Indianapolis Indians Lose to Louisville Bats 13-12 - IL, AAA

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com – LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Recently-optioned catcher Ronny Paulino went 5-for-5 and Indianapolis blasted a season-high five home runs, but it wasn’t enough as Louisville rallied for a 13-12 victory in front of 9,935 Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field.

The Bats improve to 38-26 overall and 20-12 at home, while the Indians fall to 30-34 on the season and 14-18 on the road.

Paulino also collected four runs and three RBI.  He recorded a double in the second, single in the fourth, two-run homer in the sixth, single in the seventh and solo roundtripper in the ninth.

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It was the first five-hit effort of Paulino’s 11-year professional career and the Tribe’s first five-hit performance since Chris Jones went 5-for-5 against Louisville on July 4, 2002.

Paulino was recently optioned from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis after hitting .218 with two HR and 18 RBI in 35 games for the Pirates.  The contest was his first at the Triple-A level since April 15, 2006.

In addition to Paulino’s two long balls, RF Steve Pearce, 2B Josh Wilson and 3B Neil Walker all went deep for the Indians.  Pearce nailed a solo shot in the first, while Wilson tagged a three-run blast in the second and Walker hammered a two-run shot in the fourth.

The five homers were the Tribe’s most since belting six dingers at Charlotte on July 14, 2005.

Paulino, Walker (3-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI) and CF Nyjer Morgan (2-for-5) all turned in multi-hit performances, while Paulino, Walker, Pearce (1-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI) and 2B Josh Wilson (1-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI) notched multi-RBI efforts.

Indianapolis took a 10-6 advantage to the bottom of the sixth, but Louisville plated seven runs over its final three at-bats to win the affair.  The Bats rallied for one in the sixth, two in the seventh and four in the eighth.

SS Adam Rosales put the comeback in motion with an RBI groundout in the sixth.  PH Luis Bolivar then whacked a run-scoring triple in the seventh before RF Jerry Gil recorded another RBI groundout.

1B Kevin Barker and C Ryan Hanigan followed with two-run doubles in the eighth, giving Louisville a two-run advantage and RHP Jon Adkins (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER) a big enough cushion to record his 13th save of the year.

Bats RHP Matt Belisle (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB) improved to 2-0 with the win, while Indians RHP Matt Miller (0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) fell to 3-3 with the loss.

Neither starter -- Indianapolis RHP John Van Benschoten (5.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) or Louisville RHP Daryl Thompson (5.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) -- figured in the decision.

Four Bats -- Thompson (2-for-2, 2 R), Rosales (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI), 3B Jolbert Cabrera (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) and LF B.J. Szymanski (2-for-2, 1 R) -- picked up multi-hit games.

The 12 runs were a new season best for Indianapolis, while the 15 base knocks equaled a season high.

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