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Columbus Clippers 7, Toledo Mud Hens 9
Box Score · Clippers fall to 22-23
Wednesday, it was the Clippers offense that stunk, but Thursday it was the pitching.
Starter Matt Whitehouse allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings, then after the Clippers managed to rally and take the lead, reliever Jeff Beliveau loaded the bases and Matt Belisle promptly served up a grand slam to put the game just out of reach.
Offensively, six Clippers had multi-hit games, led by Eric Stamets, who went 3-4 with a home run. Yu Cheng, Mike Papi, Brandon Barnes, Nellie Rodriguez and Jon Berti also had two-hit games, with Rodriguez and Cheng going deep as well.
Despite the offensive onslaught, Francisco Mejia continues to struggle, going 0-5 to drop his season batting average to .178.
Akron RubberDucks 1, Trenton Thunder 0
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 28-19
2016 12th round draft pick Zach Plesac was promoted to Double-A this week, potentially just for a spot start, but the nephew of former Major Leaguer Dan Plesac might be sticking around after his performance on Thursday.
Plesac shut down the Trenton lineup, allowing zero runs on just two hits while striking out eight and walking one. Plesac threw a 74 pitch Maddux earlier this season for High-A Lynchburg.
The 23-year-old has been hit and miss this year, allowing one run or less in six of his nine starts in 2018 and allowing five runs or more in the other three. If he can limit those blow-up outings, his future is bright.
Daniel Salters played hero on offense for Akron as the only player with a multi-hit game. He also provided the lone scoring, hitting a solo home run in the second inning, which was all Plesac and the rest of Akron’s bullpen needed.
Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4
Box Score · Hillcats fall to 23-21
Lynchburg received a strong start and some timely offense, but the bullpen couldn’t keep the team in the game.
Trenton Brooks and Dillon Persinger both went 2-4 at the plate to pace the Hillcats and Jodd Carter hit a two-run triple to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning, but closer Dalbert Siri issued three walks in the bottom of the eighth, leading to a go-ahead score.
Felix Tati tossed five quality innings, allowing just one run on five hits while walking three and striking out four.
Lake County Captains 4, Dayton Dragons 5
Box Score · Captains fall to 20-27
The Lake County Captains finally got a great start from someone not named Eli Morgan (who’s now in Lynchburg), but it was to no avail.
Nick Gallagher tossed 5.0 shutout innings, striking out four and walking one while spreading around five hits.
Reliever Skylar Arias then used a combination of a hit by pitch, walk, two hits and a wild pitch to surrender two runs and take the loss.
The Captains didn’t have much offense on the day. Oscar Gonzalez went 2-5 with a double and the lone run was scored by Tyler Friis, who blasted a solo shot, going 1-3 with two walks.