Everybody lost, but at least Nellie Rodriguez homered twice for Columbus

Not a great day around the farm, but at least Nellie Rodriguez homered twice.

Columbus Clippers 4, Louisville Bats 10

Box Score · Clippers fall to 2-2

Clearly the Columbus Clippers spent too much time watching the Indians this weekend. They, too, wanted to suffer a heartbreaking blowout loss wherein most of the runs come from one cluster of an inning.

Shawn Morimando had a rough outing, to say the least. In just 3.1 innings of work, the 24-year-old with aspirations of returning to Cleveland this season was shelled for seven runs off of four hits. He also struck out four batters, but walked four to negate it. Joe Colon pitched a scoreless inning of relief, continuing to bounce back from an iffy debut — he is in the midst of a “perfect game” since allowing a run off of two hits back on April 6.

Three Clippers batters — Richie Shaffer, Jordan Smith, and Nellie Rodriguez — all had three hits on the day. But it was Rodriguez who made the biggest headlines with his two home runs. The first baseman is now tied for the International League lead with three bombs, though he also leads the league in strikeouts with 10.

Akron RubberDucks 7, Bowie Baysox 6 (Game 1)

Akron RubberDucks 1, Bowie Baysox 9 (Game 2)

Game 1 Box Score · Game 2 Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 1-3

The Akron RubberDucks managed a big come-from-behind win in yesterday’s doubleheader, but apparently ran out of steam in game two. That dramatic game one happened because of a pair of walks and a clutch single from Joe Sever that scored two runs.

Yu-Cheng Chang continued his power trip in the early goings of 2017 as well, already hammering his Eastern League-leading third home run of the young season. He’s already well on his way to topping his previous high of 13 home runs set last season.

Tyler Krieger made a very impressive debut with a 2-for-2 day that included a double. Jason Kipnis made his own debut of sorts as he made his first rehab start working his way back from a shoulder injury. He went 1-for-3 with a strikeout before being replaced late with Todd Hankins.

Game two featured a dud of an outing from Travis Banwart, who allowed six earned runs in four innings of work. Robbie Aviles did not help either in the back of the bullpen with his three earned runs off of two hits.

Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 1-3

Despite a late, ninth-inning rally the Lynchburg Hillcats were unable to tie their opening series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Losing pitcher Jared Robinson did turn in a solid six innings of work with two earned runs off of six hits, but Brock Hartson allowed two more runs in his four frames and it was too much for the Hillcats offense.

Lynchburg was lead by a series of multi-hit games — Andrew Calica (2), Sam Haggerty (3), Ka’ai Tom (2), and Martni Cervenka (2) — but they struck out nine times as a team and left 10 runners stranded.

Lynchburg scored just 12 runs in their four-game set with the Pelicans, putting them as the third-lowest scoring team in the Carolina League (out of 10).

Lake County Captains 0, Dayton Dragons 6

Box Score · Captains fall to 2-2

The Lake County Captains ran into the human wall known Ryan Olson in their second loss of the season. Olson held Captains batters to just four hits and zero runs. He also struck out nine and did not issue a single free base.

Shane Bieber was given the loss on the afternoon, his 2017 debut, despite allowing just two earned runs in 4.2 innings.The 21-year-old struck out a career-high seven batters before getting pulled halfway through the fifth inning.

Speedster Todd Isaacs tallied one of the Captains’ hits. He is off to a scorching start this season to the tune of five hits (at least one hit in every game), two home runs, and two stolen bases.