Tag: John Bowker

Indianapolis Indians  1,  Buffalo Bison  0
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Four Indians pitchers combined to shut out the Bison at Coca Cola Park in Buffalo, NY -- the first time this season the Tribe has shut out their opponents.  The four horsemen held the Bison to just 5 hits, and that was one more hit than the Tribe batters managed.  After 7 scoreless innings, the Indians scored the only run of the game in the 8th.

The pitching duel began with Garrett Olson (photo) on the mound.  Brad Lincoln had been scheduled to make the start today, but muscle strain in his neck, present for a couple of days now, forced him to miss his start.  The possibility that today's game might have to be a bullpen game was part of the reason that manager Dean Treanor had Chris Leroux make another long (4 inning) relief appearance yesterday.  Olson, just off the Disabled List, was able to step in for the emergency start, though it was stated in advance that he would be on a limit of about 50 pitches.  Former Pirate DJ Carrasco made the start for Buffalo.  

Olson gave up just two hits, both doubles to Bison 1B Lucas Duda.  One double came in the 1st, with the line drive off the right field wall.  The second double, in the 4th, slipped past the diving 1B John Bowker.  The throw back in from RF Andrew Lambo nearly got Duda out at second, but it came in a little too far to the infield side of the second base bag.  Both times Duda was left standing on second.  Olson also walked 3B Michael Fisher in the 2nd inning, but erased him with a 6-4-3 (SS Chase d'Arnaud to 2B Shelby Ford to 1B Bowker) double play.  He struck out 3 Buffalo batters, and threw 45 pitches (29 strikes).  

The Indians also had three base runners in the early part of the game -- one in each of the first three innings -- but no hits.  LF Alex Presley was hit on the right foot by a pitch in the 1st inning.  C Eric Fryer walked with two outs in the 2nd and stole second base.  Ford reached on a fielding error by Buffalo 2B Luis Hernandez in the 3rd inning.  They too were all left on base.  

Indianapolis Indians 13,  Buffalo Bison  4
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The Indianapolis Indians exploded for two big innings, as they stampeded the Buffalo Bison at Coca-Cola Park in Buffalo, NY tonight.  The Tribe took advantage of 3 physical errors, plus several mental errors by the Bison, and scored their 13 runs on only 10 hits, leaving only 2 runners on base.  

Buffalo starter Josh Stinson faced the Indians on May 17th here in Indianapolis, and he did not have a good outing.  He allowed 4 runs in the 1st inning, one in the 3rd, and 3 more in the 5th inning, as the Indians won the game 10-1, posting 16 hits.  In that game, Stinson lasted 4.2 innings before being relieved.  

Tonight, the Indians were even less kind to Stinson.  He got through the 1st inning unscathed, allowing a single up the middle by SS Chase d'Arnaud, then removed d'Arnaud from the bases with a double play.  It was in the 2nd inning that the wheels fell off for Stinson.  1B John Bowker began the fun with a double through into right field.  3B Matt Hague reached base safely when 1B Valentino Pascucci could not handle a low throw to first base, and Bowker moved to third base.  RF Andrew Lambo bounced to Pascucci, who wanted to throw to the plate, but Pascucci hesitated and got himself set before making the throw.  The hesitation was just enough to let Bowker slide into the plate ahead of the throw, for the Indians' first run.  That left Hague and Lambo on base, and brought up C Eric Fryer.  Fryer (photo) made it a 4-0 game when he took the first pitch he saw over the left field wall on a no-doubt-about-it 3-run homer.  

CF Gorkys Hernandez followed the homer with a smash off the wall in the right-center gap, and raced all the way to third base, credited with a triple, when the Bison CF Fernando Martinez had trouble hitting his cut-off man on the throw in.  Tribe starter Justin Wilson hit his second RBI double of the season into left field, scoring Hernandez easily.  A wild pitch put Wilson on third base, and a walk to d'Arnaud gave the Indians runners on the corners.  D'Arnaud stole second base on strike three when 2B Brian Friday struck out.  LF Alex Presley walked to load the bases.  That brought up Bowker again, and Bowker's second double of the inning, going into the left-center field gap, cleared the bases to give the Indians an 8-0 lead.  That sent Stinson to the showers.  Reliever Brian Sweeney got Hague to pop out, then former Indy Indian C Raul Chavez picked Bowker off second base to end the inning.  

