, and was still safe at second.  About then, d'Arnaud figured out that his fly ball had been caught and he was out, and he trotted off the field.  Moments later, Friday raced around to score on Ciriaco's RBI single up the third base line.  Ciriaco stole second base (his 7th steal of the season), then LF Alex Presley reached base when his grounder slipped under the glove of Tides' 1B Brandon Snyder.  The ball shot into right field, and though C John Hester plunked himself down in front of the plate to block Ciriaco, the throw in from RF Blake Davis came in up the third base line.  Hester had to go chase after the ball, letting Ciriaco score.  The ball ended up in the dugout, for an error on Davis, and Presley was awarded third base on that error.  He was left on third, though, when Hague struck out to end the rally.  

Tribe Splits Double-Header; Rainy Days Elsewhere

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The Indians won game one of today's double header.






All the rain that was in Central Indiana yesterday moved east today.
The Altoona Curve hosting the Akron Aeros were rained out today.  That game will be made up on Saturday May 21st.
The West Virginia Power hosting the Greensboro Grasshoppers were also rained out.  No make-up date has been announced yet.  
The Bradenton Marauders had a scheduled day off today.  They are going to play their next two "home" games against the St. Lucie Mets in Port Charlotte (Charlotte Sports Park), on Wednesday and Thursday, due to roof repairs at McKechnie Field.   

Indianapolis Indians  5,  Durham Bulls  2
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IMG_5459The Indianapolis Indians and the Durham Bulls split today's double-header at Victory Field.  The first game began at 11 am, with buses full of school kids present, under dark and dreary skies.  As the first game wrapped up, the sun came out, and by the middle of the second game, there were sunny skies and happy clouds.

LF Alex Presley (photo) began the game on a sunny note for the Indians.  With two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Presley blasted a solo home run over the right field wall at the 362' mark, into a group of lucky school kids.  

Starter Brad Lincoln buzzed through the first two innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 2 batters.  With one out in the top of the 3rd, Lincoln ran the count full then walked Bulls' SS Ray Olmedo.  CF Desmond Jennings slipped a ground ball through the right side of the infield for a single, moving Olmedo to second base.  RF Justin Ruggiano crushed a long ball off the top of the wall in the deepest part of the park, just inches from being a home run.  The ball ricocheted off the wall, driving in both Olmedo and Jennings, as Ruggiano slid safely into third base.  The Bulls had taken the lead, 2-1.  

IMG_5472The Tribe answered right away with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame.  2B Brian Friday led off with a bloop single into short left field.  CF Gorkys Hernandez bunted Friday to second base, and DH Corey Wimberly followed by dropping another bloopy hit into the space behind third base, out of the reach of any of the Bulls.  Friday scrambled around to score from second base, tying the score.  Wimberly promptly stole second base.  After a pop out, Presley grounded through the left side of the infield, sending Wimberly around to score.  The throw in from left field was not in time to get the speedy Wimberly at the plate, but Bulls' C Robinson Chirinos alertly threw down to first base, where he caught Presley in the middle of nowhere -- too far from first to get back before the throw, and too far from second base to get there either.  Presley was out in the run-down (photo), ending the inning.  

Indians’ Struggles Continue; Presley Is Player Of The Month

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Alex Presley was named the Indianapolis Indians' Player of the Month for April, and he was presented a watch by Indians' GM Cal Burleson before the game.











Durham Bulls  6,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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The Indianapolis Indians struggled again this afternoon, once again giving up runs in the top of the 1st inning, as they to the Durham Bulls at Victory Field.  The Tribe batters were held to just 4 hits, and managed only one run.  Starter Justin Wilson took the loss, though his work was not the only problem in the game.  While there were no errors charged to the Indians, there were mental and physical mistakes which made the difference in the game.

The game began with a grounder to deep short by Bulls' RF Desmond Jennings.  Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw to first (photo) was awkward and off-balance, and the throw bounced in the dirt and got past 1B Matt Hague.  CF Justin Ruggiano walked, moving Jennings to second base, then Wilson got a strikeout for the first out of the inning.  DH Chris Carter grounded up the middle, with the ball tipping off the glove of d'Arnaud, who had made an unsuccessful dive behind the second base bag.  Jennings scored from second base on the hit.  1B Russ Canzler followed with a fly ball into left field.  LF Corey Wimberly started coming in, then had to retrace his steps and race back toward the left field wall.  The ball sailed over his head and bounced off the wall, allowing Ruggiano to score the second run of the game.  One out later, 3B JJ Furmaniak lined a single into left field, and Canzler came in to score.  Wilson ended the inning with another strikeout, and the Bulls had a 3-0  lead.  

