Will Benson continues to slug for first-place RubberDucks

Columbus Clippers 1, St. Paul Saints 19

Box Score · Clippers fall to 27-32

Oh no, the Clippers gave up 19 runs? Must be a couple of minor-league fillers out there pitching with how many arms Cleveland has had to abduct to the majors this year, huh?

Nope. J.C. Mejia and Brad Peacock — two pitchers who have had or will have starts in Cleveland this year — gave up a combined 16 earned runs in 3.1 innings yesterday. Mejia gave up four home runs and walked three by himself. It was truly a nightmare outing for both.

Sam Hentges pitched a clean inning of relief at least, with two strikeouts to go with it.

The Clippers were down by 14 after the fourth inning, so maybe we can’t blame the offense for coasting too much. They finished with seven hits total, two from Yu Chang and a double from Nolan Jones, his 20th of the season.

Akron RubberDucks 8, Harrisburg Senators 3

Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 35-24

It was a big night for Akron RubberDucks batters, with Will Benson, Steven Kwan, Chris Roller, and Austen Wade each adding two hits. Benson added his eighth home run of the season and raised his OPS on the season to .976.

Seven of Akron’s runs came in the final three innings after holding a narrow 1-0 lead through most of the game. Roller got things ... rolling ... in the seventh with a lead-off walk, followed by a Wade double a few batters later and an Ike Freeman single to keep the train moving. All told, Akron finished with 11 hits and they left just six runners on base.

On the mound, Logan T. Allen was excellent in his Double-A debut, striking out six over four innings and holding the Harrisburg lineup to just two hits.

Lake County Captains 8, Lansing Lugnuts 0 (F/6)

Box Score · Captains improve to 33-28

Rain cut this game short in the middle of the sixth inning, but the Captains only needed one at-bat to pull ahead and keep the lead. Will Brennan started the game with a lead-off home run and Captains starter Alex Royalty pitched a five-inning shutout.

Brayan Rocchio joined the first-inning hit parade as well and went on to go 4-for-4 and raise his season OPS to .768.

Bryan Lavastida, who is quickly becoming one of the most important names to watch in Cleveland’s system, added another hit to an impressive season. He’s gotten on base in 15 straight games and has an .892 OPS on the season. George Valera snapped a fledgling three-game hitting streak by going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

Lynchburg Hillcats 7, Fredericksburg Nationals 5

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 29-30

A back-and-forth affair in Lynchburg ended with the Hillcats earning a 7-5 victory.

Yainer Diaz was the offensive standout for the Hillcats, with three hits, including his third homer of the season. Christian Cairo and Cody Farhat each homered as well, with their second and sixth home runs of the year, respectively.

Jaime Arias-Bautista, making just his third start of the year after coming out of the bullpen for much of it, struggled early on but settled down to pitch six innings. He finished with four earned runs, six strikeouts, and a pair of walks.

Cleveland ACL Team 8, ACL Mariners 7

Box Score · ACL Team improves to 7-4

• Julian Escobedo: 3-4, 1 RBI
• Michael Ramirez: 2-4
• Jhonkensy Noel: 1-4, 2B
• Milan Tolentino: 1-2, BB, HR
• Jhon Vergara: 1.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, HR, 0 SO
• Steven Perez: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 SO

Cleveland DSL Blue Team 12, DSL Athletics 2

Box Score · DSL Blue Team improves to 2-0

• Christopher Espinola: 2-5, SO
• Erick Caripa: 1-2, SO, HR
• Juan Rodriguez: 3-4, 2 SO, 3B
• Jesus Montilla: 2-3, 2 BB
• Victor Garcia: 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 7 SO
• Luis Almonte: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 SO

Cleveland DSL Red Team 9, DSL Cubs Blue 8

Box Score · DSL Red Team improves to 2-0

• Junior Caminero: 2-4, 2 H, 2 BB
• Ronald Pena: 1-5, 2 SO
• Samuel Parra: 0-3, 2 BB, 3 SO
• Yorman Gomez: 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 SO, 2 BB
• Luis Peguero: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 SO, 1 BB