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June 20, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Indians scored three times in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon, breaking open a tie game en route to a 6-3 win over the visiting Pawtucket Red Sox.
The loss to Indianapolis was the third in a row for Pawtucket (31-38). Including Sunday’s loss in Richmond, the PawSox have now dropped four straight. The Indians (43-28), who lead the International League West and boast the best record at the Triple-A level, have won nine of their last ten home games.
“I can’t say it enough, we say it every night,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said, “but 3-3 in the the eighth inning – imagine that! - the same type situation (as the two previous contests). What I’m really impressed by, with this ballclub that we’re playing, is that when they get people at the corners, they find a way to get them in. That’s the difference right now between the three games – they’re all as close as they can be. But they’ve done a tremendous job and I salute them.”
Jon Lester started for the PawSox and fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the third when Michael Ryan rocked an 89mph fastball over the right field wall. Ryan’s shot, his third of the year, landed just the other side of the foul pole.
Bobby Scales opened the fourth for Pawtucket with a drive to left center that fell for a triple. When Jeff Bailey followed with a grounder to short, Scales raced home to even the score.
Ryan tormented Lester again in fifth with a leadoff triple that sent Jacoby Ellsbury crashing into the center field fence. Lester walked the next batter, Einar Diaz, and Luis Matos singled through short to give the Indians the lead. Brian Bixler followed with a base on balls to fill the sacks. Yurendell de Caster grounded to Alex Prieto, who started a short-to-second-to-first double play, with Diaz coming home from third to make it 3-1.
In the sixth inning Edgar Martinez replaced Lester, who threw 92 pitches, 47 for strikes, and gave up five hits and four walks to go with three strikeouts. While Lester struggled, Indianapolis starter Michael Tejera limited the PawSox to three hits through six and one-third innings. The tricky left-hander, changing arm angles like an overworked housepainter, struck out four and walked two before giving way to Josh Sharpless in the seventh.
Sharpless entered the game with one out and Bailey, who drew one of the walks off Tejera, on first base. After Bailey moved up on a wild pitch, Cash drew a base on balls and Michael Tucker bounced back to Sharpless to put runners at second and third with two out. Chad Spann then slammed an 0-2 delivery into left that scored both runners and tied the game at 3-all.
Bryan Corey started the eighth for Pawtucket and loaded the bases, sandwiching walks to Bixler and Brad Eldred around de Caster’s base hit. Bixler raced home on an infield out by Jose Hernandez, and the Indians took a 5-3 lead when Humberto Cota followed with a single to center. Luis Ordaz then squeezed home Eldred from third to make it 6-3.
Corey slapped a hard tag on Ordaz, and harsh words ensued. Both benches emptied, with Ordaz and Johnson, the PawSox skipper, engaging in a heated exchange. Ryan, who went 3-for-4, followed with a single that sent Cota to third before Corey managed to get the final out.
Brian Rogers started the ninth for Indianapolis, but gave way to Franquelis Osoria after issuing back-to-back walks to Michael Tucker and Spann. The next batter, George Kotteras, slashed a line drive toward the right field line. But Eldred, the 6-foot-5 Indianapolis first baseman, speared the ball and doubled Spann off first. Franquelis Osoria, who got the win Tuesday with two scoreless innings, ended the three-hour contest by getting Ellsbury on a grounder to second.
Bryan Corey (2-4) took the loss while Mark Corey (1-0) got the win. Osoria earned his sixth save.
Lester, the blue-chip left-hander who went 7-2 for Boston last year before undergoing treatment for lymphoma, described his performance as “Not good. It was a battle through the whole thing,” he added. “Mechanically, it just didn’t feel right. When I did make an adjustment, I couldn’t repeat it.”
Johnson’s take on Lester was more philosophical. “I thought Jon did a pretty good job,” said the manager. “His pitch count went a little high. He had a couple of 25-pitch innings. But he was in the mid-90s after five innings. I was really pleased with him. He’s not, because John’s not gonna be pleased unless he goes out and throws eight or nine innings and walks away with a ’W’.”
Notes: Scales, the versatile switch-hitter, went 6-for-15 against Indianapolis last month at McCoy Stadium and is 5-for-13 so far in this series. During the first three games here, he’s seen action in left field and at second base.
Thursday night the PawSox face the Indians for the final time this season. Kason Gabbard (6-2) is Pawtucket’s likely starter versus Shane Youman (3-5).
--PETE CAVA, Special to the Journal
Posted by Chris Venditto 
at 7:56 PM to PawSox
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