Swaggerty’s Go-Ahead Dinger Deflates Stripers Comeback Effort, 5-3

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – With the ballgame tied 3-3 in the eighth, Travis Swaggerty lifted a two-run home run to reclaim the lead en route to a series finale victory for the Indianapolis Indians over the Gwinnett Stripers on Sunday afternoon, 5-3.

After Gwinnett (33-33) scratched across two runs in the third inning and one in the seventh to tie the game and erase a 3-0 deficit, the Indians (32-32) were quick to respond in their next at-bat. Jason Delay roped a leadoff ground-rule double before Swaggerty blasted the 1-0 pitch by Brad Brach (L, 3-1) into the Indianapolis bullpen to take a 5-3 lead.

The Indians jumped out to an early lead when Rodolfo Castro sent the payoff pitch well over the left field wall to give the Indians a 3-0 advantage in the first inning. Starting pitcher Kyle Muller went on to retire the next 19 Indians batters.

Miguel Yajure (W, 1-1) tossed 3.2 relief innings with one walk and three punchouts. He escaped a fifth inning jam after Drew Waters tripled with one out, and his only blemish came on a Preston Tucker RBI single in the seventh that tied the game. He recorded two outs in the eighth before Aaron Fletcher (S, 1) came into the game for the last four outs to earn the save.

Mike Burrows got the start for the Indians in his Triple-A debut. In 3.0 innings, he allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Burrows is currently rated by MLB Pipeline as the Pirates No. 11 prospect.

The Indians will return to Victory Field on Tuesday night for a six-game series against Memphis. The series gets underway at 7:05 PM ET. Both teams have yet to name starting pitchers.