Indians minor league recap: Erik Gonzalez returns to ripping up Triple-A pitching

Erik Gonzelez's time in the majors may have been short, and he may have been under-utilized, but he continues to hit well against Triple-A pitching, with another big game last night. On the season, he is now slashing .295/.326/.416 with six home runs for the Columbus Clippers, some of his best marks at any levels in the minors.

Yesterday was loaded with offense at nearly every level, some of it good for the Cleveland Indians farm teams, some of it bad. Unfortunately, it was a day of rest for many top prospects, including Bradley Zimmer, Yandy Diaz, and Francisco Mejia, who is carrying a historic 47-game hitting streak but has spent the last two games on the bench.

Columbus Clippers 14, Louisville Bats 5

Box Score · Clippers improve 64-52

For the second time in three games, the Columbus Clippers won over the Louisville Bats in blowout fashion. The Clippers outscored the Bats 32-11 in the three-game set.

As a team, Columbus batters finished the day with 18 hits, including nine extra-base hits -- six doubles and three home runs. Every batter except Adam Moore and Joey Butler (who went hitless) had multi-hit days. Erik Gonzalez, playing in his third-straight game since being optioned from the majors, had a huge four-hit night, including three doubles and two runs batted in.

Giovanny Urshela's lengthy hit streak was snapped Saturday against Louisville, but he got back on track last night with another two hits and three runs batted in.

Ryan Merritt had a spectacular day on the mound, striking out eight and walking one in eight innings of work. He finished the game with only two earned runs, but four crossed the plate while he was on the mound.

Akron RubberDucks 3, Portland Sea Dogs 5

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 56-59

The Akron RubberDucks had one exciting inning on Sunday, surrounded by eight innings of 'meh' as they drift further away from the .500 mark on the season.

Akron's three fifth-inning runs came via a single, an error and a double from Luigi Rodriguez, one of only two RubberDucks extra-base hits on the day. They finished with five hits as a team, with leadoff batter Greg Allen hitting the other extra-base hit, also a double. Allen now has a hit in every game since he was nearly traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

Starting pitcher Nick Pasquale lasted 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs off of eight hits in the process. His ERA has now risen to 5.10 with the 'Ducks this season and he has allowed at least two three earned runs in each of his last three starts. The recently-signed Colt Hynes pitched 1.2 innings of relief.

Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Salem Red Sox 11

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 71-43

Well. The Lynchburg Hillcats drew seven walks as a team, that's nice. Unfortunately, they could almost nothing with them on -- including going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranding eight runners -- and they allowed 19 hits in their blowout loss.

Dorssys Paulino, Mark Mathias, and Sicnarf Loopstok were the only batters with hits, although every batter besides Bobby Bradley and Paul Hendrix at least made it on base thanks to all the ways. Bradley was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Jared Robinson has struggled since his promotion from the Class-A Lake County Captains. In total, he has pitched 15.1 innings in High-A with 19 earned runs allowed and five walks to seven strikeouts. Yesterday was no exception as he allowed seven earned runs in 5.1 innings.

Lake County Captains 7, Dayton Dragons 2

Box Score · Captains improve to 57-55

What is it with fifth innings today? Similar to the Akron RubberDucks, the Lake County Captains relied on a big, three-run fifth. But, unlike the 'Ducks, they actually did things for the rest of the game, too.

Leadoff batter and shortstop Willi Castro had a monster game, going 4-for-5, as did David Amendariz who had a hit in all four of his at-bats and hit the team's only home run of the day. Captains batters did not draw a single walk (neither did the Dayton Dragons) on the day, but they did manage 16 hits and only struck out twice.

Shao-Ching Chiang turned in an excellent seven innings in his start, striking out nine batters and walking none. Reliever Jon Fitzsimmons finished the game by striking out all six batters he faced.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2, Hudson Valley Renegades 3

Box Score · Scrappers fall to 22-26

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers kept this game in range until the end, trailing 1-0 much of the game and even pulling ahead in the eighth with a two-run inning. Unfortunately, more runs from the Hudson Valley Renegades runs in the eighth and ninth innings gave them the victory.

Gabriel Mejia had a good day from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. The only Scrappers batters to hit were Gavin Collins and Emmanuel Tapia. As a team, Scrapper batters struck out 11 times to just four walks.

Tanny Tully had a solid performance in just his second start of the season, allowing one earned run off of three hits in five innings.

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The AZL Indians and the DSL Indians had scheduled off days.