MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-INDIANAPOLIS -- First baseman Steve Pearce launched a two-run homer and center fielder Brian Bixler added a solo long ball to lead the Indianapolis Indians over the Durham Bulls in front of a record-setting Monday night crowd of 13,862 at Victory Field.

With the win the Indians improve to 45-50 on the season and 22-23 at home, while the Bulls drop to 53-42 overall and 28-23 on the road with the loss. The victory gives Indianapolis a win in the first match up between the two teams this season with three games left in the current series.

In their first home game in two weeks the Indians treated the largest non-holiday Monday night crowd in Victory Field history and their largest crowd of the 2009 season so far to a thrilling 3-1 victory. Pearce ignited the record-setting crowd with his team-leading 13th home run, which he blasted over the left field lawn to give the Tribe a 2-0 lead in the fourth.

Bixler then nailed a homer of his own as he took a 2-1 pitch over the left field lawn for a solo round-tripper in the very next inning. The home run was the center fielder’s team-best fourth in the month of July and gives the Indians seven long balls in their five games since the All-Star break.

The home runs would be enough for Tribe starting pitcher Daniel McCutchen (6.0, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO,1 HBP), who allowed only one earned run and just one walk, while striking out six in six innings of work. The right hander picked up his team-leading ninth win of the season and has now posted a Indianapolis season best five straight victories over his last five starts.
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The one blemish against the Indians’ starter came in the sixth inning when Durham 1B Ryne Hughes took a pitch deep to right-center field for a solo homer to give the Bulls their only score of the contest. The bullpen would continue the dominance on the mound as right handers Denny Bautista (1.0 IP, 2 BB), Steven Jackson (1.0 IP, 1 H) and Chris Bootcheck (1.0 IP, 1 SO) combined to allow just three base runners in three scoreless innings of relief.

Bautista picked up his sixth hold of the season walking two batters in a scoreless seventh, while Jackson picked up his first hold of the year after he gave up just one hit in a shut out eighth. Bootcheck then closed the door on Durham as he punched out one hitter in a perfect ninth to earn his team-leading 15th save of the season and his first save in the month of July.

Durham starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez (3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO) took the loss as he gave up the first of the two Indians long balls and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks and struck out none in just 3.2 innings of work. Hernandez has now lost four of his last five decisions and dropped to 5-6 on the season with Monday night’s defeat.

Along with his fourth inning home run, Pearce (2-for-4, 1 R, 2 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI) also tallied a single to record the only multi-hit performance of the night for the Indians, while Hughes (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) also collected a double for the lone multi-hit contest for Durham. Pearce has now collected a hit in eight of his last 10 games with Monday marking his fourth multi-hit and multi-RBI game since returning from Pittsburgh on July 9th.

LF Lastings Milledge (0-for-1, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 SB), who was recently named the International League Player of the Week for July 16 through July 19, recorded three walks to increase his on-base percentage to a staggering .550 in his nine games with the Indians. The right handed slugger, who scored his fourth run in an Indians’s uniform when he trotted home on Pearce’s blast, has now reached base in six out of the nine contests he has played with the Tribe.

Indianapolis continues their four-game series with Durham on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. RHP Ian Snell is scheduled to start for Indianapolis, while LHP Jason Cromer is expected to get the nod for the Bulls.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM andwww.IndyIndians.comwith Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:40 p.m.

Post-game quote -- 1B Steve Pearce

(on how it felt to belt his two-run home run)
“It definitely feels good. Especially to hit a homer in front of all these people, it’s definitely a great feeling to do it here at Victory Field. This streak of wins is great and hopefully we can continue to ride it out..”

(on what he has seen from starter Daniel McCutchen during his current five-game winning streak)
“He is mixing his pitches in better and throwing a lot of them for strikes to get ahead of hitters. On a night where we only had five hits, he kept us in the game. He works fast and it is fun to play behind him.”

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