Indy’s offense outhit St. Paul 13-6
By Brody Tisdale
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite a five-run third inning, the Indianapolis Indians dropped the series finale to the St. Paul Saints on Sunday afternoon at CHS Field, 7-6.
St. Paul slugged its way to a come-from-behind victory thanks to a four-run sixth inning that was highlighted by a pair of triples off Indians reliever John O’Reilly (L, 3-4). DaShawn Keirsey Jr. led off the frame with a triple and Jair Camargo was beaned on the following pitch to put runners on the corners. Yunior Severino followed with an RBI single and Gilberto Celestino tripled to drive in a pair to recapture the lead. Andrew Stevenson drove in the would-be winning run on a single up the middle that skipped past center fielder Ryan Vilade for a two-base error.
The Saints (69-50, 26-19) plated a run in each of their first two plate appearances. Stevenson scored the first run of the game after a leadoff walk, stealing second base and reaching third base on a wild pitch before Trevor Larnach hit a sacrifice fly. In the second, Severino belted his first of two solo blasts on the day.
Vinny Capra led off the third inning with a double, followed by a Nick Gonzales walk and passed ball that advanced both runners into scoring position. Miguel Andújar then grounded out to plate Capra and a bloop single from Canaan Smith-Njigba scored Gonzales. Aaron Shackelford gave Indy its only lead of the contest on a piercing line-drive RBI double down the left-field line. The Indians (55-63, 22-22) finished off their five-run frame with an RBI single courtesy of Ryan Vilade, and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by Austin Schulfer that sent home Shackelford.
Severino’s second blast of the game cut St. Paul’s deficit to two runs. The third baseman accounted for half of the Saints six hits on the day.
Indy rallied in the eighth, cutting the deficit to a run on a Gonzales RBI single. With two outs and runners on the corners, Andújar flew out to deep left-center field to stop the threat.
Andrew Bechtold (W, 2-0) earned his second win of the season with a perfect sixth inning. Kody Funderburk (S, 5) put the Indians down in order in the ninth.
The Indians head back to Victory Field on Tuesday night to open a six-game set with the Iowa Cubs. First pitch is slated for 7:05 PM ET. Both teams have yet to name a starter.
Originally posted on milb.com