Indians Triple Up on Tanks in 8-1 Trounce of Gwinnett
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians loaded the bases twice in the first inning but only yielded one run before erupting for three runs in the second to give them a winning advantage they would not surrender as they took down the Gwinnett Stripers, 8-1, on Tuesday night at Victory Field.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians loaded the bases twice in the first inning but only yielded one run before erupting for three runs in the second to give them a winning advantage they would not surrender as they took down the Gwinnett Stripers, 8-1, on Tuesday night at Victory Field.
With a 1-1 game in the bottom of the second inning, Brett Sullivan wrapped a 391-foot home run around the right field foul pole to put the Indians (9-4, 51-36) on top. Tsung-Che Cheng reached on a walk one batter later and came around to score on an errant pickoff attempt by Ian Mejia (L, 0-1). Indy capped its game-deciding inning at a 4-1 advantage with an RBI double from Ji Hwan Bae.
The Indians pieced together a hit, four walks and a throwing error in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Stripers (7-6, 36-52) responded quickly in the top half of the second, loading the bases on a walk, a single and a catcher’s interference before scoring their lone run of the game on an RBI groundout from Matthew Batten.
Indy’s offense sputtered until the sixth inning when Liover Peguero jolted the offense with a solo homer to lead off the frame. The Indians added another run in the seventh when Bae reached base, stole second and came around on a Nick Solak single. Cheng capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth to give the Indians some extra cushion.
Thomas Harrington (W, 6-8) recorded his fourth quality start of the campaign, tossing 6.0 innings while allowing two hits and one unearned run. Dauri Moreta, Eddy Yean and Kyle Nicolas each tossed a scoreless inning while combining for one hit to hold the Stripers at bay.
Bae and Ronny Simon each led the way for Indy’s offense with a trio of hits, with the former finishing just a home run shy of the cycle.
The Indians and Stripers continue their six-game set on Wednesday afternoon at 1:35 PM from Victory Field. RHP Sean Sullivan (0-2, 4.61) will take the mound for Indy across against RHP Nathan Wiles (4-7, 3.33).