Tag: Erik Kratz

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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.

Indianapolis Indians 9,

Buffalo Bison 2

(box)

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3B Pedro Alvarez smashed a 3-run homer (photo) to cap off a 7-run inning as the Indians stampeded the Bison in the first game of an 8-game homestand at Victory Field. �The Indians recorded 15 hits in the game, with each position player in the starting line-up picking up at least one hit except for 2B Brian Friday, and Friday contributed a sacrifice bunt in the big inning. �Both C Erik Kratz and LF Brandon Moss had 3 hits in the game, while CF Jose Tabata, 1B Neil Walker, and SS Argenis Diaz each had 2 hits.

The Indians went into the bottom of the 6th with a slim 2-1 lead. �Buffalo starter, Bobby Livingston, who had pitched briefly for the Indians in 2009, had completed 5 innings and reliever Kiko Calero was beginning his work on the mound. �Brandon Moss began the fun with an easy liner into center field, his second hit of the game. �Moss took off for second base, and though he did not get there before the ball did, Bison shortstop Ruben Tejada dropped the ball on the throw, and Moss was safe with a stolen base. �Erik Kratz took a fly ball to the left-center field alley, for his second double of the game, and Moss cruised home with an insurance run (1). �Brian Friday dropped down a neat sacrifice bunt, moving Kratz to third base. �Argenis Diaz lifted a little fly to short right field, which fell in between three Bison chasing after it. �Kratz had been waiting to tag up, so when the ball fell in, he headed for the plate. �The throw came in to Buffalo catcher Josh Thole on the first-base side of the plate and a little in front, as Kratz slid on the outside of the third base side, his right hand skimming the plate as he went by, scoring the second run (2). �Diaz advanced to second base on the throw. �Brian Myrow came on to pinch-hit for starter Brad Lincoln, and he took the first pitch he saw up the middle for another single, scoring Diaz (3). �Jose Tabata (photo) was next, and he was hit on the left hand by a pitch, putting runners on first and second bases. �That brought up Neil Walker, who'd already had a single and an RBI in the previous inning. �Walker smacked a liner into right-center field, which hit the ground just about a foot in front of the glove of the diving outfielder. �The ball got past him and kept rolling, and Walker had an RBI double as Myrow crossed the plate (4). �That was enough to send Calero to the showers.

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Indianapolis Indians �4, �Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs �1 (box)

At what point is a "spot starter" no longer a "spot starter"? �Indians' pitcher Jeremy Powell (photo) made his 4th start for the Tribe this evening at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. �That's 4 starts and only one relief appearance for Powell this year. �This start was Powell's longest, by two innings: �he pitched 7 shutout innings, earning his second win.

Powell scattered 5 hits and 3 walks over his 7 innings of work, and he struck out 4 Iron Pig batters. �He gave up a two-out triple to RF Cody Ransom in the 2nd inning, and a walk to C Paul Hoover put runners on the corners, but a pop out ended the inning. �Powell gave up a single in the 3rd and left that runner stranded, and he gave up a lead-off single in the 4th, but got out of that inning with a double play. �Another double play erased a walk to CF John Mayberry in the 6th. �Powell also had to work around two runners in the 5th inning, when Hoover doubled and former Indy Indian (2005 - 06) LF Rich Thompson walked with two outs. � RF Brandon Jones got Powell out of that jam when he made a shoetop catch of a sinking line drive into right field off the bat of 2B Luis Maza. �Powell gave up a double with two outs in his last inning, but finished his night with a fly out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the�Indians also put runners on base in each of the first four innings, but a combination of poor luck and poor baserunning kept them from scoring. �CF Brandon Moss, in a rare spot as the lead-off batter, began the game with a single up the middle, then moved to second base on a balk. �LF Neil Walker hit a sharp line drive -- but right at LF Rich Thompson. �A walk to 3B Pedro Alvarez put another runner on base, but both were left stranded. �C Erik Kratz led off the 2nd inning with a double into center field, but three straight grounders kept him from scoring.

