After dropping Saturday's series opener to the Louisville Bats 10-6, the Indians were able to score late to win Sunday's game 4-2.
Trailing 2-1, Alex Presley led off the eighth inning with a double and scored one batter later when Brandon Moss hit his team-leading 28th double of the year. After a John Bowker ground out moved Moss to third, Pedro Ciriaco reached on a fielding error by the Bats' shortstop, Chris Valaika, which allowed Moss to score the go-ahead run. Ciriaco then scored the final run on a single by Jason Jaramillo.
Presley led the Indians, going 2-4 with a double and a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. Kevin Melillo also went 2-4.
After the game Presley talked about the at bat that resulted in his home run. "(Louisville starter Ben Jukich) was really mixing it up really well. He threw a lot of off-speed pitches in fastball counts so we were off-balance. You never know what he's going to throw because he can throw it all over the plate. I was just trying to stay through the middle and he left a changeup up and it worked out well for me."
On the mound the story was the bullpen. Starter Joe Martinez pitched well, going five innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits. But three Indians' relievers combined to shut out the Bats' over the last four innings. Chris Jakubauskas, Steven Jackson, and Jean Machi allowed zero runs on three hits, striking out five, while allowing no walks.
The Indians will play the Bats on Monday at 7 PM before going to Louisville for two games. After splitting the first two games of the series, the Indians remain 7.5 games behind Louisville and Columbus in the wild card standings.
Charlie Morton is expected to get the start for the Indians. He has pitched well as of late. In his last three starts, he has given up just four earned runs in 18 innings. He will need to continue his strong pitching to give the Indians a chance of winning.
Tickets can be purchased here. With the season nearing the end, there are only two more opportunities for Monday Dollar Menu.
Read more on Indianapolis sports at Pat Lovell's site.
Comments