MiLB recap for the Cleveland Guardians for 9/15
Columbus Clippers 7, St. Paul Saints 11
Clippers fall to 60-79
The Clippers offense wasn’t the problem on Sunday as Columbus racked up seven runs on 10 hits. Kahlil Watson had himself a game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk.
Petey Halpin went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and Christian Cairo went 2-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases. Johnathan Rodriguez also stayed scoring hot by going 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch.
John Means’ struggles continued
as he was hammered for six runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts in just 3.2 innings. At this point, if he’s healthy, I don’t see how Cleveland uses him in place of anyone else in the current 6-man starting rotation given how well everyone else has been pitching lately.
Austin Peterson gave up three runs in 4.0 innings of piggyback relief.
Akron RubberDucks 4, Harrisburg Senators 5
RubberDucks fall to 77-60
Akron closed out its regular season with a whimper, losing a game it had in the bag. The RubberDucks had taken a commanding 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the bullpen blew it, allowing four runs in the bottom of the eighth, with three charged to Tyler Thornton and one more to Steven Perez. Perez also allowed an inherited runner to score.
The bullpen wasted what had been a spectacular effort from rising pitching prospect Yorman Gomez, who mowed down Harrisburg batters to the tune of 5.0 scoreless, two-hit innings with four strikeouts and just one walk. Zane Morehouse allowed one run and Hunter Stanley added a scoreless inning of work.
On offense, no one had a particularly great game. Christian Knapczyk reached base safely three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks. Jake Fox went 2-for-4 with a double while Jacob Cozart and Alfonsin Rosario both went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Lynchburg Hillcats 6, Columbia Fireflies 5 (F/10)
Hillcats lead the championship series 1-0
Just as has been the case ever since Cleveland signed all of its 2025 MLB Draft picks, Lynchburg was carried by steady college bats and its spectacular young pitching staff.
The Hillcats were led on offense with five different players who had huge games. The biggest game of all came from Dauri Fernandez, a 17-year-old phenom who tore up the Arizona Complex League earlier this summer. Fernandez went 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, scoring a pair of runs for the Hillcats.
Also standing out were Logun Clark and Guardians 2025 second round competitive balance pick Aaron Walton, who both went 2-for-4, with Walton socking a pair of doubles and also walking. Guardians 2025 second round pick Dean Curley went 2-for-5 with a double. Guardians 17th round pick, catcher Cannon Peebles (my god I love that name!) also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a double.
Lynchburg held a slim 5-4 lead heading to the ninth inning, where Cam Schuelke made a rare blown save without allowing a hit to allow Columbia to tie the game. The Hillcats picked off the ghost runner in the 10th inning, then Walton walked it off with a game-winning double.
Starting pitcher Jacob Zibin picked the best time to have one of his best outings of the season, tossing 4.0 one-hit shutout innings with three strikeouts and three walks. A former 10th round pick out of high school who signed for a record bonus, Zibin missed the first two years of his professional career after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He looks well on his way back now.
Guardians 2025 seventh round pick Will McCausland picked up the win with a scoreless top of the 10th inning.