Tribe Trounced Again


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3B Brian Friday and 2B Chase d'Arnaud













Durham Bulls  12,  Indianapolis Indians  3

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For the second night in a row, the Indianapolis Indians struggled both at the plate and in the field, as they fell to the Durham Bulls in the first game of a 4-game series at Victory Field.  The Bulls posted 19 hits for 12 runs, in a game that seemed similar to last night's game against the Norfolk Tides.  They scored in all but three innings (same as the Tides last night), and had runners on base in every inning (as did the Tides).  In addition, the Bulls put the first runner on base in each of the first five innings, and in seven of nine innings.  

IMG_5410Sean Gallagher (photo) made the start tonight, and like yesterday, he had two batters reach base against him in the top of the 1st inning.  Gallagher hit the first batter, CF Desmond Jennings, with a pitch.  Jennings stole second base on the first pitch to LF Justin Ruggiano.  Then Ruggiano lined into left field, and Jennings came around to score.  An alert play by Tribe LF Alex Presley had the ball back in to the infield and to second base quickly, and Ruggiano was tagged out at second base by 2B Chase d'Arnaud.  

3B Russ Canzler began the 2nd inning with a looping single into right field, but after a pop up, Canzler was erased in a strike-out-throw-out double play.  Former Indy Indian 2B JJ Furmaniak led off the 3rd inning with a double into the right-center field alley, and after a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly by Jennings brought Furmaniak in to score, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead.  


The Bulls increased their lead to 4-0 in the 4th.  DH Chris Carter led off with a solo home run, which saw RF Andrew Lambo trying to climb up the padded right field wall (it never works) in a desperate attempt to grow 12 feet taller.  Gallagher walked Canzler after the homer, and two outs later, he hit Furmaniak with a pitch.  SS Ray Olmedo gr ounded sharply to first, and the ball dinged off 1B Andy Marte's glove for a single.  Canzler was off and running with the pitch, and he came around to score, even though d'Arnaud got to the ball quickly.  A ground out to third and an excellent scoop by 3B Brian Friday ended the inning.  

Indians’ Late Rally Not Even Close

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Pedro Ciriaco gets back to first base safely














Norfolk Tides  11,  Indianapolis Indians  3

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IMG_5397The Norfolk Tides swamped the Indians at Victory Field tonight, ending this 4-game series with a 2-2 tie.  Starter Brian Burres (photo) suffered his 4th loss of the season (no wins) and lasted just 4 innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts.

The Tides had base runners on in every inning, and they scored in 6 of the 9 innings.  Burres began the game with a strikeout, but things went downhill from there.  The second batter, 2B Ryan Adams lined a single into right field, and LF Nolan Reimold followed with a long home run over the left field wall, all the way to the sidewalk behind the grass berm.  Burres got a fly out and a strikeout to end the inning.  In the 2nd, the Tides made it 3-0 with SS Brendan Harris' solo home run, which landed in almost the same place as Reimold's.  

The Indians had a chance to return fire in the bottom of the 1st inning.  RF Corey Wimberly and SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with back-to-back line drive singles, one to right field and one to left.  It would have been a great opportunity to answer the Tides, but the next three batters could not move the runners along -- a fly out, a pop out, and a fly out, leaving Wimberly and d'Arnaud standing there.  



Tribe Washes Tide Away

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Celebrate the win!











Indianapolis Indians 7,  Norfolk Tides  6

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IMG_5367The Indianapolis Indians pulled out another come-from-behind win over the Norfolk Tides this afternoon at Victory Field, and once again the Max Schumacher Victory Bell rang out at the end of the game.  Justin Thomas earned his first win for the Indians, and Tim Wood earned his third save, while 1B Matt Hague (photo) went 3-for-4 at the plate.  Three Indians hit solo home runs:  Hague, LF Alex Presley, and C Dusty Brown.  

