The All-Star break was good for breaking up the long stretch of games the Indianapolis Indians were set to play against the Columbus Clippers.
After a four game streak of losses to close out the six games played in four days at Victory Field, the Tribe headed to Columbus ready to no longer share the top spot in the International League West Division. The four losses allowed the Clippers to share the IL West’s No. 1 spot with the Indians.
On Thursday night in the first game after the break, the Tribe called on Brandon Cumpton to lead them to victory. He was successful, earning his fifth win of the season, as they defeated the Clippers 1-0. Cumpton pitched eight scoreless innings and gave up only two hits. The Tribe’s offense earned him the win in the ninth inning on a RBI by Dean Anna.
Things were different on Friday night as the Clippers jumped out to an early lead against Tribe starter Adam Wilk. The Indians battled back and tied the game 3-3, but a two-run seventh by the Clippers put them ahead 5-3. The game ended with a final score of 5-4, with the Indians’ scoring a lone run in the ninth in an attempt to win two-straight games in Columbus.
It was on Saturday night, though, that the Tribe’s offense exploded. Led by Andrew Lambo, who made his return from a long stint on the disabled list in game one of the series, the Indians cruised to a 15-5 victory.
Offensively, the Tribe was dominate and it started early with three home runs in the first inning and never really seemed to stop. The Indians were one home run shy of tying the record for most home runs hit in an inning as well as the most home runs hit in a game. If nothing else, a small glimpse at what some of the players’ offensive stats looked like proves the power the Tribe put on display.
| Robert Andino | 4-for-6, 2 runs, 2 home runs, 4 RBI |
| Brent Morel | 2-for-4, 3 runs |
| Andrew Lambo | 4-for-4, 3 runs, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 1 walk |
| Chris McGuiness | 1-for-3, 2 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBI |
| Dean Anna | 4-for-5, 3 runs, 1 home run, 3 RBI |
The offensive show put on in Saturday night’s contest allowed for starter Nick Kingham to earn his fourth win of the season. He won his last start against the Clippers on July 10, in which he gave up no runs on two hits in six innings of work. On Saturday night, he gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in six innings. He walked no one and struck out three batters.
The Tribe has one more game in Columbus – set to start at 6:05 p.m. on Sunday night – before returning to Indianapolis to host the Charlotte Knights for four games.
Indians’ Player of the Game:
Andrew Lambo
Lambo returned from the DL with a vengeance. On Saturday night, he reached base in all five of his plate appearances (two singles, two home runs and a walk). He even drove in four of the Indians 15 runs.
Final Box Score:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indians | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 18 | 1 | |
| Clippers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
Winning Pitcher: Kingham (4-1, 2.00)
Losing Pitcher: Toru Murata (0-2, 6.40)