Final/11
Dellucci's late homer allows Indians to rally
Jun 10, 2007 - 5:38 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Even when Travis Hafner hits balls softly, he gets positive results.Hafner plated the decisive run with a slow roller as the Cleveland Indians rallied for an 8-6 triumph in 11 innings over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
After Franklin Gutierrez, the third right fielder of the night for the Indians, made a game-saving catch against the right field fence with two runners on in the 10th , the offense took over.
"Hafner hit it in the right spot," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "He hustled down the line and Casey (Blake) hustled to second to break up the double play. The catch by Gutierrez was as good a catch as you'll see with the game on the line. I didn't think he had a chance."
"He hit it good but I just ran to the fence and stretched out my arm," Gutierrez said.
Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron put the game in the win column when the ball was first hit.
"I thought (Alex) Gonzalez had the game won but he made a great catch," Narron said.
Josh Barfield started the winning rally when he led off the 11th with a base hit to right off Victor Santos (1-2). After a sacrifice by Mike Rouse, Grady Sizemore fell behind 1-2 before working a walk and Casey Blake was hit by a pitch.
Hafner then hit a slow roller to the hole between short and third for a fielder's choice RBI groundout that provided a 7-6 lead. Victor Martinez followed with a sharp single to center field, scoring Sizemore.
"I hit the ball hard three times," said Hafner, who hit six grand slams last season. "But (I'll take) the weak ground ball."
Hafner was 0-for-2 with the bases loaded Saturday and 0-for-5 overall but drove in two key runs.
Tom Mastny (4-2) worked a scoreless 10th for the win and Joe Borowski a perfect 11th for his 18th save. Following prospect phenom Homer Bailey's win in his major league debut on Friday, Cincinnati seemed poised to win a second straight contest against their intrastate rivals until David Dellucci struck in the eighth.
After getting the benefit of two close ball calls that would have led to a strikeout, Dellucci drilled a belt-high fastball from reliever Gary Majewski the other way over the left field fence to tie the game at 6-6.
"It was a sinker up. It didn't do much and he stayed on it," Majewski said.
The blast followed a single by Jhonny Peralta off the chest of third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and helped him overcome Friday's folly, when he took a called third strike from Bailey with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to end the threat.
"I try not to live in the past," said Delluci. As much as I'd like to have last night back. I think it's important we stay in the present. The pitches tonight were close but they were balls. I saw the ball well and got a good pitch to drive. I was lucky it went out."
It was the third blast of the night for the Indians, who got a leadoff blast in the first by Sizemore and a fourth-inning shot by Peralta.
The Reds jumped to a 3-1 second-inning lead on a two-run homer by Jeff Conine - his fourth of the season and second in two nights - against Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers and a solo blast by rookie Josh Hamilton, who hit his first of the season against a fellow lefthander.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 15th homer of the season off Cleveland reliever Rafael Perez and 578th of his career in the seventh for a 6-4 edge and moved within five homers of Mark McGwire for seventh on the all-time list.
Matt Belisle, who was the victim of a blown save for the second straight start, pitched six innings. He allowed three runs, five hits and a season-high three runs.
Sowers, who was drafted in the first round by both Ohio teams, allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. The lefthander was staked to an early lead when Sizemore led off the game with his fourth leadoff blast of the season and 11th all-time.
