Tribe Walks Off With 4-3 Extra Inning Win
With the win the Indians improve to 47-51 on the season and 24-24 at home, while the Bulls drop to 54-44 overall and 29-25 on the road with the win. The extra-inning victory gave the Indians the series 3-1 with another four-game set to take place at Durham later in August.
Kratz drove in two of the Tribe's four runs with a double and two singles, Thursday night and after a lead-off base knock in the 10th came plateward to score the game-winning run. The Indians' catcher hustled home from third for the game-ending score after he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by RF Chris Barnwell and to third on a ground-out by 2B Shelby Ford
The game opened with three scoreless frames and then went back and forth with the Bulls striking first with a run in the fourth and fifth. SS Reid Brignac reached third base with one-out in the fourth after he singled to right field and moved to second on an error and then to third on a wild pitch.
Brignac then came plateward for the first score of the contest as CF Justin Ruggiano brought him home with a sacrifice fly to center field. Durham went on to add another score in the fifth after they collected three base knocks in the frame..
With one-out, C John Jaso and 2B Elliot Johnson collected back-to-back singles, with Jaso eventually coming plateward on another single by RF Jon Weber to left field. However, the Tribe quickly answered with two straight scoring innings of their own.
Ford led off the fifth with a double and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Indians' newcomer Argenis Diaz. After the sac bunt Ford was chased home, when CF Brian Bixler knocked his own two-bagger to left field to put up the first Tribe score.
Indianapolis added their second run in the very next inning with another RBI double. After leading off the frame with a single, DH Brian Myrow hustled all the way from first to home as Kratz blasted a one-out RBI double to the right-center field gap. The All-Star catcher nodded the score at two, but the tie wouldn't last long as Durham battled back with a run in the seventh.
The scoring frame was again sparked by Jaso who led off the seventh with his third single of the night. After a sacrifice bunt moved him to second, the Bulls' backstop was again brought plateward by Weber, who placed an RBI double just past the diving glove of Indians' LF Lastings Milledge.
But the Tribe yet again answered as Kratz drove Myrow home with yet another clutch base knock. Myrow reached on a one-out bases-on-balls and was followed aboard by 1B Tagg Bozied who trotted to first on a walk of his own. Kratz then delivered and tied the game with his second RBI, as he blooped a single to right-center field to bring Myrow plateward.
After neither team managed a run in the ninth, the contest went to extra frames where the Tribe catcher closed the game by coming plateward on a wild pitch by Durham reliever Calvin Medlock. The score would hand Medlock (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 WP) the defeat to move him to 2-1 on the season.
Indianapolis reliever Chris Bootcheck (1.0 IP, 1 H) picked up the victory after he was tagged for just one hit in a scoreless 10th. The Tribe closer earned his second win of the series after he recorded just one all season before the set against Durham.
Bootcheck closed the door on the Bulls after he his fellow relievers Steven Jackson (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 SO) and Juan Mateo (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER) combined to allow just one run on five hits in three innings out of the bullpen. Durham's relief corps allowed two runs in their 3.2 innings of work as Jorge Julio (1.0 IP, 1 SO) and Julio DePaula (0.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB) picked up holds, but Joe Bateman (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP) blew a save and Medlock took the loss.
Both starting pitchers recorded no decisions and gave up two earned runs as Indianapolis right hander Brad Lincoln (6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 SO) struck out six in six innings of work and Durham starter Andy Sonnanstine (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 1 HBP) recorded four punch outs in his six frames.
Kratz (3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI) wasn't the only Tribe batter to record multiple hits in the contest as Bixler (2-for-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI) tallied two hits, including an RBI double, and Myrow (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 IBB) scored multiple runs and tagged multiple base knocks. Durham received four multi-hit performances as Richard (3-for-5) and Johnson (2-for-3, 1 SAC) nabbed multiple base knocks, while Weber (2-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI) collected two RBI on two hits and Jaso (3-for-4, 2 R) scored two runs on three singles.
Indianapolis will begin a four-game series against Buffalo on Friday at 7:15 p.m. RHP Eric Hacker is scheduled to start for the Indians, while RHP Jon Niese is expected to get the nod for the Bisons.
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 6:55 p.m.
Post-game quotes -- C Erik Kratz
(on scoring the game-winning on a wild pitch)
"It definitely caught me off guard, he (Durham reliever Calvin Medlock) is a control pitcher that was trying to come right at Diaz (Indians INF Argenis Diaz) and fortunately one squirted away. You have to be prepared for something like that to happen because if you don't you will be late and I know with my speed I can't be late."
(on what was the key for Indians' starter Brad Lincoln)
"The key for Brad was throwing strikes with his heater. Durham is a veteran team that scores a lot of runs and they might not have the highest averages, but they just drive guys in. Our game plan coming in was to attack them and the only reason Brad didn't go more than six innings is because with two strikes they kept on battling him. But he just kept at them, kept at them, kept at them and I am just so proud of the way Brad pitched tonight."