Columbus Clippers 1, Gwinnett Stripers 3
Box Score · Clippers fall to 60-45
The Columbus Clippers outhit the Gwinnett Stripers, 6-5, but ultimately fell by way of a three home runs off Michael Peoples.
People has struggled at times this season, and despite the loss, this was one of his better outings of the last couple months. He struck out seven, walked one, and allowed three runs off those solo bombs.
Brandon Barnes attempted to spark a rally with an eighth inning home run, his 23rd of the season, but Trayce Thompson, Dioner Navarro, and Max Moroff all went down in order to end the game in the ninth.
Akron RubberDucks 9, Hartford Yard Goats 4
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 48-59
Alex Call led the way for the RubberDucks yesterday, with his fourth three-hit game of the season and his first in almost a month. Call has been heating up lately, racking up 10 hits in his last 22 at-bats. Sure, he hasn’t been great this season, but considering the White Sox already DFA’d Yonder Alonso I’m already prepared to declare the Indians the winners of that trade.
Ernie Clement went hitless on the day, snapping a streak of three straight games in which he got two hits and an on-base streak that stretched back to July 18. He was the only batter in the Akron lineup to not get a hit, while Andruw Monasterio and Gianpaul Gonzalez added two apiece. Alex Call, Nolan Jones, Trenton Brooks, and Alexis Pantoja all had doubles on the day.
Eli Morgan struggled against the Yard Goats, allowing two runs and walking four in just three innings of work. That was the most walks Morgan has given up since June 19, and he hasn’t pitched a shutout since June 7.
Lynchburg Hillcats 9, Winston-Salem Dash 2
Box Score · Hillcats improve to 49-54
The sensational Tyler Freeman continues to be, well, sensational. He’s only 20 years old and absolutely dominating High-A pitching to the tune of a .362/.410/.465 slash this season. He continued his domination with another three-hit performance yesterday, already this 10th game with the Hillcats in which he has three or more hits. It’s only a matter of time before he finds his way to Double-A, Triple-A, and beyond.
In the meantime, he has a pretty good team to play with in Lynchburg. The top of the Hillcats lineup (which includes Freeman in the leadoff spot) combined to go 8-for-14 in their win yesterday. Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez had two hits and three hits, respectively. Not to be outdone further down the order, Gavin Collins and Jodd Carter each had multi-hit games as well.
On the mound, Juan Hillman completed maybe the best back-to-back performances of his career. Following a 10-strikeout game on July 20, Freeman struck out seven Dash batters yesterday and walked just one over 6.1 innings. Since his disasterous start on July 9 where he allowed 10 runs in 2.1 innings, Hillman has allowed five earned runs and struck out 19 in 19 innings of work.
Lake County Captains 8, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4
Box Score · Captains improve to 60-44
Cody Farhat, Connor Smith, and Eric Rodriguez led the way with two hits apiece in the Captains’ 8-4 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Farhat also finished with a triple, his first of the season.
Makesiondon Kelkboom had only one hit, but it was a big one — his second home run of the season. Kelkboom has made his home on the struggle bus this season; he’s gone 2-for-29 over his last 10 games and has a .180/.227/.344 slash in 22 games with the Captains.
On the mound, Matt Turner allowed two earned runs over 5.0 innings and struck out two.
Mahoning Valley Scrappers 5, Auburn Doubledays 10
Box Score · Scrappers fall to 22-21
A four-run ninth inning, led by a three-run home run from Pedro Alfonseca, made this game look a lot closer than it was.
Elsewhere on the offense, Bryan Lavastida and Brayan Rocchio each had two hits and a handful of Scrappers batters added singles to the losing effort.
Scrappers starting pitcher Jhonneyver Gutierrez struggled out of the gate by allowing seven earned runs off seven hits in just two innings. He didn’t strike anyone out, and he didn’t walk any, either. What he did do was allow four-straight hits in the first inning. No word on if he chucked the ball over the center field wall, though.
AZL Indians Red 2, AZL Brewers Gold 3
Box Score · Indians fall to 9-24
Despite outhitting the AZL Brewers Gold, 7-2, the AZL Indians Red team were forced into extra innings with a 2-2 tied that they eventually lost in the bottom of the 11th.
Kevin Coulter takes the loss, but he pitched well for most of his three late innings of relief work. In the fateful 11th inning, with a runner already on second per MiLB extra-inning rules, the Indians intentionally walked Francisco Florentino to get to Roberto Molina. It worked, as Coulter forced him into a groundout. Unfortunately, Aaron Familia won it in the next at-bat with a single to right.
The leading hitter in the game, Will Bartlett, didn’t even start. He pinch hit for Michael Ramirez in the sixth inning, then got a team-leading two hits in his next three at-bats.