Indians minor league recap: Adam Plutko flirts with perfection, Clippers still lose

Welcome to Triple-A, Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier, now enjoy this devastating loss.

Columbus Clippers 1, Norfolk Tides 2

Box Score · Clippers fall to 57-47

The big news coming into yesterday's Columbus Clippers game was the Triple-A debuts of Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier, but it was starting pitcher Adam Plutko who stole the headlines, and the attention of Twitter. The Tribe's young pitching prospect carried a perfect game through seven innings, but lost it (and the game) in the eighth.

The fateful eighth inning started out well, with a strikeout, but the next three batters got on base via two singles and a double before Plutko was pulled for Shawn Armstrong. Plutko's night still looks incredible, of course. He pitched 7.1 innings total, striking out seven batters and walking none -- his only runs coming off of the three hits.

As for the pair of debuting outfield prospects, Zimmer and Frazier combined to go 2-for-7 with two strikeouts, batting in the lower-half of the order. No batter on the Clippers had a multi-hit game, and the team's only run came from a Jesus Aguilar solo shot in the second inning.

Akron RubberDucks 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 10

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 54-50

While losing in the last couple innings of a near-perfect game is devastating, getting blown out is arguably worse. The Akron RubberDucks trailed most of this game, 2-0, but rallied back in the sixth inning to make it 4-2... and then immediately gave the lead back with a six-run collapse in the seventh.

Greg Allen looked impressive in just his second game at Double-A, going 2-for-5, while Jordan Smith added two hits as well. Third baseman Joe Sever had just one hit, a double, but it was good to score three of the RubberDucks' four runs.

As a team, the RubberDucks struck out 11 times to just four walks.

Starting pitcher Rob Kaminsky did not look sharp, allowing five earned runs off of seven hits and striking out just four batters. This was especially disappointing given his recent string of excellent starts, dating back to June 19. In the seven games in that span, Kaminsky allowed two or fewer runs in every outing, and struck out at least six in four of them.

Casey Weathers recorded four outs out of the bullpen, all of which were strikeouts.

Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 66-35

This game could not possibly have been closer, with both teams notching eight hits and the winning team only having one more run, but the Lynchburg Hillcats came out on top thanks to a big three-run second inning.

Yu-Cheng Chang, Francisco Mejia, and Jodd Carter all had two hits on the day. This, of course, means that Mejia's hitting streak is now at 39. Bobby Bradley was blanked on the day in four at-bats, but he only struck out once.

Starting pitcher Thomas Pannone pitched just 4.2 innings (94 pitches), allowing two earned runs off of seven hits in the process. He also struck out three and issued two walks.

Mahoning Valley Scrapers 6, Connecticut Tigers 3

Box Score · Scrappers improve to 17-21

After sweeping the doubleheader on Monday, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers continued their march to .500 with another win over the Connecticut Tigers yesterday. Much like their major-league counterparts, the Scrappers won in dramatic, walk-off fashion.

Heading into the bottom of ninth down 2-3, the Scrappers had the bottom of their lineup coming up to bat. They came through big with a leadoff walk from Jack Goihl, a successful bunt by speedster Todd Isaacs, and another sac bunt by Alexis Pantoja. Gabriel Mejia plated the winning run with thanks to yet another fielding error by the Tigers, and Silento Sayles sealed the win with at three-run home run.

Starting pitcher Juan Hillman pitched four innings, striking out three and walking one.

AZL Indians 4, AZL Reds 3

Box Score · Indians improve to 21-8

Another close game was won by an Indians affiliate, this time being the AZL Indians squad in their 4-3 victory over the AZL Reds. The scoring came fast in this game, all seven runs were accounted for by the bottom of the fourth inning.

Dorssys Paulino and Oscar Gonzalez both had two-hit games, while Nolan Jones was 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Starting pitcher Randy Marte pitched just one inning, but I have not been able to find any definitive reason why he was taken out so quickly. Francisco Perez, who pitched six innings of this game, allowed three earned runs off of five hits while striking out seven. This was arguably Perez's worst start this season since his debut, but the 19-year-old remains undefeated at 5-0 in the Rookie League.

DSL Indians 3, DSL Mets1 5

Box Score · Indians fall to 20-23

The DSL Indians allowed three quick runs in the first inning and were never able to fully bounce back.

Pablo Jimeinez was the only Indians batter with a multi-hit game, and they had only six hits as a team, compared to seven strikeouts and one walk. Starting pitcher Luis Valdez was tagged with the loss after pitching five innings and allowing two earned runs, he is now 0-3 on the season.

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The Lake County Captains had a scheduled off day.