Clips and Cats prevail to bookend a mixed night on the farm

Columbus Clippers 7, St. Paul Saints 2

Box Score · Clippers rise to 22-23

Columbus spun seven hits into seven runs and marched the Saints right back out of the stadium.

Daniel Johnson stepped to the wheel and blasted a solo shot in the top of the second inning. Run-scoring threads wriggled together as Gavin Collins worked an RBI HBP and Oscar Mercado walked in another. Andres Gimenez put the finishing touches on the project by weaving a three-RBI double to take a 6-0 lead.

Heath Fillmyer juggled materials and eventually dyed it into a four-inning, two-run performance. It is worth remembering that Fillmyer is a former fifth-round pick out of college who once started 13 games for the Royals. I would not be surprised to see him this season in Cleveland for a start or two.

Cam Hill started his rehab assignment right with a scoreless fifth. Francisco Perez and Kyle Dowdy wrapped up this deteriorating cloth-making metaphor with four innings of scoreless ball. Nobody is at the loom, who am I kidding?

Akron RubberDucks 1, Erie SeaWolves 2

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 27-18

Erick Mock pitched five very nice innings of baseball. He allowed one run personally; two, statistically. Add four strikeouts and two walks with four hits allowed and you now have a bunch of numbers that allegedly describe two hours of complicated physiological strain.

Nic Enright handed out his spare K’s to hitters for three innings, and Manuel Alvarez struck out the side in the ninth.

Oscar Gonzalez continued his rise through the ranks with a solo home run, the only scoring of the night for Akron. Jose Fermin earned two hits, the lone quack to reach twice. Evidently, he only had the authorization to reach first base, as his lone venture toward second ended in catastrophe (2-4).

I’m not sure that the missing sixth baserunner matters since the RubberDucks went 0-5 with them in scoring position.

Lake County Captains 3, Great Lakes Loons 6

Box Score · Captains fall to 25-21

Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Salem Red Sox 0

Box Score · Hillcats rise to 25-19

Before winning, the Hillcats clawed through some Chaos.

Angel Martinez singled in the top of the eighth inning. Gilberto Jimenez charged the ball, but then Matt Vasgersian leaped from a dead sleep to yell, “OH AND HE BOTCHES IT!”

Martinez pressed on to second base and provided a distraction while Eric Rodriguez scored. I do not know if a distraction was necessary, but the Box Score says “W”.

That’s three in a row for the Hillcats, who rode nearly six shutout innings from starter Jordan Jones. Andrew Misiaszek and Trey Benton followed his example to complete the clean sheet. They combined for eleven strikeouts, seven hits, and a single walk.