COLUMBUS, OHIO - For the second time in as many games, the Indians offense boomed for a season-high four home runs to mount a comeback and topple the IL West leading Columbus Clippers, 7-4, and win the four-game set.
COLUMBUS, OHIO - For the second time in as many games, the Indians offense boomed for a season-high four home runs to mount a comeback and topple the IL West leading Columbus Clippers, 7-4, and win the four-game set.
Ke'Bryan Hayes went 3-for-5 with his second home run of the weekend and a double en route to the Tribe win. Pablo Reyes put the Indians out of reach with a three-run home run, his third shot in the last two games. Over Saturday and Sunday, five different Indians clubbed home runs.
The Indians (47-45) wasted no time continuing their momentum from Saturday's 17-5 win into Sunday. On the fifth pitch of the game, Hayes sent a long fly ball to left center field to give the Tribe an early lead.
Columbus (56-36) took a 3-1 lead in the bottom on the first with three straight hits, capped off by a Ryan Flaherty home run. After hitting only two extra-base hits in the first two games of the series, Jake Elmore sent a solo-shot - the Tribe's third hit for extra bases in the game - over the wall to leadoff the second inning and cut the deficit to one.
The long ball did it again for the Indians to even the score in the fourth when Jason Martin sent a two-out solo homer to right field. In the fifth with no outs and the bases loaded, a sacrifice fly by Will Craig scored the first and only small ball run of the game to give the Indians the lead, 4-3. With two on and only one out, Reyes cleared the bases with yet another home run to give the Tribe some insurance runs.
The Clippers got one run back in the bottom of the ninth on a Daniel Johnson triple but couldn't capitalize on other chances in the final two innings.
Alex McRae (W, 6-6) surrendered three runs in the first inning but shut out the Clippers through his next four for a quality start. Tyler Lyons came in for two hitless innings of relief, and Dovydas Neverauskas closed out Columbus despite allowing a run.
Mitch Talbot (L, 2-2) went four innings and allowed five Tribe runs on seven hits. The Clippers bullpen held the Indians hitless in the seventh and eighth innings and shut down the scoring after the fifth.
The Indians return to Victory Field on Monday for a 7:05 p.m. ET start to kick off a four-game set against the Syracuse Mets. Cam Vieaux (2-0, 4.58) is slated to take the mound for the Tribe.
