Five-Run First Inning Sinks Indians Against Bats

INDIANAPOLIS – Esmerlyn Valdez extended his on-base streak to 13 games and Ronny Simon pushed his hitting streak to seven games as the Indianapolis Indians lost to the Louisville Bats, 8-2, on Friday night at Victory Field.

Five Bats (7-6) runs came across in the first inning, all with two outs. After Blake Dunn walked to begin the contest, Edwin Arroyo lined into a double play as the second batter of the game. Two more batters reached and a wild pitch by Antwone Kelly (L, 0-3) put them both in scoring position. Things unraveled for the Indians, with a grounder skipping through Tyler Callihan for an error that plated both runners. Following a walk to Francisco Urbaez, Michael Toglia hit a three-run homer to break the game open, 5-0.

The Indians (3-10) added a run in the bottom of the first inning with Simon hitting a leadoff single. Simon then stole second base and later advanced to third on a single from Valdez. Endy Rodríguez drove in Simon on a double to the wall to cut the deficit, 5-1.

The early run-scoring went silent until Louisville tallied two more runs in the eighth frame on a two-run double from Will Banfield. Each team added one more run in the ninth inning to finish with an 8-2 score.

Kelly lasted just 0.2 innings, allowing five runs (0er), with Carson Fulmer (3.1ip), Mike Clevinger (1.0ip) and Cam Sanders (1.0ip) each posting scoreless outings to follow. Louisville starter Darren McCaughan (W, 2-1) tossed 5.0 innings of one-run ball to set up Louisville for the win.

The Indians continue this week’s six-game series with Louisville on Saturday night at 6:35 PM. RHP Thomas Harrington (0-1, 3.12) is set to take the mound for Indy while LHP Brandon Leibrandt (0-1, 10.57) is slated for the Bats.