Indians edge Tatusko, Chiefs on Sunday

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, were edged out by the Indianapolis Indians, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon. Syracuse walked six times in the game, but picked up just two hits, with the Indians claiming their second straight win in the series.

Syracuse (10-13) scored just four batters into the game against Indianapolis right-hander Tyler Waldron. With two outs and nobody on, third baseman Will Rhymes lined a double into left field. First baseman Brock Peterson followed with a single to left, plating Rhymes for the game's first run.

Indianapolis (16-7) would answer with a pair of third-inning runs against right-hander Ryan Tatusko. Waldron and Chris Dickerson started the inning with back-to-back walks before advancing on a Michael Martinez sacrifice bunt. Right fielder Gregory Polanco, the league leader in batting average, followed with an infield single to second base to drive in a run. Two batters later, left fielder Andrew Lambo duplicated the trick with another RBI infield single to second, scoring Dickerson for a 2-1 lead.

Those runs were the only blemish against Tatusko, who threw six innings for the third consecutive start. He allowed just four hits and four walks, striking out three, in his second-ever start in his home state of Indiana.

The Chiefs' bats stayed relatively quiet from that point forward until an eighth-inning rally. With one out, Eury Perez walked against right-hander Vin Mazzaro. Perez then stole second base and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Emmanuel Burriss. Rhymes followed with a walk, putting a pair of runners on base for Brock Peterson. Syracuse's first baseman then smashed a 1-1 pitch toward shortstop, but Martinez made a staggering catch to end the inning and keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard.

Syracuse and Indianapolis resume their series on Monday night at 7:05 in the third of a four-game set. Chiefs left-hander Aaron Laffey is scheduled to start against Indians right-hander Jay Jackson.