The game did not start out well for the Indians.  Lead-off batter 3B Josh Harrison opened the bottom of the 1st with a line drive single into left-center field, but as he took a few steps out of the batters' box, he began to limp.  He limped his way down to first base (ordinarily, he might have made it to second on this hit), then called for time out.  After a brief discussion with trainer Bryan Housand and manager Dean Treanor, Harrison came out of the game.  Chase d'Arnaud came in as a pinch runner, then stayed in the game to play second base, while Brian Friday moved from second over to third base.  There was no further word by the end of the game about Harrison's condition.

Unfortunately, before anything else could happen, d'Arnaud was picked off first base and caught stealing.  The reason that it was so unfortunate for the Indians was that one out later, Presley rocketed a home run over the right field wall for his third home run of the season.  It was a solo homer, but it could have been a 2-run homer.  Hague slapped a sharp grounder up the middle after the home run, but he was left on base.  

Tribe Drops Double Header; Ascanio Back

The Indianapolis Indians played a double header tonight against the Columbus Clippers in Columbus, to make up for Saturday's rain out -- and the Indians lost both games.

Columbus Clippers  6,  Indianapolis Indians  1    (Game 1)
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IMG_5201The first game, which began at 5 pm, saw the Indians jump out to a good start.  With two outs in the top of the 1st, LF Alex Presley lifted a home run over the right-center field wall to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  1B Matt Hague tried to keep the inning going with a single lined into left field following the homer, but he was left on base.   

Tribe starter Sean Gallagher (photo) could not hold on to that lead.  With one out in the bottom of the 1st,  Gallagher walked DH Cord Phelps and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall back-to-back, then loaded the bases with a single to LF Chad Huffman.  Another single, by 1B Travis Buck, drove in both Phelps and Chisenhall, then a slip by Presley in left field let Huffman move up to third base.  Gallagher caught a break when C Jason Jaramillo threw out Buck as he tried to steal second base, then Gallagher ended the inning with a strikeout.

Columbus increased the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the 2nd inning.  RF Jordan Brown led off with a double, and former Indy Indian C Luke Carlin walked.  Jaramillo tried to pick Brown off second base, but the throw bounced off SS Pedro Ciriaco's glove and into left-center field, putting Brown on third and Carlin on second.  SS Luis Valbuena ripped a double into the left-center field gap, driving in both Brown and Carlin, and the Clippers were ahead by 3 runs.  They added another run in the 3rd inning, on a walk and a stolen base by 2B Jason Kipnis, then a double into right field by Brown.  

Gallagher came out to begin the 4th inning, but after a walk and two strikeouts, Gallagher had thrown 98 pitches (54 strikes), and he was relieved by Tony Watson.   Watson finished the 4th with a fly out, but he gave up a solo homer to Huffman, the first batter in the 5th inning.  He also gave up a walk and a single in the 6th, but kept the Clippers from scoring in that inning.

Missed Opportunities And Homers Sink The Tribe

Columbus Clippers  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4
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IMG_5151A big inning by the Clippers and too many missed opportunities by the Indians added up to another loss for the Tribe as the two teams opened a 3-game series at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.  Neither starting pitcher made it out of the 4th inning.  3B Josh Harrison (photo) had two hits for the Indians and came around to score twice.


The Indians got started with an unearned run in the top of the 1st.  With one out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled up the middle and LF Alex Presley singled into left field, sending d'Arnaud to third.  Presley stole second base, then 1B Matt Hague walked to load the bases.  DH Andy Marte grounded to short, where Columbus SS Cord Phelps had the ball pop out of his glove.  Everyone was safe on the error and d'Arnaud scored from third.  But the inning ended with a strikeout by C Dusty Brown, and all three runners were left on base.  Josh Harrison made it a 2-0 lead when he led off the top of the 2nd with a long and high blast into the left field bleachers.  

Brian Burres, in his fourth start of the season, zipped through the bottom of the 1st, thanks to a stunning play by Harrison at third.  His counterpart at third base, Lonnie Chisenhall, smacked a sharp grounder to third, where Harrison made the scoop, then made a throw across his body on the run, in time to nab Chisenhall at first.  Burres gave up a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd, to RF Travis Buck, followed by a double by Phelps, though Burres was able to work around the double and leave Phelps on base.    

