For the Indianapolis Indians it’s been nothing but an offensive slump as of late. They continue to score runs – there was never a shut out in the four straight losses to the Charlotte Knights – but they just aren’t scoring enough.

On Friday night against the Rochester Red Wings for the first game of an eight-game road trip it seemed as though the Tribe was set to break out of this slump.

International League All-Star pitcher Casey Sadler was on the mound for the Indians. This start follows Nick Kingham’s worst start in his time in Indianapolis, in which he gave up seven earned runs with five walks (the most in a game since he joined the Tribe) in 5.1 innings against the Knights on July 24.

Sadler earned his third loss of the season as the Tribe fell to the Red Wings 5-3, the closest a game has been since July 20 when the Tribe defeated the Columbus Clippers 7-5. In six innings against the Red Wings, Sadler gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits.

Reliever John Holdzkom pitched two scoreless and hitless innings though there were two base runners, thanks to two walks, while striking out two more.

Even though this stretch of games has been rough offensively, there have been individuals within the Tribe’s lineup that have shined. Unfortunately, it seems that they are struggling to string the hits or walks they are earning together in the same inning.

There was an exception on Friday night when following a Mel Rojas single, Andrew Lambo hit a single to put runners on the corners with no outs in the top of the fourth. Tony Sanchez followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to put the Tribe down 2-1. Lambo then tied the game when he scored on Nevin Ashley’s 11th double of the season.

In the sixth inning, the Red Wings went ahead 5-2 on a three-run home run by Josmil Pinto. The Indians made things interesting – even having the tying run in scoring position – in the top of the ninth. They were only able to get one run out of the opportunity that started with a walk to Chase d’Arnaud. Jose Tabata was hit by a pitch with two outs in the inning. The next batter, Rojas represented the tying run and following an RBI single advanced to second on the throw.

Game two of this series against the Red Wings is set to start on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. with Rafael Perez listed as the suspected starter for the Indians.

Indians’ Player of the Game:

Mel Rojas

Mel Rojas was the offensive star of the night for the Indians. He reached base for the Tribe four different times. He was 2-for-3 (both hits were singles) and had two walks. He scored a run and drove in another. The only time that he failed to reach base in Friday night’s game was on a fly out to center field.

Final Box Score:

Winning Pitcher: A.J. Achter (3-3, 1.97 ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Sadler (8-3, 2.85 ERA)
Save: Michael Tonkin (6)