Stripers Rally to Beat Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The Gwinnett Stripers came back from a 3-0 deficit and edged the Indianapolis Indians by a 4-3 score Friday night in game two of the four-game series at Victory Field.
It was the second straight night the Stripers came back after trailing early, but this time the bullpen held firm for the win.

The Indians broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second inning against Gwinnett starting pitcher Andres Santiago. Erich Weiss drilled a two-out single to center and scored when Pablo Reyes cracked a deep double to left. Reyes, who went to third on the throw, then scored on a single to center by Christopher Bostick for a 2-0 lead.
The Indianapolis lead grew to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Kevin Kramer hammered a Santiago pitch for a two-out solo home run to right-center.
After a scoreless sixth, the Gwinnett offense finally came alive in the top of the seventh against Indians starter Alex McRae. Sean Kazmar Jr. led off with a walk and Carlos Franco followed with a long two-run home run to right-center. Franco's team-leading fifth homer of the year cut the Indianapolis lead to 3-2.
The Stripers finally took the lead an inning later. Peter Bourjos led off with a single against Indians reliever Dovydas Neverauskas. With Bourjos running on the pitch, Rio Ruiz mashed a double off the wall in center, enabling Bourjos to score and tie the game at 3-3. Ruiz, who moved to third on the throw to the plate, then scored the eventual winning run as Kazmar lifted a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-3 lead.
Santiago pitched 5.0 innings with six hits, three earned runs and four strikeouts in a no-decision for Gwinnett. Chase Whitley worked 1.0 inning with one hit and one strikeout. Luke Jackson (W, 1-1) went 2.0 innings with one walk and one strikeout. Josh Ravin (S, 2) redeemed himself for the blown save on Thursday to pick up the save with a scoreless bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts.
McRae tossed 6.1 inning with four hits, two earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts for the Indians. Neverauskas (BS, 1, L, 1-1) pitched 1.0 inning with three hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. Tanner Anderson worked 1.2 innings with one hit and two strikeouts.
At the plate, Franco paced the Gwinnett attack with a 2-for-4 night, a homer and two RBIs. For the Indians, José Osuna was 2-for-4.
The Stripers (10-16) continue the road trip Saturday night with game three of the four-game series vs. the Indians (13-12) at Victory Field. Right-hander Lucas Sims (1-1, 1.46 ERA) will start for Gwinnett. Indianapolis will start right-hander Tyler Eppler (3-1, 2.92 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 6:35 p.m. with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.