Gavin Williams continues to dominate Double-A with six no-hit innings

Columbus Clippers 4, Toledo Mud Hens 6

Box Score · Clippers fall to 65-46

Back home from watching their friend and former teammate Xzavion Curry debut Monday night, the Columbus Clippers dropped their opening game against the Toledo Mud Hens, 6-4. It was the Clippers’ third loss in their last four games.

It wasn’t all bad, though, and some familiar names helped keep the game close. Richie Palacios and Ernie Clement each added a pair of hits, and Gabriel Arias hit a three-run double in the bottom of the seventh that brought the game within striking distance.

On top of his two hits, Palacios added made this sensational catch in left field and stole his 12th base of the season.

Konnor Pilkington allowed three earned runs in five innings of work, striking out five and walking three. Pilkington hasn’t started a game without allowing at least one run since June 1. He’s gonna make a great reliever someday, I’m telling you.

Akron RubberDucks 5, Erie SeaWolves 1

Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 61-47

If you are not already hyped about Gavin Williams, you should start soon. The 23-year-old first-round pick of the Guardians in 2021 has not slowed down a bit since his quick promotion to Double-A this season and last night he had arguably one of his most dominant starts yet.

While Williams didn’t light up the strikeout totals (at least by his standards), the only SeaWolve (SeaWolf?) to reach base through his 6.0 innings of work was due to a Brayan Rocchio error. Believe it or not, this wasn’t even Williams’ first no-hit start this season — he also blanked the Lancaster Lugnuts on April 9 over 4.0 innings. He finished yesterday’s outing with four strikeouts and no walks.

Things looked like they might go off the rails immediately Williams left, however, as Aaron Pinto allowed an inside-the-park home run against his second batter. Luckily that was it, and Pinto would go on to strike out five of the eight batters he faced in two innings.

The home run was instantly neutralized by a Bryan Lavastida solo shot in the eighth, anyway.

That dinger extended Lava’s hit streak to four games, and he has a hit in all but one game he’s started in August. You could say he’s hot like that substance that comes out of active volcanoes, whatever they call that stuff.

Lake County Captains 4, West Michigan Whitecaps 6

Box Score · Captains fall to 61-64

Despite a ninth-inning rally, the Lake County Captains fell to the West Michigan Whitecaps, 6-4, snapping their nine-game winning streak.

Aaron Davenport suffered most of the damage to his ERA with four earned runs through his 4.1 innings. Control issues led to four walks, which was a consistent issue with the Captains last night, as they walked 11 batters as a staff.

Lenny Torres, making his second appearance since being activated from the minor-league injured list earlier this week, couldn’t seem to find the strike zone with three walks to load the bases and a wild pitch in his inning of work. He found it at the right time, though, and ended up getting the final two outs with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. He ended the night without an earned run.

Angel Martinez hit his 17th double of the season, while Michael Amditis added two hits in the loss.

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Fredericksburg Nationals 10

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 53-56

The Lynchburg Hillcats lost their third game in a row in familiar fashion — allowing double-digit runs. Pitching in Lynchburg has been rough lately, as they’ve allowed a combined 31 runs over their last three games.

Yesterday it was reliever Yeury Gervacio who took the brunt of the damage, with six earned runs over 1.2 innings. Starter Juan Zapata allowed three earned runs over 5.0 innings with one strikeout and one walk.

The offense at least put up a fight, with eight combined hits, including doubles from Will Bartlett, Isaiah Greene, and Jake Fox.

DSL CLE Red 4, DSL HOU Orange 6

Box Score · DSL CLE Red fall to 16-38

• Yanki Jean-Baptiste: 1-4
• Victor Izturis: 1-4
• Olmandi Diaz: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Diovel Mariano: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 SO

DSL CLE Blue 4, DSL NYY Yankees 1

Box Score · DSL CLE Blue improve to 29-25

• Jose Gomez: 1-3, HR, BB
• Gueile Borrome: 2-3, BB
• Nomar Velasquez: 2-3, BB
• Evelio Hernandez: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 SO
• Yonaiker Garcia: 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Neiver Acosta: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO

ACL Guardians 3, ACL Brewers Gold 4

Box Score · ACL Guardians fall to 26-22

• Esteban Gonzalez: 2-4, SO
• Juan Benjamin: 2-4, BB, SO
• Angel Genao: 1-3, 2 BB
• Yorman Gomez: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO
• Luis Almonte: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 SO