MiLB recap for the Cleveland Guardians for 9/11
Columbus Clippers 4, St. Paul Saints 3
Clippers improve to 59-77
The middle of the Clippers batting order all reached base safely twice, with Johnathan Rodriguez, Will Wilson and Cooper Ingle all going 1-for-3 with a walk.
The big blow came from Milan Tolentino, who blasted a grand slam in the fifth inning. Petey Halpin also doubled.
Also of note, top prospect Travis Bazzana was lifted after two at bats in this game and it does not appear to be injury related.
With Gabriel Arias dealing with a wrist injury, let the speculation begin.
Starting pitcher Doug Nikhazy went just one inning, walking three and allowing a pair of hits while allowing one run with two strikeouts. Jake Miller allowed one of his three inherited runners to score, giving up one additional run in 2.2 innings with five more walks.
The walk-fest continued as Tommy Mace walked four more batters in 2.0 scoreless innings. Franco Aleman allowed one run one a walk and a hit in the ninth inning, but held on to earn the save.
Akron RubberDucks 3, Harrisburg Senators 5
RubberDucks fall to 76-58
Akron hit three home runs, but they were all solo shots and no one else did much as the RubberDucks had just two at bats the entire game with a runner in scoring position.
Joe Lampe, Alex Mooney and Jake Fox all homered. Angel Genao went 2-for-4.
Starting pitcher Trenton Denholm, who rumor has it is testing out a transition to becoming a knuckleballer, allowed five runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out three and walked zero.
Steven Perez pitched two scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
Lake County Captains 0, West Michigan WhiteCaps 4
Captains lose 0-2 in the division series
With most of the team’s best players all having been promoted to Akron, Lake County just couldn’t muster enough offense in the division series of the Midwest League playoffs.
The Captains mustered just two hits in the final game of their season, with Ryan Cesarini going 1-for-3 with a walk and Nick Mitchell going 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.
Starting pitcher Cam Favors was tagged for four runs (three earned) on six hits in 3.1 innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Fredericksburg Nationals 4
Hillcats win 2-0 in the division series
Lynchburg was able to score five runs on just four hits in this one. Catching prospect Cannon Peebles, a 2025 17th round pick, led the way, going 2-for-4 with an RBI single and also scoring a run. Tyler Howard, a 2025 11th round pick, walked twice. Guardians 2025 eighth round pick Anthony Martinez went 1-for-2 with a double.
Lynchburg trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning when Dauri Fernandez attempted a sacrifice bunt. The bunt was popped up and caught by the pitcher, but the pitcher attempted to double up the baserunners and instead threw the ball away, allowing two runs to score on the error to lose the game. What a brutal way to go.
Starting pitcher Melkis Hernandez was terrific, allowing one run on one hit with five strikeouts in 4.0 innings. The final three pitchers were amazing out of the bullpen as well as Raudy Rivera pitched a scoreless inning, Guardians 2025 18th round pick Zane Petty pitched 2.0 scoreless frames and Guardians 2025 16th round pick Luke Fernandez earned the win with a scoreless inning as well.
