Columbus Clippers (13-12) – AAA
COL 12 – BUF 6
Just like the Cleveland Guardians took down the Toronto Blue Jays last night, the AAA affiliates for the two teams had a similar result.
Trenton Denholm gave Columbus 4.0 innings of work, giving up 6H, 3R/ER, 1BB, and striking out 3. Andrew Walters pitched in the 5th, seeing 3 batters – striking out 2 and walking 1. Will Dion took over to finish the 5th inning and pitched the 6th and 7th. Dion allowed 3R/ER on 5 hits and struck out 4. Jake Miller threw the final 2 frames, walking 1 and striking out 2.
The Clippers offense did more than their fair share to give the pitching staff room to breathe.
Things kicked off immediately with Petey Halpin drawing a lead off walk. CJ Kayfus smacked an RBI double to left, scoring Petey. The 2nd inning was the nail in the coffin for the Bisons. Dom Nuñez drew his own lead off walk. Dayan Frias, Juan Benjamin, and Kevin Rivas hit back-to-back-to-back singles to tack on another run. Travis Bazzana hit his 10th double of the season, giving the Clippers a 4-0 lead.
CJ Kayfus’ sac fly and Nolan Jones’ RBI single finished out the 5 run inning.
In the top of the fourth, 2 more runs crossed home. Kevin Rivas drew a lead off walk. Petey Halpin hit a long single that let Rivas go from first to third. Halpin stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position for Travis Bazzana. Bazz hit another double, scoring both runners all before an out was recorded.
In the top of the sixth Petey continued his stellar night with a single and another stolen base. Bazz was right behind him drawing a walk and then executing a double steal with Petey. Kayfus singled to right, scoring two more, putting the Clippers up 10-3.
Dayan Frias hit a lead off single and stole second. The stolen base ended up just being a stat padder. Juan Benjamin hit his first AAA home run to right center.
Akron RubberDucks (12-7) – AA
AKR 10 – CHE 8
The RubberDucks took on the Chesapeake Baysox and took home a strong victory. The RubberDucks starting pitching staff has warmed up quickly to start the season. Dylan DeLucia became the fifth straight Akron starter to make it through the fifth inning. DeLucia’s final line looked like 5.0IP/4H/3R/3ER/3BB/6K.
Alaska Abney unfortunately blew the save in his inning of work. He gave up 5R/4ER on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 1. Magnus Ellerts got his first win of the season, pitching two scoreless innings. The only baserunner Ellerts allowed was a walk and he struck out 2 batters. Jack Carey came in for the 9th inning, pitching a scoreless inning and earning his first save of the season.
The Akron offense had an explosive 4th inning, giving them the momentum needed to take the win. Jake Fox and Joe Lampe both reached on singles. Guy Lipscomb reached on a fielding error that scored Fox from second to tie the game. Cameron Barstad and Jose Devers added singles of their own, giving Akron the lead with one out and bases loaded.
A forceout and a pitching change put some pressure on Ralphy Velazquez to deliver with bases loaded. Deliver he did.
Ralphy’s grand slam gave the RubberDucks a cushy 5 run lead. In the bottom of the sixth the Baysox clawed their way back to take a two-run lead. The Ducks responded immediately with Wuilfredo Antunez hitting a lead off home run to bring them within one.
Jake Fox reached via a walk and Joe Lampe singled, giving Guy Lipscomb the opportunity to lay down an RBI sac bunt to tie it up.
Akron pushed through the top of the ninth to take the victory. Jake Fox reached via a fielding error and put himself into scoring position with a stolen base. A wild pitch put Fox on third, in the perfect place to score. Joe Lampe knocked his 3rd hit of the night. The RBI double scored Fox and put Akron back in the lead.
Cameron Barstad laid down Akron’s 2nd sac bunt of the night, scoring Lampe.
In the bottom of the ninth, Antunez made a momentum ending catch that sealed the fate of Buffalo.
Lake County Captains (9-10) – High A
LC 6 – WM 7
The Captains dipped below .500 after losing in a walk off to the Whitecaps. Rafe Schlesinger got the start for the Caps, going 4.1IP/7H/3R/3ER/0BB/7K. Logan McGuire finished the fifth inning and pitched into the sixth. He allowed only one hit and one walk. Xavier Martinez pitched 1.2 innings of his own, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts. Izaak Martinez closed the game, giving up 2R, but neither earned. A fielding error on the shortstop Garrett Howe set up a two-run double for the Whitecaps to walk it off.
It wasn’t for a lack of fight on the Captains side. In the top of the 7th, Nolan Schubart hit his second home run of the season. A solo shot to right field.
That solo shot was the thing that Lake County needed to kick off a high scoring 8th inning. Luke Hill, Esteban González, and Garrett Howe all hit no-out singles. Jaison Chourio, up to bat, hit a 2-run RBI single to tie the game.
Aaron Walton hit a two-run double to give the Caps the lead and put runners on the corners with another single all before recording a single out.
Hill City Howlers (11-8) – Single A
HIC 4 – HC 6
The Howlers secured a two-run victory over the Hickory Crawdads behind a timely 3-run homer. Jacob Zibin got the start for the Howlers, giving the team 4.0 innings of work. Zibin allowed 3R/ER on 6H, 4BB, and 4K. Zane Petty gave up a solo shot and a walk in his three innings of work. Angel Perez work 1.2 innings of scoreless work, striking out 3. Eudry Alcantara closed out the game, striking out one and earning his first win.
Jose Pirela hit a solo, one-out home run to center to put the Howlers on the board in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, Jonathan Martinez hit a lead off triple to right. Juneiker Caceres drew a walk and stole 2nd to move into scoring positoin. Riley Nelson singled to right, scoring both runners and putting the Howlers within one run. In the bottom of the ninth, still down by one run, Yeiferth Castillo drew a lead off walk. Tyler Howard reached on a fielding error to put two runners on for Luis De La Cruz. De La Cruz hit his first home run of the season to right field, walking it off for the Howlers.
