Columbus Clippers 3, St. Paul Saints 4
Clippers fall to 51-47
Columbus looked like it had done enough to win, scoring a go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it.
Cooper Ingle went beast mode, going 4-for-5 from the leadoff position while Angel Genao went 2-for-4 with a walk and Juan Brito also went 2-for-4 with a double. Milan Tolentino walked twice and stole a base.
Starting pitcher Austin Peterson did his job, allowing two runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings.
Ryan Webb added 1.2 scoreless, hitless
frames and the recently-activated Carlos Hernandez added a perfect eighth inning before Jack Leftwich gave up three hits in the bottom of the ninth to take the loss and earn his first blown save of the season.
Akron RubberDucks 0, Altoona Curve 1
RubberDucks fall to 43-49
Josh Hartle pitched one of the best games of his career, but it wasn’t enough as Akron’s offense was a no-show on Thursday.
Hartle dominated, striking out eight and walking one in 5.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. This was his second straight scoreless outing of at least five innings so hopefully he’s turning a corner in the second half.
Jay Driver was excellent in relief, adding 2.1 scoreless frames with four strikeouts. Unfortunately, Izaak Martinez gave up one run in the top of the ninth inning and Akron couldn’t answer.
Nolan Schubart reached base safely twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk. Aaron Walton also walked twice. Tyresse Turner went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base.
Lake County Captains 15, Fort Wayne TinCaps 3
Captains improve to 52-37
Half of your offense has been promoted to Akron? No problem!
Rake County was at it again on Thursday. Crazy as it sounds, despite having position players Jaison Chourio, Luke Hill, Nolan Schubart, Bennett Thompson, Ryan Cesarini, Aaron Walton and Dean Curley all get promoted to Double-A, the team just continues to blast baseballs.
A whopping seven players in the lineup still have an OPS over .800.
Everyone got in on the action Thursday, with Juneiker Caceres leading the charge by going 3-for-6 with two doubles. He now has an OPS of 1.032 despite having been promoted a level recently.
Also standing out was Welbyn Francisca, who has been heating up big time. Francisca went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. Jeffrey Mercedes also had a three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a walk.
Jonah Advincula could have pouted about being demoted, but he is raking instead. He went 2-for-5 with a double, a walk and three stolen bases. Jace LaViolette also broke out of his recent slump, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two walks.
Starting pitcher Will McCausland didn’t have his best stuff, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in 3.0 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Melkis Hernandez was sensational out of the bullpen. He struck out a whopping eight batters in 3.0 scoreless innings without walking anyone. Logan McGuire finished off the win with 2.0 scoreless frames.
Hill City Howlers 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 10 (F/8) Game 1
Hill City Howlers 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 13 Game 2
Hillcats fall to 40-53
In game one, catcher Reiner Herrera missed hitting for the cycle by a single, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and a double.
Riley Nelson also had a terrific game, going 2-for-2 with two walks. Also homering were Cannon Peebles, who went 1-for-3 with a walk; and Luis De La Cruz, who went 1-for-4. Dauri Fernandez singled and walked, but was caught stealing twice.
Starting pitcher Aidan Major allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings with three strikeouts and no walks. He was relieved by Evan Chrest, who was tattooed for five runs in just 1.1 frames. The game was tied until the eighth inning when Javi Torres allowed the ghost runner to score to take the loss.
Hill City was in control of game two all the way until the final two innings.
Victor Izturis went 2-for-3 with a double and Riley Nelson tripled.
Starting pitcher Miguel Flores allowed four runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Luke Fernandez had a nightmare relief outing, allowing seven runs on five hits with three walks in just 1.1 frames.
