Chiefs silenced in loss to Indians

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, were shut out by the Indianapolis Indians, 2-0, Monday night at Alliance Bank Stadium. The Chiefs were held to just five baserunners in the loss.

Indianapolis (77-53) used a pair of extra-base hits to get to Chiefs starter Jeff Mandel in the top of the second inning. Jeff Clement led off the inning with a moon shot that carried over the right-center field wall for his 16th homer of the season. Brandon Boggs followed with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Sanchez to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

That inning was the only speed bump on an otherwise smooth ride for Mandel. The right-hander worked six innings for the Chiefs, giving up just those two runs on eight hits.

Unfortunately for Syracuse (63-68), it could never get anything going offensively against the Indians. Two Indians pitchers combined to hold the Chiefs to just three hits over the game's first eight innings. Starter Kris Johnson gave up two hits in his otherwise sparkling five and one-third innings of work. Bryan Morris came next and allowed just a lone single in his two and two-thirds innings on the bump.

The Chiefs tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth inning. Eury Perez led things off with a single, the fourth Syracuse hit of the night, against Indians closer Tim Wood. Next, Jim Negrych walked on five pitches, putting the tying runs aboard with nobody out. Then, Corey Brown was called out on a close play at first on his bunt back to the pitcher, Wood. Still, Perez and Negrych were able to advance to second and third base. After that, Chris Marrero struck out on a contested check-swing that home plate umpire Marcus Pattillo deemed a swinging strike three for the second out. Wood then struck out Carlos Rivero on four pitches to end the game.

The Chiefs wrap up their 11-game homestand Tuesday night at Alliance Bank Stadium. Tanner Roark is scheduled to start for Syracuse. First pitch is set for 7:00.