"With the first pick in the 2011 draft, the Pirates take UCLA's RHP Gerrit Cole"









Indianapolis Indians  6,  Syracuse Chiefs  4
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A 7th-inning rally featuring a pinch-hit triple by Alex Presley gave the Indians the win over the Syracuse Chiefs at Victory Field tonight.   Reliever Justin Thomas earned his 4th win, and closer Tim Wood earned his lucky 13th Save.  2B Brian Friday went 3-for-4 and all three hits were doubles, while SS Chase d'Arnaud and C Eric Fryer had 2 hits each.  


In three of the past four games, the Indians had surrendered at least one run in the top of the 1st inning.  Tonight, starter Brian Burres (photo) broke that tradition, even though the Chiefs threatened in the top of the 1st.  2B Matt Antonelli opened the game with a double over the head of Tribe 1B Miles Durham and down the right field line into the corner.  Antonelli had to stay at second while Burres struck out CF Corey Brown and got RF Jesus Valdez to bounce into a ground out at second.  Burres walked 1B Chris Marrero, then C Jesus Flores ripped a line drive into right field.  It looked like both runners were going to have plenty of time to come around to score, but RF Andrew Lambo had other thoughts.  He raced toward the line and made a diving catch as the line drive sank, to end the inning for Burres and the Tribe.  

Tom Milone made the start for Syracuse and before he could get himself settled in on the mound, d'Arnaud rifled Milone's first pitch into the right center gap, all the way to the wall, and raced around to third base as the Chiefs' outfielders chased it down.  Brian Friday quickly followed the lead-off triple with a double down the left field line, ending up the Indians' bullpen bench.  That drove in d'Arnaud for a 1-0 lead.  

The Indians lost the suspended game, but won the regularly scheduled game.









Syracuse Chiefs  6,  Indianapolis Indians  4  (completion of suspended game)
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When we last left our heroes, trying to escape the pouring rain....
The Indians/Chiefs game was suspended after a 1 hour 44 minute wait last night.  Tribe starter Sean Gallagher had given up a run in the top of the 1st, then the Indians took the lead in the 3rd on a single by CF Gorkys Hernandez, a triple by SS Chase d'Arnaud, and an error by the Syracuse 2B Tug Hulett.  Syracuse tied the score in the top of the 6th on a solo homer by Hulett of reliever Chris Leroux.  The top of the 7th began with Leroux still on the mound.  He gave up a single and a sacrifice bunt, then was relieved by Justin Thomas.  With the rain pouring down and the ball wet and slippery, Thomas hit both LF Gregor Blanco and CF Corey Brown with pitches to load the bases.  Play was halted ...

The game restarted this afternoon at Victory Field, under overcast skies, with sprinkling rain that did not last long.  Cesar Valdez (photo) took the mound for the Indians, with two outs and the bases loaded.  1B Chris Marrero stepped to the plate, and rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall, to give Syracuse a 6-2 lead.  

The Tribe got two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame.  Andrew Lambo, who had entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Gallagher and remained in the game in right field, opened the inning with a double into right field.  After d'Arnaud struck out, 2B Brian Friday hit another double, just inside the first base bag and down the right field line, scoring Lambo.  John Bowker, who had taken over left field at the restart, flied out.  3B Andy Marte blooped an RBI single into left field, bringing Friday around from second base to score.  1B Matt Hague also singled, and pinch-hitter Shelby Ford walked on four pitches to load the bases, but C Eric Fryer struck out on a checked swing, to end the rally.  

Dan Meyer pitched the last two innings for the Indians.  He struck out the first two batters in the 8th, then gve up a single to SS Matt Antonelli, then retired the next 4 Chiefs in order.  