The Tribe had a good chance of scoring in the 3rd inning, when Alvarez singled with two outs, and 1B Steve Pearce lined a double to left field. �Alvarez rounded third and headed for the plate, waved on by manager Frank Kremblas, as the throw came in from Thompson in left field. �The relay throw was on-target, and Alvarez was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. �Brandon Jones led off the 4th inning with a single, and a fielding error by Iron Pigs' RF Cody Ransom put Jones on second base. �But he was throw out trying to steal third base, and two more ground outs ended the inning.

Indianapolis Indians 7, �Louisville Bats 6 (box)

It's just a few minutes after midnight, radio broadcaster Howard Kellman just said "Good Morning Everyone" as he came back from a station ID break, and Erik Kratz just earned his first career save with a nicely pitched 15th inning. �The Indians' fifth lead in this game was finally the one that stuck, and the 4 hour 57 minute game has ended with an Indians' win. �CF Jose Tabata hit the Indians' only home run of the game in the top of the 15th for the winning run. � And, these players have to be on a bus in about 4 hours to head out to catch a flight to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where they will be playing... later today. �"I just don't want it to go to my head," quipped Kratz about his first save.

The first half of the game was dominated by the starting pitchers. �Tribe starter Donnie Veal (photo) retired the first 8 batters he faced. �He gave up a walk and a single in the 3rd inning, but got out of the small jam with a strikeout. �Veal breezed through the 4th inning, then gave up a lead-off single in the 5th, but erased that batter with a double play. �Louisville starter Travis Wood gave up a single to LF Brandon Moss in the 2nd, and a single to 3B Doug Bernier in the 4th, but both of them were eliminated with subsequent double plays.

The Indians scored the first runs of the game in the 5th inning. �RF Steve Pearce led off with a single to third, and the next two batters struck out. �Then 2B Brian Friday rocketed a ball down the left field line, and while the ball was busy rattling around in the corner, Pearce came around to score all the way from first base. �SS Argenis Diaz followed with a line drive into right field, and Friday headed for home. �The throw in from the outfield came in on the first-base side of the plate, and Friday slid in safely, to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

Veal seemed to be tiring in the 6th, when he walked two batters, but still held on to end the inning and keep the Bats from scoring. �With two outs in the 7th, Veal walked another batter, and he was relieved by Anthony Claggett. The first batter Claggett faced, C Wilkin Castillo, ran the count full, fouled off a few more pitches, then hit a 2-run homer over the right field wall to tie the game.

The Indians came right back in the top of the 8th. �Back-to-back singles by Argenis Diaz and Brian Myrow, who had come into the game in a double-switch to play first base, led off the inning. �Myrow's single dropped into left field just a few feet in front of LF Juan Francisco, who looked like he could have made the catch with a bit more hustle. �3B Doug Bernier surprised the Bats by dropping down a sacrifice bunt on a 3-2 count, and when pitcher Travis Wood threw to third in an attempt to get the force out on Diaz. �The throw was low and it skipped past third and into left field, allowing Diaz to score the go-ahead run. �Myrow made it to third base and Bernier was safe at first after his sacrifice. �That was the end of Wood's night, and Chad Reineke came on in relief. �Reineke struck out the next two batters, but then threw a wild pitch, allowing Myrow to score. �Indians 4, Bats 2.

Indianapolis Indians 6, �Louisville Bats 1 (box)

2B Neil Walker and C Erik Kratz provided the in-game fireworks, which went along nicely with the post-game fireworks at Victory Field on Friday night. �Walker went 2-for-4 with a single and a double, and gave the Tribe 4 RBI, while Kratz hit a 2-run homer to account for the remaining Indians' runs. �Kevin Hart (photo) made the start for the Indians and earned his first win of the season.

