Duce Gourson’s grounder in the ninth inning was not hit with the majesty of his fourth-inning home run, but it carried Indianapolis much farther. The ball skipped past first baseman David McCabe, whose recovery and throw came too late, allowing Nick Cimillo to score the run that completed a four-run comeback and lifted the Indians into first place.
Indianapolis rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Gwinnett Stripers 6-5 on Wednesday at Gwinnett Field, extending its winning streak to five games and moving into sole possession of first in the International League pending Rochester’s result later that night.
Gourson went 2-for-4 with a walk and supplied both the Indians’ first and final runs. His first-pitch swing in the fourth sent an up-and-in fastball high toward the lawn beyond right-center field, giving Indianapolis the game’s first hit and a 1-0 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season and his second in as many days.
That advantage disappeared quickly. Jordan Groshans walked against Noah Davis in the bottom half, and Brett Wisely drove a 1-2 pitch over the right-field wall for a two-run homer. Gwinnett added a run in the fifth before Maverick Handley’s two-run double off Cy Nielson in the sixth glanced off Tyler Callihan’s glove in left-center and opened a 5-1 lead.
The Indians had only three hits through six innings. Their fourth began the comeback.
Robert Hassell III lined a single to left to open the seventh, and Jack Brannigan followed with a soft ground-ball single. After Callihan advanced both runners with a groundout, Cimillo pulled a sharp double down the left-field line. Hassell and Brannigan scored as Cimillo reached second safely, cutting the deficit in half.
Indianapolis squeezed another run from the inning when shortstop Jim Jarvis threw away Mitch Jebb’s grounder, bringing Cimillo home. Gourson walked before Jesus Castillo’s lineout ended the rally, but the Indians had turned a four-run hole into a one-run game.
Landon Tomkins made that rally hold up. He inherited the sixth inning from Nielson and recorded the final out, then worked around two singles in the seventh before retiring Gwinnett in order in the eighth. Tomkins earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings and did not issue a walk.
The top of the ninth began with Callihan lining a single to right against Blake Burkhalter. Cimillo walked, and Derek Berg’s sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Jebb lifted a fly ball to medium left, deep enough for Callihan to beat Luke Williams’ throw home and tie the game while Cimillo moved to third.
With two outs, Gourson sent a ground ball toward McCabe. The first baseman could not turn it into the final out, and Cimillo raced home with the go-ahead run. Burkhalter took the loss and a blown save after allowing both ninth-inning runs.
Noah Murdock made sure Gourson’s hit stood. Facing the top of Gwinnett’s order, he induced three straight groundouts for a perfect ninth and his first save.
The finish completed a bullpen game that began with Brandon Neeck throwing three scoreless innings despite three walks. Indianapolis finished with six runs on eight hits and no errors, scoring five unanswered runs across the seventh and ninth innings.
Cimillo went 1-for-3 with a walk and drove in two. Callihan had two hits and scored the tying run. Gourson provided the bookends: a soaring homer when offense was scarce, then the less glamorous grounder that pushed the Indians all the way back from four runs down—and, for the moment, ahead of everyone else.