The Indians managed only one base runner over the last two innings -- Hernandez led off the bottom of the 8th with a double to the center field wall.  The remaining 6 Tribe batters went down in order, and the Chiefs had the win.

Alex Presley is congratulated after one of his two home runs.  











Indianapolis Indians  13, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  2
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The Indianapolis Indians exploded for 13 runs on 15 hits to defeat the Yankees at Victory Field tonight, earning a split of both the 4-game series and the 8-game season series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  LF Alex Presley blasted a pair of 3-run home runs to lead the offense, as each member of the line-up collected at least one hit, and all but one scored at least one run.  

Both starting pitchers began their evening with struggles in the first inning.  For Tribe starter Justin Wilson (photo), the game started with a triple off the bat of Yankees' 2B Kevin Russo.  Russo's lined into right field, where RF Miles Durham raced in and made a feet-first slide, but missed the ball.  By the time, Durham got up and chased the ball down, Russo was gliding into third base.  SS Ramiro Pena dropped down a safety squeeze bunt, with Wilson scrambling off the mound to make the scoop and throw right back to C Eric Fryer as Russo came from third.  Fryer blocked the plate, but he dropped the ball, and Russo was safe.  It was first ruled a sacrifice bunt and a fielders' choice -- but then the ruling was changed to a missed catch error on Fryer, with no RBI for Pena.  

With a runner still on first base, Wilson got C Jesus Montero to fly out and struck out 3B Jorge Vazquez.  A wild pitch moved Pena to second base, then he scored on 1B Brandon Laird's single, lined over SS Chase d'Arnaud's head and into left field.  Both runs were unearned, but the Yankees had a 2-0 lead.  

But Yankees' starter Andrew Brackman was having his own troubles.  His pitches were going everywhere, with no apparent control on his part.  He walked lead-off batter d'Arnaud, with d'Arnaud ducking out of the way as one pitch came in a little too close to his head, and ball four going crazy wild all the way to the backstop.  Another crazy wild pitch to 2B Brian Friday let d'Arnaud advance to second base.  Brackman settled down enough to get Friday to fly out, then retired Presley on a high bouncer back to the mound, and struck out 1B John Bowker.  When Brackman came out for the second inning, his command was even worse -- reminiscent of the "Wild Thing" character in the movie "Major League".  Brackman walked both 3B Andy Marte and DH Matt Hague, with pitches going everywhere.  After three more balls for a 3-1 count on Fryer, Brackman threw another wild one that hit Fryer on his helmet, then bounced off the helmet and into the stands behind the visitors' dugout.  That was the last pitch for Brackman, who was quickly yanked.

Reliever Ryan Pope came on for the Yankees, with the bases full and no outs.  RF Miles Durham cleared the bases on Pope's first pitch, with a ringing double to the base of the wall in right-center field, and the Indians took a 3-2 lead as Marte, Hague, and Fryer all scored (photo).  Pope also gave up a single to CF Gorkys Hernandez and walked Friday before ending the inning on two fly outs.  

Wilson was able to relax after that first inning.  He gave up a two-out single to CF Austin Krum in the 2nd inning, but struck out Russo to end the inning.  He loaded the bases in the 3rd inning with singles by Montero and RF Jordan Parraz and a walk to Vazquez.  But with two outs and the bases loaded, Wilson reached deep, and fired two pitches at 92-93 mph to strike out LF Dan Brewer and end the inning.  Wilson went on to pitch 3 more innings, without allowing another hit.  He walked two batters in the 5th, but erased one base runner with an around-the-horn double play (Marte to Friday to Bowker, 5-4-3).  Alex Presley made the final out of the inning with a spectacular leaping catch of Laird's fly ball to deep left field, snatching the ball at the top of the left field scoreboard.  

Starter Brian Burres threw 7 shutout innings, but got a no-decision.  











Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  1,  Indianapolis Indians  0
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A pitching duel did not end up in the Indians favor today, as the S/W-B Yankees took a one-game lead in this 4-game series at Victory Field.  Tribe starter Brian Burres pitched an outstanding game, going 7 shutout innings, but left the game without any runs on the scoreboard, so he was not involved in the decision.  Yankees' starter DJ Mitchell also pitched 7 scoreless innings, but earned the win.  The game was scoreless until the starters were relieved in the 8th inning.  


Burres scattered 3 hits and 2 walks over his 7 innings, while striking out 5 Yankees.  He began his afternoon's work by retiring the first 6 batters he faced.  He gave up doubles to 2B Kevin Russo to lead off the 3rd, and to SS Ramiro Pena in the 6th, but left both of them on base.  Pena also singled in the 4th, dropping a liner into right-center field just out of the reach of CF Gorkys Hernandez.  Burres picked Pena off first, then 1B Matt Hague threw to SS Brian Friday, who tagged out Pena as he tried to steal second base (photo).   Burres walked 1B Jorge Vazquez in the 4th, but after Pena had been erased, and he walked LF Dan Brewer in the 5th.  Both of those runners were left on base, too.  Burres needed 98 pitches, with 58 hits, to get through his 7 innings.   

Shelby Ford's lead-off home run was a bright spot for the Indians.  












Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  10,  Indianapolis Indians  3
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A shaky first inning from Tribe starter Rudy Owens gave the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees a lead they would never give up, as the Indians lost at Victory Field tonight.  Owens suffered his 4th loss of the season, and with the Tribe bullpen getting thin, outfielder Corey Wimberly made his professional pitching debut.  The Yankees posted 17 hits and scored in every other inning.  

It was a tough night for Owens (photo).  He lasted 5 innings and allowed 7 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks.  The first inning began with three consecutive hits:  a double by CF Austin Krum, a single by SS Ramiro Pena, and a 2-RBI triple by C Jesus Montero.  The triple hit near the top of the right field wall, over the leaping RF Miles Durham, who then crashed into the wall and fell to the ground, as CF Alex Presley chased down the ricochet.  Montero held at third when 1B Jorge Vazquez grounded to third for the first out of the inning, then Owens walked LF Justin Maxwell.

 Maxwell was leaning off first, and Owens' throw to first picked him off.  Maxwell took off for second base.  1B Matt Hague took a quick look over at Montero on third to make sure he was not thinking of going home on the steal attempt.  But that extra second it took Hague to look to third was enough so that the throw to SS Brian Friday, covering second, was a second too late.  Montero made an awkward slide into second base and Friday's tag was late, and Montero was called safe (photos below).  As Friday looked at the umpire in protest, Montero, still off balance, rolled off the base -- if Friday had held the tag, Montero would have been out.  

  After a strikeout by 3B Brandon Laird, DH Jordan Parraz lined a 2-RBI single into center field, driving in both Montero and Maxwell.  2B Kevin Russo also walked, then RF Dan Brewer's RBI single plated Parraz.  Brewer tried to advance to second base on the throw in from Durham in right, but a quick throw by 3B Andy Marte to Friday this time let Friday tag out Brewer.  The Yankees had a 5-0 lead.

Shelby Ford gets the force out at second base, as Brian Friday backs him up.








Indianapolis Indians  8,  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  5
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The Indianapolis Indians engineered another come-from-behind win tonight, to defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Victory Field.  2B Shelby Ford (photo), who last played for the Indians in 2009, celebrated his return to AAA with 3 hits and started two big Tribe rallies.  LF John Bowker also contributed 3 hits and 3 RBI.  Reliever Tony Watson celebrated his 26th birthday with two scoreless innings of work, including 5 strikeouts.  

When starters Sean Gallager and Adam Warren squared off last week, Warren dominated the Indians and held the Tribe batters to just 3 hits in 8 innings.  Today, Gallagher and the Tribe turned the tables on Warren.

