Indians minor league recap: Yandy Diaz extends hitting streak to 25 games

Francisco Mejia isn't part of the headline, but don't panic!

The talented 20-year old switch-hitting catcher had the day off yesterday for Lynchburg, although the offense could have perhaps used him to get over the hump in a torrid extra-inning slugfest.

It was a forgettable day record-wise for Tribe affiliates yesterday, as every team played from Triple-A to the Dominican League and every team lost, going 0-8 overall.

Regardless, there were still some interesting stories to be told, most notably the extension of Yandy Diaz's excellent hitting streak to 25 games for Triple-A Columbus.

Columbus Clippers 1, Louisville Bats 2 (F/10)

Box Score · Clippers fall to 63-52

With all the craziness up on the big league team, the Clippers have been deprived of several top starting pitchers lately, so they signed free agent Shawn Haviland to start for them yesterday, and he gave them an inspired performance.

In his first professional pitching appearance of 2016, Haviland lasted seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits while striking out one and walking two. Shawn Armstrong and Joseph Colon pitched scoreless frames to keep the game tied before rehabbing Craig Stammen gave up a run in the 10th inning to take the loss.

Offensively, Yandy Diaz went 1-4 with a walk to extend his hitting streak to 25 games. He has been overshadowed by Francisco Mejia during this incredible stretch, but he's been one of the Indians' 2016 breakout minor league players.

Guillerme Quiroz had three hits on the day for the Clippers including a double, but didn't factor into the lone run they scored.

Akron RubberDucks 4, Portland Sea Dogs 9

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 56-58

Unlike Columbus, Akron's attempt to start a free agent pitcher ended in absolute disaster.

Lendy (literally the perfect name for a free agent filler player) Castillo lasted just 1.2 innings in his start for the RubberDucks, giving up four runs on four hits while not walking a batter and striking out one. He left with two runners on base, which Cortland Cox allowed to both score.

Cox was pretty putrid in relief as well, giving up four runs himself over 2.1 frames. The lone bright spot in the pitching department for Akron was Grant Sides, who shut Portland down over two scoreless innings.

Greg Allen was one of the few bright spots offensively for Akron, going 1-2 with a double and two walks while batting leadoff. Nellie Rodriguez had a pair of singles and Jordan Smith made the game less laughable with a three run homer in the eighth inning.

Lynchburg Hillcats 12, Salem Red Sox 13 (F/13)

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 71-42

What is it about being 30 games over .500 for Lynchburg? Every time they get there, they can't keep it. What a bunch of bums.

Sarcasm aside, the Hillcats got themselves into quite a slobberknocker yesterday. Down 5-0 after two innings, Lynchburg rallied back with eight runs in the third, but gave the lead right back in the fifth.

Sean Brady's string of excellent starting pitching came to a screeching halt, as he gave up nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 4.1 innings while walking two and striking out five.

Billy Strode and Trevor Frank were amazing out of the bullpen, combining for four shutout innings as Lynchburg tied the game in the eighth inning and then took the lead in the 12th, but Dominic DeMasi allowed Salem to tie it in the bottom of the 12th and then walk off in the 13th.

Offensively, Mark Mathias had a monster game, going 3-4 with a double and three walks. Tyler Krieger, Alex Monsalve and Connor Marabell all had regular multi-hit games while Bobby Bradley and Dorssys Paulino slugged home runs. Bradley's dinger was his 22nd of the season, which put him back in first place by himself for the 2016 season among Tribe minor leaguers.

Lake County Captains 2, Dayton Dragons 7

Box Score · Captains fall to 56-53

Micah Miniard had a quality start for Lake County, but the Captains' offense and the bullpen let him down. The recently promoted Miniard threw six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking none, but left the game with his team down 3-2.

Lake County only managed six hits in the game, but catcher Martin Cervenka had two of them, one being a triple.

Jodd Carter continued his hot run for Lake County, extending his hitting streak to 10 games by slugging a home run and also walking twice on the day.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2, Hudson Valley Renegades 4

Box Score · Scrappers fall to 22-25

Todd Isaacs had the game of his life, but Mahoning Valley still came up short.

The Scrappers left fielder went 4-4 from the leadoff position, hitting a solo home run and also stealing two bases. Other than Emanuel Tapia, who went 2-3 with a walk, the rest of the Mahoning Valley bats were completely silent.

Aaron Civale had his worst start of the season, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. Thankfully, Ben Krauth provided 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, running his career scoreless innings streak to 20.2 innings overall since being drafted out of Kansas this past June.

AZL Indians 1, AZL White Sox 3

Box Score · Indians fall to 23-15

The AZL Indians only had two batters do much of anything yesterday in an 11-inning pitchers' duel: Will Benson and Oscar Gonzalez. Both men picked up a combined five of the team's seven hits on the day with Gonzalez collecting two singles and Benson going 3-5 with a double and the lone run scored.

Francisco Perez was once again superb, tossing six innings while giving up just one run on four hits and striking out five batters while walking one. The 19-year old Dominican has definitely made a name for himself as a reliable pitching option in 2016.

Back on subject, Skylar Arias held the fort down for two innings as the game entered extra time, but he fell apart in the 11th, giving up two runs after a leadoff triple and RBI double to take the loss.

DSL Indians 0, DSL Mets1 1

Box Score · Indians fall to 22-32

The tail-spinning DSL Indians lost a slugfest with the DSL Mets1 yesterday thanks to five errors, which helped the Mets overcome getting outhit 11-7. Wilbis Santiago and Luis De La Rosa both had three-hit games for the Indians, with De La Rosa slugging a double and knocking in three baserunners, but the pitching let them down.

Starter Jhonneyver Gutierrez gave up four runs in three innings and every relief arm gave up at least one run while trying to close out the game, with the final run being scored in the decisive eighth inning.