Indians’ Offense Stifled in 5-0 Loss at Gwinnett

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Gwinnett Stripers ambushed the Indianapolis Indians with a trio of runs in the second inning and did not look back as they overcame the Indians in Game 2 of their six-game set at Coolray Field on Wednesday afternoon, 5-0.

Connor Capel kicked off the second inning for Gwinnett (34-37, 63-83) with a single and stole second to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. He was nearly thrown out at third on a ground ball back to pitcher Beau Burrows (L, 1-2) from Jonathan Ornelas, but Capel reached safely and advanced home for the first run of the day on a fielding error by third baseman Mike Jarvis. Cade Brunell plated Gwinnett’s second run with a single to score Ornelas and Adam Zebrowski made it a 3-0 game with an RBI double for this first Triple-A hit.

The Stripers tacked on another run in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk and capped the scoring at 5-0 in the sixth when, with runners on the corners, Brunell coaxed a throw to second on a steal attempt, allowing David Fletcher to scurry home from third.

Four of Indy’s (41-30, 83-62) five pitchers used in the contest allowed one-plus run, with Brandan Bidois proving as the only hurler to post a clean outing. Bidois has yet to allow a run in eight appearances and 11.2 innings with Indy and has pitched to a 0.77 ERA (5er/58.2ip) across four levels this season. Lucas Braun (W, 2-1) earned the win for Gwinnett after tossing 7.0 innings of shutout ball, allowing both Indians’ hits while striking out three in just his third Triple-A start.

The Indians and Stripers meet at the half-way point of their final series of the season on Thursday night at 7:05 PM. Southpaw Nick Dombkowski (2-6, 5.83) is set to take the mound for Indy while Gwinnett has not yet named a starter.