Oscar Gonzalez stays scorching, but Cleveland affiliates are swept

Columbus Clippers 4, St. Paul Saints 6 (F/10)

Box Score · Clippers fall to 22-24

Nine innings wasn’t enough for Columbus on Saturday, but the Clippers came up short against St. Paul in extra innings.

Gabriel Arias had the big hit for the Clippers, going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk. He has been red hot recently.

Tyler Krieger also reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a rehabbing Roberto Perez went 1-2 with a walk.

Starting pitcher Kirk McCarty was solid, allowing three runs on seven hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking just one. Robert Broom added 0.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Unfortunately, DJ Johnson made an error to start the top of the 10th inning, then Danny Young allowed both inherited runners to score, plus a run of his own, and the Clippers were unable to score three runs in the bottom of the 10th to knot the game again.

Akron RubberDucks 5, Erie SeaWolves 10

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 27-19

This game was much closer than the final score indicated. Akron trailed 6-5 heading into the top of the ninth inning, but the bullpen allowed four runs to turn it into a blowout.

Offensively, Oscar Gonzalez was tremendous, going 2-for-3 and shockingly walking twice. For those of you in the know about Gonzalez, that might be the first time he’s walked twice in a game in his entire career.

On the season, Gonzalez is now slashing .333/.373/.604, which is a career-best in all three categories. I think it’s time to start taking Gonzalez seriously.

Bo Naylor also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 as he’s starting to heat up at the plate. Will Benson and Andruw Monasterio both reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk and Alex Call clubbed his fifth home run.

Thomas Ponticelli struggled on the mound, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits in 5.1 innings while striking out four and walking two.

Skylar Arias tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, and Juan Mota was hitting triple digits on the mound with a scoreless eighth inning before running into trouble in the ninth.

Lynchburg Hillcats 0, Salem Red Sox 5

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 25-20

Lynchburg outhit Salem on Saturday 7-6, but sloppy defense cost the Hillcats as a whopping five errors accounted for four unearned runs.

Stud prospect Angel Martinez had a rough day in particular, having three of the errors at shortstop.

Offensively, catcher Andres Melendes was perfect at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Alexfri Planez also stayed hot, going 2-for-4 .

Starting pitcher Lenny Torres Jr. was plagued by the poor defense, as his outing lasted just 0.2 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on two hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

The bullpen was tremendous the rest of the way, as Jaime Arias-Bautista, Zach Hart and Deritzan Feliz combined for 7.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk, but the damage had been done.

Lake County’s game against Great Lakes was postponed due to inclement weather and will be made up with a doubleheader today.