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Two top minor league pitchers moving in opposite directions started yesterday. One, Julian Merryweather, was spectacular, and could be in line for a midseason promotion to Akron.
The other, Brady Aiken, struggled again, raising his season ERA to 5.27 in a loss.
But don’t get too down, top prospect Francisco Mejia did Francisco Mejia things en route to helping lead the Double-A Akron Rubberducks offense to victory.
Akron Rubberducks 5, Binghamton Rumble Ponies 2
Box Score · Rubberducks improve to 8-9
The Akron offense was crackling yesterday, with four players picking up multi-hit games. One of those was top catching prospect Francisco Mejia, who improved his current season hitting streak to 13 with a triple in the third inning. Dating back to last season, he’s on a 21 game hit streak.
Dorssys Paulino, Greg Allen and Joe Sever joined the hit parade by going 2-4, 2-5 and 3-4 respectively. Allen also swiped two bags to bring his season total to eight. He has yet to be caught.
On the mound, Julian Merryweather seems to have settled into a nice rhythm, as the flamethrower tossed 6.2 stellar innings, giving up one earned run on three hits while striking out six and walking just one. After a rough opening day, his season ERA has now dropped to a respectable 3.48.
David Speer provided 2.1 innings of excellent scoreless relief to earn the save.
Lake County Captains 1, Great Lakes Loons 7
Box Score · Captains fall to 8-6
Former 2015 first round draft pick Brady Aiken is still looking for that first quality start. Aiken was very hittable last night, giving up four earned runs spread over five innings on seven hits while striking out four and walking three. Thankfully, it’s a long season and as far as I know, he’s healthy.
The Captains offense almost evened Great Lakes in hits with eight total, but didn’t have much to show for it as they stranded a whopping 13 batters on base.
Logan Ice continues to impress, going 2-4 with a double and a walk while Emmanuel Tapia and Jose Medina also contributed multi-hit games. Fellow catching prospect Li-Jen Chu showcased a nice eye at the plate with three walks, nearly an anti-golden sombrero.
Also of note, Todd Isaacs stole his organization-leading ninth base.
The Triple-A Columbus Clippers and High-A Lynchburg Hillcats had scheduled days off yesterday.