Boyer And Olson Debut In Tribe Loss;Ciriaco Called Up

Toledo Mud Hens  7,  Indianapolis Indians 1
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IMG_5096The Indianpolis Indians struggled in the cold and the fog tonight at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, as they lost to the Mud Hens, earning a split of the 4-game series.  Starter Rudy Owens (photo) suffered his first loss of the season, after having won his first two starts.  

The Mud Hens attacked Owens as soon as they came to the plate in the bottom of the 1st.  CF Andy Dirks led off with a grounder to first.  Tribe 1B Matt Hague made a diving stop, but he had to wait for Owens to move to first, and by the time Owens got there, Dirks was safe.  After a strikeout, LF Timo Perez and 1B Ryan Striekby both singled, and Dirks came in to score.  A sacrifice fly by RF Clete Thomas brought in Perez, and the Mud Hens had a 2-0 lead.  

Owens put the Mud Hens down in order in the 2nd, and that was the only inning in which he did that.  Toledo picked up another run in the 3rd, when Perez singled to the right side of the mound, just out of reach of Owens.  Strieby doubled over RF Andrew Lambo's head and off the wall, and by the time Lambo was able to chase down the ricochet, Perez had scored easily.  The bottom of the 4th began with a triple by DH Danny Worth.  That ball also hit the wall over CF Alex Presley's head, and the throw came back in to the infield, but was cut off by 2B Brian Friday, as Worth slid into third.  Owens threw a wild pitch, and Worth scored easily.  Owens gave up a double to Perez (his third hit of the game) in the 5th, and walked Strieby, but kept them from scoring.  Owens finished up with 5 innings of work, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts.  He threw 87 pitches, of which 59 were strikes.

Indians One-Hit In Game 1; Ascanio Hit On Third Pitch

Toledo Mud Hens  6,  Indianapolis Indians  0   (Game 1)
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IMG_5225The Indianapolis Indians began this double header on a down note, as they were held to just one hit at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.  

Mud Hens' starter Charlie Furbush dominated the Indians' batters through all 7 innings of this game.  He struck out 9 Tribe batters and did not walk any.  The only hit he allowed was by C Jason Jaramillo to lead off the top of the 3rd inning.  Jaramillo did not even reach second base -- he was forced out on a grounder by LF Corey Wimberly.  Wimberly was the only other Indian to reach base, when he was safe at first on a fielding error by 3B Danny Worth in the 6th.  

The Mud Hens got to Tribe starter Brad Lincoln early in the game.  In the bottom of the 1st, lead-off batter CF Andy Dirks began the inning with a double down the left field line.  2B Scott Sizemore was hit by a pitch, and LF Timo Perez moved both along one base with a sacrifice bunt.  DH Scott Thorman brought in Dirks with an RBI single, and 1B Ryan Strieby drove in both Sizemore and Thorman with an RBI double into center field.  

Lincoln retired the side in order in the 2nd inning, but the Mud Hens came back at him in the 3rd.  The inning began with back-to-back singles by Sizemore and Perez.  Lincoln struck out the next two batters, but both base runners stole the next base on the second strikeout.  RF Clete Thomas drove both in with a single up the middle.  Lincoln and the Indians had a bit of better luck, when Jaramillo threw out Thomas as he tried to steal second base, ending the inning.  Toledo picked up one more run in the 4th, with singles by 3B Danny Worth and C Max St. Pierre, then a sacrifice fly by Dirks.  

IMG_5308Lincoln also retired the side in the 5th, and that was all for him for the night.  He had allowed the 6 runs on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts.  He threw 86 pitches, with 60 strikes.  Cesar Valdez relieved Lincoln to begin the 6th inning.   He gave up a single to former Indy Indian SS Argenis Diaz in the 6th, but left him on base.  


Indians Hitting Gem of the Game: Well, there was only one hit to choose from -- Jason Jaramillo's (photo) single in the third inning.  

Indians' Defensive Gem of the Game:  In the bottom of the 5th, Corey Wimberly made a diving catch of a line drive in left-center field, off the bat of Scott Thorman.  Both Wimberly and Alex Presley, who was in center field tonight, raced for the ball, but Wimberly cut in front of Presley and made the catch.  








Wilson Pitches Six Scoreless In Early Game Win

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Toledo Mud Hens  2
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IMG_5214The Indianapolis Indians battled the blustery weather as well as the Toldeo Mud Hens in a late-morning school day start in Toledo today.  They earned the win, giving them a 3-1 record on the road so far this season.  

