Game Recaps: Sunday 5/24

Clippers drop series finale to Buffalo

The Clippers fell 5-3 to Buffalo in the finale of an eight-game road trip.
Tomo Ohka pitched well, giving up three runs in six innings. The last run scored after he was hit on the foot by a smash from Fernando Martinez.

Columbus scored first on a Jordan Brown homer in the second inning. Buffalo tied the score in the bottom of the frame when, with runners on the corners, Ohka struck out Mark Kiger with Jesus Feliciano stealing second, on the throw to second, Rene Rivera broke for home and scored during the rundown that ensued.

Rivera continued his big day at the plate, doubling to start the fifth inning and scoring on an RBI single by Argenis Reyes to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. The Clippers tied the game when Chris Gimenez scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, but the tie was short lived. After Ohka took was struck on the foot, Javier Valentin drove in the go-ahead run with a single.

Vinnie Chulk allowed two unearned runs in the seventh, set up by a Chulk throwing error. Jordan Brown hit his second homer of the game in the ninth after Rafael Perez pitched a perfect inning of relief. The Clippers return home to take on the Charlotte Knights on Memorial Day with the first pitch at 6:35pm.

Erie Cruises to 8-1 Win Over Aeros

The visiting Erie SeaWolves were in control throughout as they coasted to an 8-1 victory Sunday over the Aeros in front of 7,274 fans at Canal Park. Three home runs lifted the SeaWolves to victory, as they took the two-games-to-one edge in this four-game series. Akron fell to 30-11 with the loss, while Erie jumped to 25-17.

Erie erupted early in the first and second innings against Akron starter Josh Tomlin. The native of Whitehouse, TX opened the game with a strikeout, but second baseman Cristo Arnal booted a grounder and Brennan Boesch followed with a two-run homer to give the SeaWolves an early 2-0 lead. Ryan Strieby then smacked a solo home run to dead center field just two batters later to make it 3-0, and Erie hung three more runs on the board in the second. A triple, double, and triple accounted for the first two runs before Boesch made it 6-0 with an RBI groundout, his third RBI of the day.

Akron got on the board for the first time in the bottom of the second when white-hot Carlos Santana led off with a liner over the head of center fielder Deik Scram for a double. He advanced to third on a passed ball by catcher Alex Avila, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Matt McBride. This was the only run on the afternoon for the Aeros, as they managed just four hits total against the SeaWolves pitching staff.

Erie responded in the fifth, pushing the lead back up to six runs with a sacrifice fly of their own. Avila started the inning with a walk against reliever Scott Roehl, Strieby doubled, and Scram then plated him with a sac fly to McBride making the score 7-1. The final margin came in the top of the eighth against Neil Wagner, as SeaWolves shortstop Cale Iorg led off the inning with the third home run of the day, the most allowed by Aeros pitchers in a single game this season.

Erie starter Duane Below (1-0) was solid through 6.1 innings, as the unearned run in the second was the only blemish on top of two hits and one walk while he struck out three. Tomlin (5-2) lasted only four innings, permitting seven hits, six runs (four earned) and a walk while striking out five batters. It also marked the second time this season that he allowed two home runs in a game, accounting for his only two losses in eight starts. Santana went 2-4 with the only run scored, continuing his hot streak with his ninth multi-hit outing in his last 20 games, while Jared Head and Nick Weglarz had the only other hits for Akron on the day.

This four-game set between the two top teams in the Eastern League concludes tomorrow on Memorial Day at 1:35 p.m. Akron’s Hector Rondon (5-2, 2.17 ERA) and Erie’s Luis Marte (2-4, 4.81 ERA) are the scheduled starters.

Recknagel homers, but Kinston comeback falls short

Nate Recknagel continued swinging a hot bat, hitting his first home run of the year with the Indians, but the K-Tribe lose a back-and-forth battle with Frederick 7-5, dropping the series two games to one.

Kinston grabbed the early lead thanks to a Lucas Montero RBI single in the second inning.

Kinston ace and Carolina league ERA leader Eric Berger (3-2) was cruising through the first four innings of play, giving up just three hits and striking out three. But Berger hit a rough patch in the fifth, giving up four runs on three hits, a walk and two hit batters.

The Keys’ 4-1 lead didn’t last long however, as the Indians rallied for the second straight game with two in the sixth and two in the seventh inning. Recknagel’s two-run home run off Frederick starter Tim Bascom (3-4) cut the lead to one. In the seventh, Indians’ leadoff man Cord Phelps singled home Montero to tie the game at four. Ronald Rivas then followed with an RBI single of his own driving in Phelps to give the K-Tribe the lead once again.

The Keys’ came right back with two runs in the seventh off Kinston reliever Chen-Chang Lee (2-3) who suffered the loss. A Caleb Joseph RBI single and a David Cash sacrifice fly scored both runs for Frederick as Lee gave up a lead off single and two walks to begin the inning.

The Keys added another insurance run in the eighth to hold on to a 7-5 victory. Frederick reliever Brian Parker picked up the blown save but notched his third win of the season, while closer Luis Lebron earned his eighth save of the season.

The K-Tribe continues their nine game roadtrip Monday afternoon at Potomac. It is a special Memorial Day afternoon start time of 1pm. Paolo Espino will be on the mound for the K-Tribe.

Captains Get Walk Off Win

Chris Nash singled home Abner Abreu with the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning and T.J. House threw six shut out innings to lead the Lake County Captains to a 3-2 victory over the West Virginia Power on Sunday. The win snapped a three game Captains losing streak.

The Captains scored a run in the first inning off of Power starter Duke Welker when Karexon Sanchez reached on a fielder’s choice and went to second on a wild pitch. Sanchez scored when Donnie Webb singled him home and it was 1-0. The Captains added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Walter Diaz scored on a Welker wild pitch to up the lead to 2-0.

The Power scored their first run in the top of the seventh inning on an infield single by Jeremy Farrell that plated Robbie Grossman. Farrell tied the game in the top of the ninth inning hitting a solo home run, his third of the year, off of Captains reliever Steve Smith.

House did not get a decision pitching six innings and allowing only two hits, walking one and striking out a season high seven batters. Smith (2-2) worked the final two innings and got the win. Welker also did not get a decision allowing two runs in five innings of work. Wilson Ortiz (0-2) took the loss.

The Series concludes on Monday at 1:00 PM with the Captains sending RHP Danny Salazar (1-1, 6.43) to the mound against Power LHP Rudy Owens (4-1, 3.19).

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