Triston McKenzie takes MiLB strikeout lead after 10 K effort in Lynchburg win

Columbus Clippers 4, Syracuse Chiefs 9

Box Score · Clippers fall to 53-45

A day after sweeping a double-header, the Columbus Clippers offense was very slow out of the gate, failing to score until it was too late.

Syracuse put three runs on the board against Travis Banwart and then another six on the bullpen combination of Robbie Aviles and Carlos Frias.

Offensively, Tyler Naquin, Erik Kratz and Daniel Robertson all had multi-hit games in the losing effort.

Akron RubberDucks 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 2

Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 48-47

Akron didn’t rack up many hits yesterday, but they strung them together perfectly in the fourth inning as Mike Papi had an RBI single and Bobby Bradley followed with a massive three run blast to give the RubberDucks the lead.

Starting pitcher Luis Lugo bounced back with a strong outing. Lugo worked around six hits and four walks to pitch five innings without giving up an earned run. He also struck out a season-high seven batters to pick up the win.

Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Potomac Nationals 2

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 57-40

Triston McKenzie was on the mound for Lynchburg, so you know something impressive happened. The lanky right-hander took a shutout into the sixth inning before giving up two runs. Overall, McKenzie tossed seven innings, giving up said two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out 10.

McKenzie is not only leading the Carolina League in strikeouts by a significant margin, he’s now leading all of minor league baseball in strikeouts with 134.

Not bad for his first year of full-season ball, ehh?

Offensively, Sam Haggerty, Ka’ai Tom and Willi Castro led the way with multi-hit games from the 1-2-3 spots in the batting lineup. They accounted for pretty much all of the Hillcats offense in the close victory.

Lake County Captains 4, Kane County Cougars 2

Box Score · Captains improve to 40-56

Catchers were the story of this game as Logan Ice blasted off with his seventh home run of the season and Li-Jen Chu pinch hit in the eighth inning and proceeded to tee off for a three-run bomb that put the Captains in the lead for the first time all game.

Starting pitcher Micah Miniard had one of his better outings of the season, giving up two runs in five innings on seven hits while striking out four.

Relievers Dalbert Siri and Alsis Herrera locked things down out of the bullpen with four shutout innings to preserve the win.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers 5, Auburn DoubleDays 4

Box Score · Scrappers improve to 19-12

A costly error from Nolan Jones nearly sunk the Scrappers yesterday as Auburn scored three unearned runs with two outs in the fifth inning.

Thankfully, the pitching was pretty solid the rest of the way. Zach Plesac tossed four shutout innings as he continues to return from Tommy John surgery. He now sports a 0.86 ERA through six games and five starts.

Offensively, Oscar Gonzalez, Hosea Nelson and Ernie Clement all had multi-hit games, with 2017 fourth round pick Clement having a three-hit day.

With the score tied 4-4 in the ninth, Gonzalez came through with an RBI single to put the Scrappers in the lead for good.

AZL Indians 6, AZL Royals 4

Box Score · Indians fall to 6-16

The AZL Indians continued to struggle, dropping their fourth straight game and the seventh out of their last eight.

Rehabbing center fielder Gabriel Mejia looked sharp, going 2-2 with a double and a walk, although he was again caught stealing. After swiping 72 bases in 2014, Mejia’s base-stealing numbers have dropped each season. This year, he’s stolen just five and been caught six times.

Of not, 17-year old first base prospect Michael Cooper went 2-4 with two triples on the day.

Another rehabbing player, pitcher Sean Brady, returned to action with three innings of work, giving up two runs. Juan Mota gave up four runs in four innings of relief to take the loss.

DSL Indians 2, DSL Indians/Brewers 1

Box Score · Indians improve to 16-24, Indians/Brewers fall to 16-24

In a rain-shortened five-inning game, the DSL Indians rallied with a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings to beat their half-siblings.

Jonathan Lopez went 2-3 while Christopher Cespedes blasted his third home run in the victory.