"We will see you tomorrow night!"
Going into the ninth inning, the Indianapolis Indians looked dead in the water. Columbus had sailed ahead to a 4-1 lead with a Michael Choice three-run home run in the eighth and was looking to ride starter Jarrett Grube to another Governors' Cup title.
In the previous inning, things began to unravel for the undefeated (9-0) righty as he surrendered his first run since a Josh Bell solo shot in the fourth. But regardless of his struggles, manager Chris Tremie sent Grube back out to the mound. Why? He could not trust a bullpen with a 5.06 ERA.
So with 114 pitches already thrown, the starter looked in at catcher Adam Moore as Keon Broxton stepped into the batter's box. Broxton, who was hitless in three plate appearances before, began the frame by blooping a double off the end of the bat.
The Indians were starting their final attack.
After Dan Gamache pulled an offering to first baseman Jesus Aguilar, Tony "Two Bags" Sanchez shot a single to left field, which scored Broxton. 4-3 Clippers! The fans in attendance were going crazy. Could Indianapolis rally once again?
Following the RBI single by Sanchez, Columbus' reliever Jeff Johnson entered only his second Triple-A game for Grube (ND, 8.1 IP, 4 ER, & 6 K). Unfortunately for him, the hole in the Clippers' hull was gaping too wide as Gustavo Nunez kept the hit parade going with a single of his own. With runners on first and second, the fate of Indianapolis' season rested on their coldest hitter Alen Hanson. Yet despite MLB.com's 70th prospect only collecting three hits in his last eighteen at bats (.167 BA), the 22-year old cleared his mind and tied the ball game with a base knock to left-center field.
Columbus' dugout was stunned. Not only had they allowed a four-run lead to slip away in Game 3 but a three-run advantage to vanish as well.
With no one warming in the bullpen, Johnson took a deep breath while Indianapolis' hottest hitter Gorkys Hernandez had the fans on their feet. Nunez was on third and Hanson was on second as Johnson fired the first offering.
"Ball!"
Again, Johnson came home with his delivery.
"Ball 2!"
At this point, fans could clearly see the Columbus' reliever was going to give his opponent nothing good to hit.
"Strike!"
Even though Johnson fired a strike into Hernandez, immediately after, his catcher put up four fingers, signaling an intentional walk.
In the moment, manager Tremie's reasoning for walking Indianapolis' center fielder was rather clever. His rationale was to create a force out at every base in the hope of doubling up Josh Bell.
Since his promotion, MLB.com's 33rd prospect Josh Bell has had no trouble adjusting to tougher competition as he was batting .386 in 42 Triple-A games coming into Friday. As a matter of fact, the first baseman was three for three prior to the biggest AB of his career.
For the tenth time in the inning, Johnson looked to his battery mate for an answer on what to offer. He came set and fired. Crack! The ball jumped off the bat of Pittsburgh's third prospect and landed in right field for a walk-off single. Indians win! "Josh has answered the 'Bell!'"
Amazingly, the Indianapolis Indians have overcome a 2-0 series deficit to force a championship deciding Game 5. For the Clippers, they will once again turn to Mike Clevinger, also known as the hero versus Norfolk, for he will try to replicate his fantastic Triple-A debut from Game 5 of the International League semi-finals (W, 7.2 IP, & 10 K). As for Dean Treanor's squad, no one knows who will run out to the Victory Field mound at 7:05 PM EST since he has yet to announce his starter.
A Triple-A Debut to Remember
Due to him coming off a horrid Eastern League Playoff start nine days ago, the city of Indianapolis was unsure what to expect from young Chad Kuhl. Though after tonight, everyone has to be excited that he will suit up for the Indians next season. By throwing his nasty sinking fastball, Kuhl, who was 11-5 with a 2.48 ERA in 26 starts for Altoona (Double-A) this season, was very dominant in seven innings of one run ball.