Indians minor league recap: Yandy Diaz extends hitting streak to 26 games on his birthday

On the same day he turned 25, third base and outfield prospect Yandy Diaz extended his hitting streak to 26 games, which that would be the longest in the organization if Francisco Mejia was not down in High-A making history.

Unfortunately, Mejia did not get a chance to extend his own streak as the Lynchburg Hillcats had an off-day on Monday.

Columbus Clippers 6, Louisville Bats 5

Box score · Clippers improve to 65-52

The Columbus Clippers lineup is stacked right now, with at least four batters tearing apart opponents on a nightly basis. Last night, it accounted for 12 hits and six runs crossing the plate.

Erik Gonzalez (2-4), Yandy Diaz (1-4), Giovanny Urshela (3-5), and Bradley Zimmer (1-3) all had hits on the day. Even Collin Cowgill, who the Indians signed in the offseason then shipped to Triple-A almost immediately, had a nice day himself, going 3-for-4 with a home run.

Starting pitcher Toru Murata had a rough second inning, loading the bases and allowing a bases-clearing double, but he eventually finished out the frame and then held the Louisville Bats scoreless over the next four. He finished the day with three runs allowed off of five hits as well as three strikeouts to one walk.

Twenty-seven-year-old reliever Perci Garner continues to pitch well for the Clippers out of the bullpen. In 12 relief appearances this season, Garner carries a 1.35 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.

Lake County Captains 5, Dayton Dragons 1

Box score · Captains improve to 58-55

The Lake County Captains had a 5-1 lead by the time the fourth inning ended, and they were able to hold it for their 58th victory of the season.

Martin Cervenka (2-4) and Sam Haggerty (3-4) had the only multi-hit games for the Captains, while the latter also had the only home run. As a team, the Captains hit four doubles.

Casey Shane had a phenomenal start, allowing one earned run off of five hits in 6.2 innings while striking out six and walking none.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers 2, Hudson Valley Renegades 5

Box score · Scrappers fall to 22-27

After a solid few weeks of baseball, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers are sliding again, having lost three straight to the Hudson Valley Renegades. Every game was close, at least, and last night’s three-run loss was their largest of the series.

The only extra-base hit for the Scrappers came from Andrew Calica, who was 3-for-4 on the day.

Juan Hillman has stumbled a bit lately, and last night was the second-shortest outing his young career. He allowed four earned runs off of four hits before being pulled after 3.2 innings. Hillman has allowed at least three runs in three of his last four starts after five-straight shutout performances.

AZL Indians 1, AZL Reds 2

Box score · Indians fall to 23-16

The AZL Indians fell short yesterday after scoring just a single run in the second inning.Ulysses Cantu, Simeon Lucas, Hosea Nelson, and Miguel Eladio combined to record the team’s five hits.

Will Benson’s 0-for-4 day snapped a budding hitting streak at four games.

Gregori Vasquez turned in an excellent start for the Indians, striking out 10 batters in seven innings of work.

DSL Indians 2, DSL Rangers1 5

Box score · Indians fall to 22-33

The DSL Indians, as a team, recorded just four hits yet had three errors on defense on their way to a 5-2 loss. Ronny Dominguez provided the only power on the day with his second home run of the season coming in the first inning.

Starting pitcher Luis Valdez pitched five scoreless innings, although he walked four to just two strikeouts. Jean Carlos Mejia was the unfortunate pitcher on the mound when the errors began piling up, and as a result he allowed four runs (two earned) to cross the plate in two innings of work

The Akron RubberDucks and the Lynchburg Hillcats had scheduled off-days.