Game Recaps: Thursday 7/16

Clippers beat Syracuse
The Clippers returned from the All-Star break with a 7-2 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.

Fausto Carmona pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out seven without allowing a walk.

Tony Graffanino started the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer. Andy Marte launched his 12th home run of the season to give Columbus a 3-0 lead in second.

The Clippers blew open the game in the sixth inning with four runs. Matt LaPorta and Stephen Head hit consecutive doubles to begin the inning. Columbus loaded the bases with two more hits, both singles, but a double play left two on with two out. Niuman Romero beat out an infield single to bring in a run and Michael Brantley doubled to plate two more. The Clippers had six hits in the inning, but only sent eight batters to the plate.

Marte led the offensive charge with three of the 17 Clippers hits, while also scoring two runs. Brantley and Graffanino recorded two RBI each.

In addition to his seven strikeouts, Carmona assisted on five put-outs during his seven innings of work. An out wasn't recorded in the outfield until the sixth inning. Following the long rest in the sixth, Carmona struggled to find his form in the seventh. Brad Eldred hit a lead-off homer to break up the shutout. After a two more hits, a sacrifice fly brought in the Chiefs second run.

Clippers relievers Jensen Lewis and Rafael Perez combined to allow one hit and strike out three over the last two innings.

Aeros lose in slugfest
The Bowie Baysox extended the Aeros’ season-high six-game losing streak by the final score of 13-11 in front of 2,478 fans at Canal Park Thursday night, as left-handed starter Bobby Livingston struggled in his first outing against his former team and Akron’s furious comeback came up just short in the final innings. Despite the defeat, Akron (56-36) maintained its four-game lead in the Southern Division while the Baysox moved into a tie for second place in improving to 52-40.The 13 runs and 21 hits for Bowie were both the most for an Akron opponent this season, and the Aeros’ 18 hits were one short of their largest output in 2009.

Dave Krynzel ignited a big first inning for the Baysox with a leadoff triple to right-center field to open the game, and Robert Valido drove him home with a single. Mike Costanzo doubled the advantage with an RBI single, and after John Drennen tracked down Guillermo Rodriguez’s long sacrifice fly, Daniel Figueroa and Joe Nowicki pushed the lead to 5-0 with back-to-back RBI singles. Akron got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Jared Goedert’s RBI groundout, but the Baysox responded swiftly with three runs in the top of the third to push the lead up to 8-1.

Back came the Aeros with three of their own in the bottom of the frame on a two-run single by Goedert and a run-scoring double play, and the sides then traded two-run rallies in the fifth. Two-out RBI hits from Nowicki and Krynzel put Bowie in front 10-4 before Goedert responded with a two-run homer to cut the margin to 10-6.

A walk and four straight singles helped plate a pair of runs for the Baysox in the top of the sixth, but the Aeros got the crowd back into it with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Matt McBride came to the batters box with two away and the bases empty and bounced a base hit to left while Goedert dumped a two-strike base hit to center before Armando Camacaro beat out an infield single to load the bases. Carlos Rivero then laced a two-run single to left to make it 12-8, and Mickey Hall and John Drennen followed with RBI hits of their own to bring the Aeros within a pair.

Akron cut the deficit to a single run in the eighth when leadoff walks to Jose Constanza and Arnal started yet another offensive burst. McBride sacrificed both runners to scoring position, and Goedert collected his sixth RBI of the night with a sac fly to center to make it 12-11. That was as close as the Aeros would get however, as the Baysox scored an insurance run in the ninth off Matt Meyer to account for the final margin.

Bowie left-hander Brian Matusz (5-0) earned his fifth win in as many Double-A starts despite allowing season-highs with 11 hits and six runs in 5.0 innings, while Livingston (7-4) took the loss in permitting 10 runs, the most by an Aeros pitcher this season. Goedert went 3-4 for the day and his six-RBI performance was a new season-high for an Akron player, and the most by any Aeros player since Wes Hodges had seven April 15th, 2008 vs. Binghamton. Reliever Zach Putnam shined in the defeat, delivering 2.1 scoreless innings and holding Bowie at bay as the Aeros mounted the comeback.

K-Tribe split series with win
K-Tribe starter Paolo Espino (2-5) was extraordinary in his first start since July 4^th, working a season high eight innings, allowing just one run on three hits, a hit batter, no walks and a season high eight strikeouts, to help the Indians win 9-1 and salvage a split of their four-game series with the Keys.

The two clubs were caught in another pitcher’s duel through the first five innings of play on a day camp afternoon contest at Harry Grove Stadium, as both Espino and Frederick starter Zach Britton (5-4) were dealing. Britton’s one mistake however came in the sixth as Ole Sheldon (3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI) cracked a three-run homer, his fourth of the season and his third in his last five games. Kinston got a gift run later in the frame with Roman Pena on first base, as Ronald Rivas struck out swinging at the plate and Keys catcher Caleb Joseph tried to pick off Pena at first. The throw got past first baseman Robbie Widlansky though, and went all the way into the right field corner. Right fielder Billy Rowell fumbled the ball in right and Pena came all the way around to score on a two-error play by the catcher and first baseman.

Widlansky would put Frederick on the board in the bottom of the sixth with his fourth homer of the season, all four of which have come against the K-Tribe.

Kinston would pour it on in the final three frames as well, as the Indians added one in the seventh, one in the eighth and three more in the ninth to win 9-1. Richard Martinez (3-for-4, HR) hit his third home run of the season and had his first three-hit game of the campaign. Lonnie Chisenhall (2-for-5, 2 RBI) had a two RBI double in the ninth inning and extended his season-high hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the sixth.

Kinston out hit Frederick 14 to three and didn’t walk a batter the entire contest as Jonathan Holt pitched a perfect ninth inning. Kinston pitchers have not walked a batter since the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game, a stretch of 18 straight innings.

Captains beat Tourists
Chris Nash had three RBI's and John Allman added a two run home run a as the Lake County Captains salvaged game four of the series against the Asheville Tourists, winning 7-2 on Thursday. The win snapped a season high six game losing streak by the Captains.

The Captains got the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Nate Recknagel lead off the inning with a single and then scored on a double by Nash and it was 1-0. It went to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Allman cracked a two run home run, his fourth of the year. The Tourists got on the board in the top of the sixth inning when Jimmy Cesario singled home Scott Robinson and Michael Zuanich scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Peisel and it was 3-2. The Captains added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Nash doubled home two more runs to make it 5-2. The Captains added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on RBI singles by Dan DeGeorge and Mark Thompson to give the Captains a 7-2 lead.

Captains' starter T.J. McFarland (6-4) got the win going 5.1 innings and allowing three runs, one earned on seven hits, walking two and striking out six. Matt Langwell pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief and Steve Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Tourists' starter Ethan Hollingsworth (5-5) took the loss pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out ten.

Yankees sweep Scrappers
On Thursday night the Staten Island Yankees completed the three game sweep of the Scrappers 5-4.

The Yankees took the lead on Thursday night in the second inning when Neil Medchill delivered his third home run of the series and after the first two innings it was 2-0 Yankees.

The Scrappers responded in the bottom of the third with three runs, on a sacrifice fly from Jason Smit, an RBI single from Ben Carlson and a throwing error from the Yankees. Mahoning Valley added a run in the bottom of the fourth and the game was tied at 4-4.

In the sixth, the Yankees plated two runs off of the Scrappers bullpen and the game was tied moving to the late innings. The Yankees took the lead for the first time in the eighth inning when Luke Murton delivered and RBI single to make the Yankee advantage 5-4.

The Scrapper bats were retired in order in the ninth and the Yankees won on Thursday night 5-4.

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