The Yankees began the game by taking advantage of an error in the top of the 1st.  With one out, Gallagher walked SS Ramiro Pena, then gave up a single up the middle to DH Jesus Montero.  1B Jorge Vazquez tapped a fast bouncer back to the mound, which Gallagher easily fielded.  He whirled and fired to Ford covering second base (photo above), for the force out on Montero.  Ford's relay on to first base, though, was airmailed and landed in the visitor's dugout.  Vazquez was awarded second base, and Pena, who had reached third base, was sent on home, for the Yankees' first run of the game.  The run would have been unearned, but while pitching to CF Justin Maxwell, Gallagher threw a wild pitch.  If the throwing error had not been made, Pena would have been on third base, and would have scored on the wild pitch, which changed to run from "unearned" to "earned".  Maxwell popped out to Ford to end the inning.  

Indianapolis Indians  6,  Pawtucket Red Sox  3
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3B Andy Marte (photo) blasted a grand slam in the top of the 9th to boost the Indians to a win over the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.   

Brian Burres made the start for the Indians, though he did not figure into the decision tonight.  After retiring the PawSox in order in the 1st inning, Burres gave up a double to LF Daniel Nava with one out in the 2nd.  A walk to C Luis Expositio followed.  1B Matt Hague dropped a foul pop that should have been an out, giving 2B Brent Dlugach a second chance.  Dlugach took advantage of the opportunity, ripping a double on a line into left field, driving in Nava.  Exposito advanced to third base.  SS Jose Iglasias lined a single up the middle, and Exposito also scored.  Dlugach rounded third and headed for the plate, but was tagged out at the plate  when CF Gorkys Hernandez's throw to C Dusty Brown was on target and on time.  

Boston Red Sox' Bobby Jenks, with Pawtucket on a rehab assignment, pitched the first inning for the PawSox.  He threw 14 pitches (8 strikes) for a scoreless inning, though LF Alex Presley singled off Jenks, with a liner into center field.  

When Jenks finished his inning, he was relieved by the regularly scheduled starter, Matt Fox.  The first two Indians who faced Fox reached base -- Hague singled into left field, and Marte worked a walk.  Fox got out of the jam by striking out DH Jason Jaramillo, getting Brown to fly out, then doubling Hague off second base. 

Indianapolis Indians  4,  Pawtucket Red Sox  3
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The Indianapolis Indians posted 10 hits, all singles, to beat a former Indian on the mound for the Red Sox, at McCoy Field in Pawtucket, Rhode Island tonight.  Brandon Duckworth, who pitched for the Tribe in 2006 and earned an 8-3 record and a 2.42 ERA in 12 starts, could not get through the 5th inning tonight, as his former team handed him his 3rd loss of the season.  Indians' starter Rudy Owens (photo) earned his 4th win, going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs on 5 hits.

Both starters pitched three scoreless innings to being their outings.  Owens retired the side in order in the 1st inning, then gave up lone singles, to LF Daniel Nava in the 2nd, and CF Che-Hsuan Lin in the 3rd.  Duckworth also retired the Indians in order in the 1st inning.  1B Matt Hague singled through the hole and into right field in the 2nd inning.  In the top of the 3rd, with two outs, 2B Josh Harrison walked, and CF Gorkys Hernandez singled up the middle, moving Harrison to second base.  The two runners both stole the next base, to give the Indians two runners in scoring position, but a ground out by LF Alex Presley ended the inning.  

Both teams scored one run in the 4th inning, and for both, the run was driven in by a sacrifice fly.  RF John Bowker led off the Tribe's top of the 4th with a walk.  Hague smacked his second single of the game, and DH Jason Jaramillo was hit on the chest below his arm to load the bases with one out.  C Dusty Brown, who had spent parts of the last 5 seasons playing for the PawSox, drove in the first Indians' run with a sacrifice fly.  In the bottom of the frame, Owens walked DH Hector Luna to begin the inning.  Luna advanced to second base on a ground out, then moved to third on a single by LF Daniel Nava, who slipped a grounder into center field, just past the diving reach of SS Brian Friday.  2B Tony Thomas brought in Luna with his sacrifice fly.  