Bats' starter Justin Lehr got through the first inning rather easily, walking 3B Pedro Alvarez but striking out two batters. �In the 2nd inning, Lehr gave up a one-out single to RF Brandon Moss. Kratz followed with a line drive that just cleared the left field wall, to land in a collection of kids on the grassy berm. �Indians 2, Bats 0.

Lehr got into trouble right away in the 3rd inning. �LF Jose Tabata (photo below) led off with a single lined into center field. �CF Jonathan Van Every grounded a single into right field, moving Tabata to second base. �Lehr got a little help from his catcher, Corky Miller, who caught Tabata with a big lead off second base, and fired across the diamond to pick him off the base.

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Pedro Alvarez was next to reach base, when his grounder to short kicked off the glove of SS Zack Cozart. �1B Steve Pearce loaded the bases when he worked a walk. �That brought up Neil Walker. �Walker took the first pitch down the first base line and into the right field corner, to clear the bases and give the Indians a 5-0 lead. �Pearce came all the way around from first base to score, drawing the throw from RF Wladimir Balantien. �The throw to home was wide and Pearce was in easily, but C Corky Miller alertly relayed the throw to third base, where Walker had headed on the throw in from the outfield. �Miller's throw was on time, and Walker was tagged out at third.

Lehr got out of a jam in the 4th inning. �Erik Kratz led off with a walk, and SS Brian Friday slipped a single through the hole and into left field. �Kevin Hart was batting for the first time this season in tonight's game, and he had grounded to first in the 2nd inning. �Now in the 4th, with runners on first and second with no outs, it was time for a sacrifice. �Hart fouled off two bunt attempts, but on his third try, he dropped down a bunt that was a little too hard. �The ball landed to the left of the mound, within easy reach for Lehr. �Lehr fielded, whirled, and threw to third base, where Kratz was forced out. �Tabata still had two runners on for him, and he lined a single into left field. �Friday rounded third and headed for the plate, but the throw from LF Juan Francisco reached Corky Miller just a second before Friday. �Miller reached across the plate to tag Friday for the second out. �A strikeout ended the threat.

Toledo Mud Hens 6, �Indianapolis Indians 0 (box)

The Indianapolis Indians dropped the second game of this brief two-game series in Toledo, as they fell victim to four double plays turned by the Mud Hens. �The Indians posted 5 hits, and 4 more batters reached on walks, but could not push a run across the plate.

Brian Bass stepped up to make a spot start for the Indians, because the regularly scheduled starter Kevin Hart was serving the last day of his 3-game suspension for throwing behind a batter on Opening Day. �Bass was knocked around in the 1st inning, as the first three batters in the Toledo line-up smacked consecutive hits to load the bases. �Then Bass caught a bit of luck. �LF Ryan Strieby smashed a line drive right to Tribe SS Brian Friday, who flipped the ball to 2B Argenis Diaz (photo) who was at second base, for a double play. �The next batter, 1B Jeff Larish, lined a single into left field to score the runner who had been left on third base, but at least it was only one run and not two or even three as it could have been without that double play.

Bass worked around runners on base and in scoring position in both the 2nd and 4th innings. �The original plan was for Bass to pitch four innings, but at the end of four, he had thrown only about 55 pitches. �The decision was made to have him continue for one more inning. �That didn't work out so well. �With one out, 2B Will Rhymes singled on a liner into right field. �When Bass tried to pick Rhymes off first, the throw sailed past 1B Steve Pearce and into the Indians' bullpen area (along the right field foul line) and ricocheted off the foot of catcher Luke Carlin, who was minding his own business and warming up reliever Anthony Claggett. Rhymes reached third base on the throwing error. �3B Brent Dlugach brought Rhymes in with a single into left field. �DH Brennan Bosch doubled, scoring Dlugach, to give Toledo a 3-0 lead. �At that point, Claggett came on in relief. �Claggett got a strikeout, then walked Jeff Larish before getting a fly out to end the inning.