The Bulls improve to 70-67 on the season and 31-38 at home, while the Indians fall to 65-72 overall and 30-39 on the road. The win snapped the Tribe's five-game winning streak against Durham this season. Before Gomes came through with the extra inning heroics, the game was a see-saw battle back and forth with seven lead changes and three ties. Indianapolis got on the board quickly when SS Brian Bixler blasted a one-out solo home run in the first inning. The long ball was the seventh of the season for Bixler and his first since July 6. Durham quickly answered in their half of the first as RF Fernando Perez led off with a single, stole second and eventually trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Gomes. SS Ronnie Merrill gave the Bulls their first lead in the second inning with an RBI double that plated 2B Elliot Johnson. However, the Tribe stormed back in front in the top of the third on a two-run single by 3B Neil Walker. Durham again answered in their half of the third on an RBI base knock by 1B Chris Richard that tied the score, before CF Chris Duffy singled in DH Ryan Mulhern in the top of the fourth to put the Indians ahead. Merrill and Perez ran the Bulls back out ahead in the bottom of the fourth, each drawing a walk, stealing a base and coming around to score on a double by CF Nathan Haynes. The bats then remained quiet until the seventh when Walker again powered the Tribe to the lead with a two-run long ball to left field. The homer was the 50th of Walker's Minor League career and gave him his third four-RBI game of the season. LF Matt Kata followed Walker's blast with an RBI single that looked to give the Tribe a comfortable cushion. That was until Durham C John Jaso launched a long ball of his own, plating three runs in the seventh to give the Bulls another advantage at 8-7. Bixler would send the game to extras with his third run of the game in the eighth inning. The Tribe shortstop singled with one out, moved from first to third on a wild pitch and came plateward on a sacrifice fly by 1B Steve Pearce. Bixler (2-for-3, 3 R, 1 RBI), Walker (2-for-4, 1 R, 4 RBI) and Cruz (2-for-5, 1 R) all turned in multi-hit games for the Tribe. Walker's third inning single extended his hitting streak to eight games. Haynes (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI), Gomes (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI), Richard (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Elliot Johnson (2-for-5, 2 R) all collected multiple base knocks for the Bulls. Durham reliever Calvin Medlock (1.0 IP) picked up the win to improve to 3-3 on the season, while Indianapolis reliever Jesse Chavez (0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB) took the loss to drop to 2-6 on the campaign. RHP John Van Benschoten (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO), RHP Marino Salas (1. 0 IP, 1 BB) and LHP Juan Perez (1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 SO) each turned in scoreless relief outings for the Indians. Neither starter -- Indianapolis RHP Jimmy Barthmaier (4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) or Durham RHP Jeff Niemann (6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO) -- figured in the decision. The teams finish up their four-game series on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. RHP Wade Davis is scheduled to start for Durham, while RHP Mike Thompson is expected to get the nod for Indianapolis. The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and www.IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m. |
