Is the end ever going to be in sight for the Indianapolis Indians and the number of games they are playing against the Columbus Clippers? Not only has this been a long home stand, but Sunday’s game lasted just under four hours.
The two teams faced off for the last game of the Tribe’s home stand and the six game series against each other. The two teams have a short reprieve from playing against one another as the two teams will have players play together for the Triple-A All-Star Game pitting the best of the International League against the best of the Pacific Coast League. Then the two teams will be facing each other – AGAIN – in Columbus for four games.
Casey Sadler, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Sunday and is one of the Indians’ All-Star representatives, was on the mound for the Tribe. He gave up two runs early – both in the second – and got into some trouble, but managed to escape with no extra damage. He didn’t have his best stuff, which may be proved by the fact that Sadler failed to strike out a single batter. He walked three (one intentional) and gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings.
Yet again, it took the Tribe until the sixth to score a run. They had multiple chances prior to a man on and in scoring position and two men out situation in the sixth, but were unable to capitalize. Tony Sanchez doubled in the sixth and scored on a Mel Rojas RBI single. Rojas ended the inning trying to extend his single into a double.
John Holdzkom had a struggle of his own on the mound – he gave up three runs on four hits in 0.1 innings. One of the runs that he was credited with came when Wirfin Obispo walked Luke Carlin with the bases loaded. Obispo contributed to the frustration of being down 5-2 in the seventh with the knowledge of the All-Star break right around the corner (or after the game finishes) when he threw two pitches up and in near the head of Tyler Holt in the eighth inning.
The Indians tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Clippers had already added a run in the top half of the inning to take a 6-3 lead. With one inning left to play, the Tribe called on Jay Jackson to get out the Clippers and do so with as little damage as possible. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop the bleeding as the Clippers posted a three run ninth to go ahead 9-3 with Dean Anna, Chase d’Arnaud and Robert Andino set to lead off the Tribe’s half of the inning.
They weren’t willing to go down without a fight, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but took the loss as the Clippers secured a 9-5 victory. The Clippers also tied the Indians atop the International League West Division. The Indians have three days off before returning to play on Thursday. They will be on the road until Monday July 21 when they host the Charlotte Knights on a Dollar Menu Monday night game set to start at 7:05 p.m.
Indians’ Player of the Game:
Chase d’Arnaud
d’Arnaud has been an offensive powerhouse for the Tribe as of late. He has found a way to get on base when the Indians are looking for base runners and can come up with clutch hits. On Sunday, he was 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Final Box Score:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clippers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 1 | |
| Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
Winning Pitcher: Tyler Cloyd (7-5, 4.11)
Losing Pitcher: Sadler (8-2, 2.41)