Indians Cruise to Doubleheader Sweep over Clippers

COLUMBUS, OHIO - The Indianapolis Indians brought their lumber and received a pair of strong outings from Steven Brault and Cody Dickson in a doubleheader sweep of the Columbus Clippers, 5-1 and 9-0, on Tuesday night at Huntington Park. The two victories gave the Tribe their first doubleheader sweep since Sept. 1, 2016 at Louisville.

The Indians (18-18) used a four-run third in game one to run away as victors. Christopher Bostick continued his torrid stretch at the plate, belting a solo home run off Ryan Merritt (3-4) to put the Tribe in front, 2-1. Austin Meadows then doubled before Max Moroff launched his International League-best 10^th home run to deep left, extending Indy's lead to three. Eric Wood followed Moroff's drive with a walk and stolen base, later racing home on an RBI double by Jacob Stallings.
Up 5-1, Brault (2-3) sailed through the third, fourth and fifth innings, his lone blemish being a one-out walk in the fifth. In the sixth, the Clippers (17-21) threatened with a leadoff double and walk, but the southpaw escaped trouble with two groundouts and a strikeout, his sixth of the evening.
In the home half of the first, Columbus came inches away from taking a 2-0 lead. Barrett Barnes, playing in his third Triple-A game for Indy, scaled the left-field wall to rob Chris Colabello of a home run. Barnes then gave the Indians a 1-0 advantage in the second with a two-out knock to center, scoring Wood who had doubled.
Clippers third baseman Giovanny Urshela tied the game in the bottom half with a solo shot to left, the only run Columbus would score all night.
Brault earned the win and dropped his ERA to its lowest point of the season at 2.95. Pat Light worked a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the victory.
In the nightcap, the game remained scoreless until the fourth when two walks issued by Jeff Johnson (1-1) set up a two-run double off the bat of Jason Rogers. Indy padded its 2-0 lead in the fifth, scoring seven times while sending 13 batters to the plate - its largest inning of the season.
Dickson (3-2) tossed five shutout frames before handing over to Dovydas Neverauskas and Angel Sánchez who completed the five-hitter. The shutout win was the Tribe's second of 2017.
Indianapolis climbed back to .500 for the first time since April 9 when they were 2-2 four games into the season.
Indianapolis and Columbus continue their five-game set with game four Wednesday night at Huntington Park. The Indians have not yet named a starter. Columbus will send right-hander Adam Plutko (1-5, 6.32) to the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and the broadcast can be heard on Fox Sports 97.5 or AM 1260.