Columbus Clippers 7, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8
Clippers fall to 49-40
Bo Naylor and Angel Genao both had big games, but it wasn’t enough for Columbus on Thursday.
Naylor went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a double while Genao went 3-for-4 with a home run. Genao is on fire and currently is batting .303 at Triple-A with an .870 OPS. I’m super curious what Cleveland is going to do with him at this rate.
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Milan Tolentino also went 2-for-4 with a double and Joe Lampe doubled.
Starting pitcher Austin Peterson got knocked around and failed to get an out in the second inning, allowing three runs on three hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Tommy Mace followed him and wasn’t much better, allowing three more runs on four hits in 3.1 innings.
Ryan Webb tossed 2.2 scoreless innings and Daniel Espino allowed a solo home run in his inning of work.
Akron RubberDucks 5, Chesapeake Baysox 3
RubberDucks improve to 38-45
The top of Akron’s order did most of the work. Nick Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a home run while Jaison Chourio went 2-for-4. I’m super curious why Chourio was pinch-ran for late in the game. I didn’t see anything about him being hurt.
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Tyresse Turner went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base while Jacob Cozart doubled in a pair of runs.
Starting pitcher Caden Favors was rock solid, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
Matt Jachec was sensational, striking out all five of his outs in 1.2 innings and Alaska Abney allowed an unearned run while earning the save.
Lake County Captains 8, Lansing Lugnuts 7
Captains improve to 48-33
It was a team effort for Lake County as eight members of the lineup contributed to the offensive eruption that included four home runs.
Esteban Gonzalez had the best game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Jace LaViolette, Nolan Schubart and Ryan Cesarini also homered for their only hits of the day. Schubart’s home run was his 20th of the season already.
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Garrett Howe went 2-for-4 with a triple while Aaron Walton and Tommy Hawke both went 2-for-4 with a double. Correction, both of Walton’s hits were doubles.
Starting pitcher Michael Kennedy had one of his best performances of the season. He allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 5.0 innings.
The bullpen had a rough night, allowing five runs in 4.0 innings, but the offense did enough to avoid an implosion.
Hill City Howlers 7, Charleston RiverDogs 3
Howlers improve to 35-48
Fresh off being named the Carolina League Player of the Month, 18-year-old prospect Juneiker Caceres belted a three-run home run and also had a sacrifice fly in a four-RBI performance to lead Hill City to a win.
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Other offensive standouts included Riley Nelson, who went 2-for-3 and Cannon Peebles, who went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk. Gabriel Rodriguez reached base safely three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks.
Ryan Prager I think was used as an opener, tossing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.
Luke Fernandez followed with 4.0 solid innings of long relief, dancing around four walks and two hits. A recently-activated Conner Whittaker preserved the shutout with 2.0 scoreless frames, then Angel Perez allowed three runs in the final 2.0 innings, although the team had a seven-run lead at that point so it was fine.
ACL Guardians 6, ACL Giants 3
Guardians improve to 28-21
Another day, another perfect day at the plate for Alejandro Blasco. The outfield sensation went 2-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly, raising his season OPS to 1.382.
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Randy Martinez homered and walked while Estivel Morillo doubled and walked.
Starting pitcher Will Hynes was terrific, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 4.0 innings.
Reliever Randy Baron added 2.0 scoreless frames and Austin Testerman struck out the side to earn the save.
