An Indianapolis Indians game is a must-see for the spring/summer. As the Indians found themselves with their ninth victory and second series sweep of the season with 6-3 win over the Toledo Mud Hens, it can be said that great baseball is being played in the city.
The Tribe headed into Saturday night’s match-up on a three game win streak. They would also come into the game with bats a blaze as they scored an individual run in the first three innings. The first run scored by Chase d’Arnaud was due to a balk by Toledo starter Robbie Ray. The second run occurred when Matt Hague came around to score when Michael Martinez hit into a double play. To put the Tribe up 3-0, a Gregory Polanco single drove in d’Arnaud.
Polanco had another stellar performance for the Indians. The 22-year-old outfielder went 4-for-4 and is batting .500 on through the first 10 games of the season. He also hit his second home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth to put the Indians up 5-1. Watching Polanco play is worth the price of a ticket and is something that should not be missed. He will be called up this season – his performance speaks for itself.
While Polanco was driving in runs, d’Arnaud took to the base paths, stealing three bases tying his single game career high. He leads the Indians, as well as the International League, in stolen bases so far this season with 5.
The Mud Hens scored runs in the fourth and sixth off Tribe pitcher Adam Wilk. This is Wilk’s first start in Indy after spending the 2013 season pitching in Korea and joining the Pittsburgh Pirates organization via free agency. He ended the game with his second win of the season, giving up three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in the six innings he pitched.
The last Indians run came when Hague was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh. The game got a bit heated with both teams unafraid to throw inside, a total of three batters were hit by pitches throughout the game, and the home-plate umpire even issued a warning to both benches – six straight games against one another would do that.
Vin Mazzaro, Daniel Schlereth and Jared Hughes relieved Wilk and pitched the seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Hughes earned his third save of the season.
After spending the last five days playing the Mud Hens (six games, with a double header on Tuesday), the Tribe will host the Columbus Clippers on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Phil Irwin is the Indians’ probable pitcher.
[symple_toggle title=”Writer’s Note”]This article was originally published on the Indy Sports Report website. The photo is courtesy of Phil Taylor, a photographer for Indy Sports Report and accompanies the article on the website.[/symple_toggle]