Hutchison Delivers Tribe Third Straight Victory

INDIANAPOLIS - A four-run fifth carried Drew Hutchison and the Indianapolis Indians to a 5-3 triumph over the Charlotte Knights on Monday night at Victory Field. Hutchison settled in after a shaky first, throwing a season-high 6.2 innings of one-run ball to earn his first win of 2017.

Already with two looks at Charlotte starter Lucas Giolito (0-5), Indianapolis (11-16) jumped on the right-hander in the fifth, sending eight batters to the plate during its four-run frame. Anderson Feliz and Austin Meadows opened the inning with back-to-back walks, and Adam Frazier - playing in his first game on an MLB rehab assignment - split the gap in right-center for a run-scoring double. Eric Wood then scored Meadows on a sacrifice fly to left.
Up 3-1, Erich Weiss added salt to Charlotte's wound with a two-out RBI single to center. In the ensuing at-bat, Jason Rogers just missed his fifth home run, driving a thigh-high changeup to the left-field wall to plate a hustling Weiss from first.
Charlotte (14-15) cut its deficit in half in the eighth against Dan Runzler, but the damage could have been much worse. With a run in and runners on the corners with no outs, Runzler gave way to Edgar Santana. He quickly induced a 6-4-3 double play on his second pitch out of the bullpen for two huge outs. A run scored on the play, but Santana retired Everth Cabrera for the final out in the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 ninth against the top of the Knights' lineup for his fourth save in as many tries.
Santana extended his scoreless streak to 13.2 innings, the longest by a Tribe pitcher this season.
The Knights took a 1-0 advantage out of the gates behind a sacrifice fly from Danny Hayes. Hutchison (1-1) loaded the bases afterwards but wriggled free from a potential big inning on a pop-up to short. He struck out six, allowing four hits and four walks in the win.
Giolito -- rated by Baseball America as baseball's No. 25 overall prospect entering the season -- was charged with his fifth loss in six starts after allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and three punchouts.
Indianapolis and Charlotte continue their series tomorrow morning with game two at 11:05 a.m. at Victory Field. The Indians will send right-hander Clay Holmes (0-1, 3.72) to the mound, opposite Knights right-hander Tyler Danish (1-2, 3.14).