CHARLOTTE, N.C. -Steven Brault continued his dominance with six innings of two-run ball, and Phil Gosselin drove in two runs as part of a three-hit game to lead the Indianapolis Indians to a tense 6-5 victory over the Charlotte Knights Saturday night at BB&T Ballpark. Brault picked up his team-high
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -Steven Brault continued his dominance with six innings of two-run ball, and Phil Gosselin drove in two runs as part of a three-hit game to lead the Indianapolis Indians to a tense 6-5 victory over the Charlotte Knights Saturday night at BB&T Ballpark. Brault picked up his team-high eighth quality start in the win.
After Brault surrendered two runs in the fourth on four singles, Indianapolis' (37-30) offense came to life by scoring five runs over the last five innings.
In the fifth, Jackson Williams doubled off Carlos Rodon - pitching on an MLB rehab assignment - and later reached third safely on an error by Knights shortstop Everth Cabrera. With runners at the corners, Gosselin pounded a single through the left side to knot the game at two.
One inning later, Gift Ngoepe gave Indy the lead while ending Rodon's night with one swing. The South African laced a triple to right-center, scoring Joey Terdoslavich who had walked earlier in the frame.
The Indians tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, thanks to consecutive doubles by Christopher Bostick and Gosselin. Bostick's two-bagger was his league-high 20th of the season.
Eric Wood made it 6-2 with his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot to right off Brad Goldberg in the ninth. Those runs were crucial in Indy's win, as Cody Asche and Roberto Pena belted back-to-back solo home runs off Johnny Barbato in the bottom half of the ninth.
Following a Barbato one-out walk, Dovydas Neverauskas entered and struck out Yoan Moncada on a 1-2 curve in the dirt. A single and two walks forced in another run, but Neverauskas struck out Jacob May to record his sixth save.
Bostick gave Indy the early advantage in the third with a run-scoring groundout that scored Eury Pérez. Perez had doubled and stolen third base ahead of Bostick's chopper to short.
Charlotte (30-37) squandered late scoring chances against Josh Lindblom. Danny Hayes roped a leadoff double but didn't score in the seventh, and the 30-year-old Lindblom worked around a one-out single and hit batter in the eighth.
Brault (5-3) walked one and struck out three in the victory. He improved to 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA (7 ER in 47.2 IP) over his last eight starts. Rodon (0-2) was handed the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings of work.
The Indians and Knights play the rubber match of their three-game set Sunday afternoon. The Tribe will send right-hander Tyler Eppler (5-2, 3.22) to the mound, opposite Knights righty Reynaldo Lopez (5-3, 3.82). First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. from BB&T Ballpark.
