Waddell Fans Career-High Nine as Indians Blast Mud Hens

INDIANAPOLIS -Brandon Waddell struck out a career-high nine batters over seven shutout innings, Pablo Reyes homered for a second consecutive game and the Indians blasted the Mud Hens 8-0 on Friday night at Victory Field. Reyes' three-run shot capped a five-run fourth that blew the game wide open.

The Tribe (49-40) evened the series behind their 24-year-old southpaw. Waddell pitched around a two-base error and balk in the first thanks to a 3-2-5-1-3-6 fielder's choice. The heads-up play by Tribe first baseman José Osuna to throw home and ultimately retire Dixon Machado in a rundown set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Indianapolis scored its first two runs of the game in the second against Artie Lewicki (L, 4-4), who pitched an immaculate inning in the first by striking out Kevin Newman, Sean Rodríguez and Adam Frazier on nine total pitches. Kevin Kramer and Jacob Stallings both singled to begin the second, setting up a run-scoring, ground-rule double off the bat of Jason Martin. Eric Wood then made it 2-0 with a groundout to second.
Two innings later, Indy buried the Mud Hens (50-40) in a 7-0 hole. The Tribe tallied five knocks in the frame against Warwick Saupold, highlighted by RBI singles from Stallings and Martin and Reyes' 416-foot, three-run bomb to left.
Waddell (W, 4-4) cruised to victory with the cushion, throwing seven shutout innings for the second time in his career, the other coming on June 24, 2016 with Double-A Altoona at Bowie. He recorded at least one punchout in every inning and faced just four over the minimum, limiting the Mud Hens to two hits and one walk.
Rodriguez launched a 423-foot homer to dead center in the seventh to complete the scoring, his second home run with the Tribe on his current major league rehab assignment.
Jesus Liranzo and Dovydas Neverauskas finished off the two-hitter, Indy's fewest hits allowed in a game this season. The shutout victory was the Tribe's league-high 11th of the season.
Reyes has homered in back-to-back games in each of the last three seasons. He finished with a season-high tying three RBI for a second straight night.
The Indians and Mud Hens meet again on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander J.T. Brubaker (4-3, 3.82) will start for the Tribe, opposite Mud Hens left-hander Tyler Alexander (2-3, 5.45).