Lehigh Valley used four pitchers to strike out an Indians’ opponent season-high
16 batters with former Tribe starter Brandon Duckworth fanning 11 and holding
Indianapolis to just two runs on three hits over 5.2 innings to lead the IronPigs to a 3-2
victory and a four-game series sweep.

The IronPigs jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with two runs in the first inning but the
Indians quickly cut that lead in half as Kevin Mellilo scored on an Alex Presley ground
out in their half of the inning.

Second baseman Akinori Iwamura then evened the score when he blasted a home run
to straight away center field with two outs in the third inning. The longball for Iwamura
was his second in an Indians’ uniform this season and first at Victory Field.

However, Lehigh Valley RF John Mayberry Jr. would single-handedly push the IronPigs
ahead with a single run in the top of the fifth. After lining a one-out double to left,
Mayberry stole third and then scored what turned out to be the game-winning tally when
he trotted home on an Indians’ wild pitch.

Duckworth 11 strikeouts helped him to earn the victory and improve to 5-3 on the
season. Following Duckworth’s dominant outing, the IronPigs’ bullpen was even more
untouchable as Michael Stutes, Antonio Bastardo and Scott Mathieson combined for
3.1 innings of perfect relief with Stutes and Bastardo each earning their third hold of the
season while Mathieson notched his team-best 19th save.

Tribe starter Charlie Morton suffered the loss to fall to 2-4 on the season despite
allowing just three runs and scattering seven hits over six innings of work. The Indians’
bullpen was a bright spot on the evening as Brian Bass allowed just one hit and struck
out four over two innings of scoreless work and Wil Ledezma struck out two in a perfect
ninth to lower his ERA to a miniscule 0.96 .

The loss for Indianapolis drops their record to an even 50-50 on the season and drops
them in to a tie with the Louisville Bats for second place in the International League
West division 9-1/2 games behind Columbus.

The Tribe now begin a four-game series with the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate
of the Chicago White Sox tonight at Victory Field with a first pitch scheduled for 7:15
p.m. RHP Mike Crotta is expected to get the call for the Indians, while RHP Brandon
Hynick is the probable starter for the Knights.

Share