While the Cleveland Indians took an off day to prepare for an upcoming homestand, the farm teams were busy playing. Some in bad weather, some just... bad. It was a weird day.
TJ House should be in the mix for the fifth starter position at some point, but he did not help his case yesterday with the Clippers, having given up six runs before getting a single opponent out. Down in Double-A, Bradley Zimmer homered for the second-straight game so maybe he is starting to heat up.
Columbus Clippers 4, Charlotte Knights 10
Box Score · Clippers fall to 16-8
The Columbus Clippers' win streak is officially snapped at 11 games. The team did not have much of a chance right out of the gate in this one, as starting pitcher TJ House allowed six runs and issued three walks before registering a single out.
To their credit, the rest of the bullpen held for most of the game, save for Josh Martin who allowed the Charlotte Knights to tack on three more runs in the seventh inning.
The good thing to come out of this game is that Giovanny Urshela is still hitting well, winning streak or no. The third baseman was 2-for-5 on the day with a double, extending his hit streak to eight games. Urshela was recently named the International League Player of the Week, and for good reason.
First baseman Jesus Aguilar added another home run, his sixth of the season. He currently leads the International League in homers.
Akron RubberDucks 2, Altoona Curve 1
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 16-8
That's not deja vu you are currently experiencing. For the second-straight night, the Akron RubberDucks won a close contest with the biggest offense coming from prospect Bradley Zimmer.
Like he did in Sunday's win, Zimmer hit a big home run to put the 'Ducks on the board. Last night it was with the team trailing 0-1 in the seventh; it was Zimmer's fourth longball of the season. The only other Akron hits on the night came from outfielders Bryson Myles and Clint Frazier.
Starting pitcher Adam Plutko was masterful last night, throwing 6.2 innings and allowing just one earned run on five hits. He struck out six -- the second-most of any start of the season -- and issued zero walks for the first time this season. On the season, Plutko has not issued more than two walks in any game, and he has allowed more than two earned runs only once.
Relief pitcher J.P. Feyereisen had a rocky ninth inning, loading the bases with a bang-bang single and two walks, but he managed to strike out the final two batters in the inning to work out of his own jam and record his first save of the season. He a huge curveball working last night, which I cannot wait to see at the higher levels.
Lake County Captains 2, Kane County Cougars 3
Box Score · Captains fall to 17-8
Despite tallying nine base hits as a team, the Lake County Captains were only able to score two runs -- not enough to overcome the Kane County Cougars. Captains batters were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and they left six men on base. As a team, they only drew two walks compared to 12 strikeouts.
Tyler Krieger continues to be hot, extending his hit streak to 12 games. Catcher Francisco Mejia contributed two hits of his own, his ninth multi-hit game of the year.
Captains starting pitcher Matt Esparza was fantastic over 6.0 innings, striking out eight and walking none. he was still tagged with the loss, however, because of a rough third inning which he allowed three hits and two earned runs.
* * *
The Lynchburg Hillcats played four-and-a-half innings before their game was rained out and rescheduled for tomorrow.