Indianapolis Indians Win Opener in 10 innings, 2-1

Casey Sadler pitched 6 strong innings and third baseman Brent Morel drove in Matt Hague in the top of the 10th inning to defeat the Columbus Clippers 2-1. Hague led off the 10th with a bloop double, Brent Morel singled In “The Hit Collector”, but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch it into a double. Jared Hughes pitched a perfect bottom of the 10th inning and was credited with the win.

Sadler making just his second appearance at AAA was very impressive. His fastball showed great sink and was consistently 90-93 mph, and hit 94 with one pitch. Sadler occasionally mixed in his slider and change up, but his sinking fastball was his bread and butter as he induced 10 groundballs over his 6 innings of work. He finished after throwing 85 pitches.

Gregory Polanco didn’t show much offensively going 0-3 with one walk and one RBI. He twice grounded out weakly, one being a 9th inning double play, the other an RBI. He struck out on a breaking pitch low and away from Trevor Bauer, and walked in his first PA. While he didn’t shine offensively, he made a game saving defensive play in the bottom of the 8th by throwing a strike from right-field to catcher Carlos Paulino nailing the Clippers’ speedy Jose Ramirez at the plate. Polanco made two other throws during tonight’s game that showcased his cannon of an arm. When Polanco arrives in Pittsburgh he will immediately become an impact player on defense.

Game Notes:
~Daniel Schlereth, Zack Thornton, and Jared Hughes combined to throw 4 innings of shoutout ball. Schlereth’s father, Mark, was in attendance. The elder Schlereth is a former 3-time Super Bowl Champion and a 2-time Pro Bowler, he currently works as a Football Analyst for ESPN.

~Starting SS Robert Andino had to leave the game after colliding with Columbus 1B Jesus Aguilar on his 3rd inning 5-3 groundout as he appeared to hold his left wrist and hand. Adalberto Santos replaced him and played 2B, starting 2B Michael Martinez shifted from 2B to SS.

~Casey Sadler’s pitching line for Friday: