Everyone's eyes were on an Akron starter yesterday, as Carlos Carrasco made his first official rehab start on a 60 pitch count. Recently redeemed Tribe starter Cody Anderson also made his return to the Columbus rotation
More on their performances below.
The big story offensively for the Tribe affiliates took place in Single-A as Lake County put on a serious hitting display en route to scoring 14 runs.
Let's get to business!
Columbus Clippers 3, Durham Bulls 0
Box Score · Clippers improve to 27-21
Columbus would score three runs in the first inning and that would end all scoring the rest of the way. Erik Gonzalez led off the game with a home run and the Clippers would load the bases before Ronny Rodriguez picked up a clutch two-out, two-RBI single to give them a lead they wouldn't look back from.
Tyler Naquin would be the only Clipper to pick up a multi-hit day, going 2-4 to raise his Triple-A batting average over .300 (just like his MLB average).
Starting pitcher Cody Anderson was downright spectacular, pitching four innings of no-hit ball while striking out six before a rain delay would knock him out of the game after only 48 pitches.
Relievers Jeff Johnson, Kyle Crockett and Shawn Armstrong provided five scoreless innings out of the pen to preserve the win and Armstrong collected his third save now that Austin Adams has been called up.
Akron RubberDucks 3, Harrisburg Senators 2
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 35-13
Carlos Carrasco started for Akron on a rehab assignment and he had a very strange day. Cookie only gave up one earned run in four innings while striking out six, but he also gave up seven hits and had another issue at first base, picking up an error while trying to finish a double play that had been started by first baseman Nellie Rodriguez.
Carrasco would leave the game with the Rubberducks trailing 2-0 but that wouldn't last long as Bradley Zimmer led off the fourth with a walk and Nellie Rodriguez would bring him home with a two-run bomb to center field.
The score would remain tied until the bottom of the eighth inning where the Zimmer-Rodriguez combo would again pay dividends as Zimmer singled and Rodriguez doubled him home to take the lead. Reliever JP Feyereisen would send the fans home happy on Shooter McGavin night with a save.
Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Salem Red Sox 3
Box Score · Hillcats fall to 31-17
Lynchburg was a bit listless overall on the day offensively, but they did enough to give the team a 2-0 lead after five innings.
But that's where it all went wrong.
On a night where every single starter got on base exactly one time, the Hillcats couldn't sequence any of their eight hits or one hits batsman together. David Armendariz socked a solo shot in the fourth inning while Anthony Santander knocked in Yu-Cheng Chang with a double in the first and that would be it.
Baserunning was a big issue for the Hillcats as they were caught stealing three times and picked off three more times on the day.
Starting pitcher Mitch Brown led the way with five scoreless innings, striking out three and walking two, but relievers Antonio Romero and Jordan Milbrath would combine to give up five runs in the final four innings to blow the lead and the game.
Lake County Captains 14, Fort Wayne Tincaps 4
Box Score · Captains improve to 28-21
This wasn't a game, it was a slaughter.
Not one, not two but three members of the Lake County Captains had three-hit games as the Single-A Tribe affiliate scored 14 runs on 15 hits. The biggest contributors were the usual suspects as Tyler Krieger, Ka'ai Tom and Connor Marabell combined to go 9-14 with four doubles and two triples.
If you include Francisco Mejia's .299 batting average, the Captains have five players batting .300 or better on the season, led by Tom at .345 thus far. Shortstop Sam Haggerty picked up his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the sixth.
Starting pitcher Casey Shane was brilliant through five innings but stayed in a few batters too long, giving up three runs while only getting one out in the sixth inning before being yanked. Cortland Cox allowed both inherited runners to score, which gave Shane a worse looking pitching line on the day than he deserved.