Pitching was king for the Indians minor league affiliates yesterday, although two of the four teams provided some Kluber-esque run support.
It was a strange day, with a stolen base from the most improbable of sources and an offensive explosion from top prospect Bradley Zimmer.
Without further ado:
Columbus Clippers 0, Durham Bulls 2
Box Score · Clippers fall to 26-21
After scoring 10 runs yesterday in a losing effort, the Columbus Clippers offense decided to take the day off.
The Clippers offense was complete shut out despite outhitting Durham 7-6, primarily due to hitting into a whopping five double plays in nine innings. Tyler Naquin led the way by going 3-4 on the day, but was involved in a whopping four of the five double plays (he also flied into one in the third).
The game was scoreless through the first seven innings thanks to an incredible performance from starting pitcher Ross Detwiler.
Yeah, you heard me right.
Detwiler shut Durham out over seven innings, striking out six and giving up just four hits on just 79 pitches. Unfortunately, his replacement Josh Martin would immediately walk a batter, give up a single and then a two-run double in the eight inning and that was all she wrote.
Akron RubberDucks 6, Harrisburg Senators 1
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 34-13
This game wasn't even close.
Akron outhit Harrisburg 12-1 on the day, aided by a strong pitching performance by starter Michael Peoples, who pitched 6.2 innings, walking three and striking out four. He did not give up his first hit until the last batter he faced, giving up an RBI double.
The offense had a big day, led by top prospect Bradley Zimmer, who went 3-4 with a double and his ninth home run while not striking out. Fellow outfielders Jordan Smith and Bryson Myles also had big days, going 2-4 with two RBI and hitting a home run respectively. Smith also made an excellent catch in the third inning.
Lynchburg Hillcats 6, Salem Red Sox 1
Box Score · Hillcats improve to 31-16
Just like the Double-A club, Lynchburg would be paced by a strong pitching performance and timely hitting to win comfortably.
Mark Mathias and Mike Papi would lead the way for the Hillcats offense, picking up the only multi-hit performances while going a combined 5-8 with two doubles at the dish. Top hitting prospect Bobby Bradley had a quiet day, going 0-3 with a walk, but he turned heads on the basepaths by catching the pitcher napping in the fifth inning and swiping his first base of the season.
Lynchburg was led by top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield on the day, who gave up just one run on four hits in six innings, although his strikeout totals remained a bit low with just three. Cameron Hill and Trevor Frank mopped things up in relief to preserve the win.
Lake County Captains 2, Fort Wayne Tincaps 3
Box Score · Captains fall to 27-21
Despite the middle of the order picking up all nine hits on the day, the Captains could not sequence those hits together enough to muster more than two measly runs of offense.
Prospects Tyler Krieger, Francisco Mejia, Nathan Lukes and Yonathan Mendoza all had multi-hit games, but Lake County would strand seven baserunners on the day.
Starting pitcher Thomas Pannone had a decent day overall, striking out six and surrendering three runs in 5.2 innings, one out away from a quality start, but it simply wasn't enough as the Captains had their brief two-game winning streak snapped.