Oscar Gonzalez and Jhonkensy Noel hit their third home runs to keep Akron and Lynchburg undefeated

Cleveland affiliates stayed hot on Saturday, going 3-1 on the night with two of them (Akron and Lynchburg) remaining undefeated at 5-0 each.

Here’s the action from Around the Corner last night.

Columbus Clippers 6, Louisville Bats 3

Box Score · Clippers improve to 4-1

The Clippers fell behind early as Eli Morgan was ineffective in his first start of the season, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings. Considering the amount of baserunner he allowed, it could have been much worse.

Down 3-0, Columbus rallied with two runs in the fifth inning and then four more in the seventh.

Owen Miller remained scorching hot, going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI, which actually lowered his batting average to .450.

Daniel Johnson also had a great game, reaching base safely four times with a pair of singles and two walks. Tyler Krieger also had two hits, one of them a double, and a walk while Nolan Jones went 1-for-4 with a walk.

The Columbus bullpen was the real hero of the game as Danny Young, Kyle Dowdy, Kyle Nelson, and Blake Parker combined for 5.2 innings of shutout ball with eight strikeouts. Dowdy earned the win and Parker picked up his second save.

Akron RubberDucks 5, Binghampton Rumble Ponies 1

Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 5-0

After a slow first game, Oscar Gonzalez is now officially on fire. Gonzalez reached base in all three plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a rare walk and his third home run already in just his fifth game of the season.

Bo Naylor also reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk, and Rule 5 pick Chris Roller knocked in two runs. Will Benson and Tyler Freeman both stole a base as well.

Shane McCarthy allowed one run in three innings, but the bullpen again was the star of the show as Thomas Ponticelli, Francisco Perez and Dakody Clemmer combined for five shutout innings of relief with nine strikeouts. Clemmer impressively struck out all four batters he faced.

Lake County Captains 0, Lansing Lugnuts 2

Box Score · Captains fall to 3-2

It's tough to win when you don't score any runs. The Captains learned that the hard way as they were shut out on just four hits Saturday.

Daniel Schneeman was the lone Lake County player with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Bryan Lavastida walked twice and Will Brennan hit his third double.

Matt Turner allowed two runs on three hits in four innings with no walks and a strikeout. Nic Enright and Nick Gallagher combined for four innings of shutout relief with eight strikeouts.

Lynchburg Hillcats 7, Fredericksburg Nationals 1

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 5-0

For the fifth time this season in five games, Lynchburg won convincingly. These kids are crazy talented and also young.

Johnkensy Noel, just 19 years old, remained scorching hot by bashing his third home run of the 2021 season. He's not going to stay in Lynchburg long at this rate.

Yainer Diaz collected three hits while Will Bartlett and Yordys Valdes both went 2-for-4 with Bartlett also collecting a triple and a walk. Valdes stole two bases and leadoff hitter Korey Holland stole a whopping four bases (that poor catcher!).

In his full-season debut, Sergio Morilla was outstanding, striking out five in four hitless innings and somehow giving up one run.

In the running theme of the night, the bullpen combined for five shutout innings with nine more strikeouts.