Justin Wilson (photo) pitched 6 scoreless innings in his third start of the season, to earn his first AAA win.  He gave up 2 hits, both in the 3rd inning.  RF Andy Dirks dropped a looper into short right field, just out of reach of the leaping Tribe SS Chase d'Arnaud, then 2B Scott Sizemore put a sinking liner into right field, off the glove of RF Gorkys Hernandez.  Wilson left both on base with a fly out and a ground out.  Wilson also worked around two singles and a batter reaching on a fielding error by SS Pedro Ciriaco in the 2nd inning.  That was a wind-blown ball into short right field, with Ciriaco, 3B Josh Harrison, and LF Alex Presley all chasing after it.  Ciriaco tried to make a last-second twisting over-the-shoulder catch and missed.  Wilson threw 97 pitches with 62 strikes in his 6 innings.

The gusty wind helped the Indians as well as hurt them.  In the top of the 2nd, DH Andy Marte lifted the first pitch he saw into the wind, which took it over the left field wall for a solo home run.  Marte nearly had another home run in the 5th inning, but that time his fly to left field was just short, and was caught at the wall.  

The Tribe had only one hit over the next three innings -- a double by Harrison in the 5th, when the wind did the same thing to the Mud Hens that it had done to Ciriaco and the Indians in the 3rd.  Harrison's high pop got caught in the wind, and with the infielders running out and the outfielders running in, the ball fell in just out of reach of SS Cale Iorg.  In both instances, the outfielders might have had a better chance at running in to make the catch, but instead they let their shortstops take over.  Harrison made a quick steal of third base, but he was left stranded when Hernandez struck out.  

“Tonight Is The Night”

Indianapolis Indians  10,  Louisville Bats  4
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During batting practice today, Indians' SS Pedro Ciriaco (photo)  declared that "tonight is the night".  Then he made good on it, leading the Indians in their win over the Bats at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ciriaco came into the game with a .059 batting average, with just 2 hits in his first 11 games of the season.  Tonight, he posted the first Indians' run of the game with a single in the 3rd inning.  He singled again in the 6th innings, and nearly picked up an RBI, though 1B Matt Hague was out at the plate.  Then Ciriaco capped the Indians' big 8th inning with a 3-run home run, giving the Tribe a defiinive lead that would carry them to the win.

After yesterday's 13-inning marathon, tonight's game began in much the same way:  two perfect innings by both starters, Sean Gallagher for the Indians and Scott Carroll for the Bats.  Ciriaco was the first base runner of the game when he singled up the middle in the 3rd.   He stole second base, but was left stranded.  Gallagher walked RF Brian Barton and hit C Corky Miller with a pitch to begin the bottom of the 3rd, but when Barton strayed too far off second base, the alert Tribe C Jason Jaramillo picked him off.  Gallagher got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out.  

(Photo:  Starter Sean Gallagher)

IMG_5200The Indians got the scoring started in the top of the 4th.  2B Chase d'Arnaud led off the inning with a line drive single into center field.  A ground out by LF Alex Presley moved d'Arnaud to second, and a balk by Carroll pushed d'Arnaud to third.  D'Arnaud scored the first run of the game when Bats' SS Zack Cozart bobbled RF Andrew Lambo's grounder.  Lambo reached second base on a passed ball.  3B Andy Marte nearly had an RBI double with a sharply hit ball down the left field line, but it was ruled a foul ball, and Marte went back to try again.  He worked a walk, to put two Indians' runners on base.  Jaramillo drove both of them in with a line drive that just barely got past Bats' CF Dave Sappelt, and the Indians had a 3-0 lead.

Louisville got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning.  Cozart reached base on an error, when his grounder skipped off the glove of Marte at third.  LF Yonder Alonso walked, and a fly ball gave the Bats runners on the corners.  A wild pitch let Cozart come in to score.  Alonso stole second base then moved to third when 3B Chris Valaika reached base on Ciriaco's fielding error.  Gallagher stopped the rally with two strikeouts, and held the score at 3-1.  The bottom of the 5th began with a single by Miller, which hopped past the diving Ciriaco.  Moments later, Sappelt  brought in Miller with his 2-run homer, to tie the score at 3-3.