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  5,  Indinanapolis Indians  1
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The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees won their second game in less than 24 hours, to earn a series split with the Indianapolis Indians.  Today's game began at 10:35 am in Moosic, PA, and started on time, though a misty rain fell for a large part of the game.  For the second game in a row, the Yankees scored early, and for the second game in a row, the Indians were held to just one run.

Sean Gallagher (photo) suffered his 7th loss of the season.  The Indians' starter pitched 6 innings in this start.  He surrendered 3 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and a hit batter, with 4 strikeouts.  The first two Yankees' runs came in the bottom of the 1st.  With one out, SS Ramiro Pena singled through the hole and into left field.  A passed ball by C Wyatt Toregas let Pena move to second base.  Gallagher struck out the next batter, but then International League home run and RBI leader 1B Jorge Vazquez stepped to the plate and smacked a 2-run homer just in side the left field foul pole.  That increased his home run count to 17 and his RBI total to 43, and gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Gallagher settled into a rhythm after the 1st inning.  He scattered 2 singles, a walk, and a hit batter over the next 4 innings, and kept all those base runners from scoring.  The Yankees did score another run off Gallagher in the 6th.  Vazquez began the rally with a walk.  A wild pitch by Gallagher moved him to second base, and LF Justin Maxwell's single lined into left field advanced him to third.  3B Brandon Laird collected the RBI when his sacrifice fly plated Vazquez.  




Meanwhile, Yankees' starter Adam Warren was having a pretty easy time with the Tribe batters.  DH Dusty Brown was the only Indians' batter to reach base in the first three innings -- he singled to lead off the 3rd, but was left on base.  The Indians scored their only run against Warren and the Yankees in the 4th.  CF Gorkys Hernandez (photo) led off with a single lined along the right field line, then stole second base, sliding in ahead of a late throw from the Yankees' catcher.  After a strikeout by LF Alex Presley, RF John Bowker grounded toward second base, where the ball skipped off the glove of 2B Kevin Russo for a single.  Hernandez advanced to third base, then scored on 1B Matt Hague's sacrifice fly.  Hernandez crossed the plate standing when the CF Austin Krum's throw to the plate was a little short.

That was the Tribe's only run.  Warren walked Brown to lead off the top of the 5th, but then retired the next 12 batters he faced, taking him through the 8th inning.  

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees  2,  Indianapolis Indians  1
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LF Alex Presley made the most exciting hit of the game, an inside-the-park home run, but that was the only run the Indians would score, as they lost to the Yankees at PNC Field in Moosic, PA this evening.   1B Matt Hague punched 3 hits for the Tribe, and starter Brad Lincoln struck out 7 batters in 6 innings, but even those were not enough.

The game got off to a late start, due to a nearly two-hour rain delay.  Lincoln (photo) got off to a bit of a shaky start in the bottom of the 1st, when he walked the first batter he faced, LF Austin Krum, then gave up a single to SS Ramiro Pena.  Then Lincoln got C Jesus Montero to bound to the newest Tribe player, SS Greg Picart, who started a 6-4-3 double play (Picart to 2B Josh Harrison to Hague).  A strikeout ended the inning without a run scoring.

Lincoln was not so lucky in the 2nd inning.  CF Justin Maxwell led off with an "oops" swing bunt along the third base line, which 3B Andy Marte was able to get to, but he did not have a play at first, and Maxwell was safe with a single.  Maxwell stole second base, then moved to third on 3B Brandon Laird's ground out.  2B Kevin Russo grounded a slow roller to second, where Harrison made the scoop and fired back to the plate, but the ball reached the plate after Maxwell did, for the Yankees' first run.  RF Dan Brewer walked, pushing Russo to second base.  DH Gustavo Molina grounded to second for what should have been an inning-ending double play.  Harrison got the ball to second base, for the force out on Brewer, but Picart was disrupted by Brewer's slide, and his throw to first base was wide on the outfield side of the bag. That allowed Russo to round third and score on the error, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.