- ML
FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 0
CINCINNATI 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
CLEVELAND 0 2 8 12 1
CINCINNATI 0 0 6 8 0 (FINAL 11)
BATTERIES: CLE
Jun 9 11:16 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY VICTOR MARTINEZ SCORED GRADY SIZEMORE.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, V MARTINEZ ON FIRST, T HAFNER ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 8
CINCINNATI 6 TOP, 11TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: F GUTIERREZ (.211, 0-FOR-1)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 11:09 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY TRAVIS HAFNER SCORED JOSH BARFIELD.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, T HAFNER ON FIRST, G SIZEMORE ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 7
CINCINNATI 6 TOP, 11TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: V MARTINEZ (.319, 1-FOR-3, BB, SF, RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 11:04 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY DAVID DELLUCCI (3) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 8TH OFF GARY MAJEWSKI SCORED JHONNY PERALTA.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 6, CINCINNATI 6
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J BARFIELD (.243, 0-FOR-3)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 9:53 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY KEN GRIFFEY JR (15) TO RIGHT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 7TH OFF RAFAEL PEREZ.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4, CINCINNATI 6
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: J CONINE (.296, 1-FOR-2, BB, HR, 2 RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 9:39 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY TRAVIS HAFNER SCORED GRADY SIZEMORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, T HAFNER ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 4
CINCINNATI 5 TOP, 7TH
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: V MARTINEZ (.322, 1-FOR-1, BB, SF, RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 9:28 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRANDON PHILLIPS SCORED NORRIS HOPPER.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B PHILLIPS ON FIRST, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
CINCINNATI 5 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: K GRIFFEY JR (.283, 1-FOR-2)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 8:51 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JHONNY PERALTA (12) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 4TH OFF MATT BELISLE.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3, CINCINNATI 4
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: D DELLUCCI (.245, 0-FOR-1)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 8:20 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY EDWIN ENCARNACION SCORED KEN GRIFFEY JR.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E ENCARNACION ON FIRST, J CONINE ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 2
CINCINNATI 4 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: J HAMILTON (.271, 1-FOR-1, HR, RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 8:15 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY VICTOR MARTINEZ SCORED JEREMY SOWERS.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C BLAKE ON FIRST, G SIZEMORE ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 2
CINCINNATI 3 TOP, 3RD
DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: T NIXON (.267, 0-FOR-1)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 7:58 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JOSH HAMILTON (9) TO CENTER WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 2ND OFF JEREMY SOWERS.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 1, CINCINNATI 3
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: A GONZALEZ (.268, 11 HR, 26 RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 7:42 PM - ML
AT CINCINNATI - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY JEFF CONINE (4) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 1ST OFF JEREMY SOWERS SCORED NORRIS HOPPER.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 1, CINCINNATI 2
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: E ENCARNACION (.283, 4 HR, 26 RBI)
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 7:31 PM - ML
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 1 1 2 0
CINCINNATI 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - JEREMY SOWERS
CIN - MATT BELISLE
DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: N HOPPER (.299, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
B PHILLIPS (.287, 11 HR, 33 RBI)
K GRIFFEY JR (.281, 14 HR
Indians vs. RedsJun 9 7:19 PM
Related News
- MLB is Attempting to Restart 2020 Negotiations in the Worst Possible Way Jun 16
- Silence in the Booth (For Now), How One Indians Broadcaster is Handling a Summer with No Baseball Jun 16
- Should the Indians Use a Four-Man Rotation During a Shortened 2020 Season? Jun 15
- What Does the Future Hold for 2020 and Beyond for Young Indians Yu Chang and Bobby Bradley? Jun 15
- Indians Get High Marks Nationally For 2020 MLB Draft Selections Jun 14
- Indians Players React to Players Rejecting Latest Deal, Tell Owners to Set the Schedule Jun 14
- Indians Lookback: Mark McGwire's Memorable Two-Game Series in Cleveland During the HR Race in 1998 Jun 13
- Despite Revenue Losses, Picking Up Roberto Pérez’s Option is Still a No-Brainer for the Indians Jun 12
- 2020 Complete Cleveland Indians Draft Breakdown and Capsules Jun 12
- Former Indian Kipnis Says He Doesn't See a Season in MLB, Commish Manfred Says Games Will Be Played "100 Percent" Jun 11
- Jake Bauers’ Situation with the Indians Has Gotten More Complicated Jun 11
- Cleveland Indians Select SS and RHP at No. 23 and 36 In 2020 MLB Draft Jun 10