Game Recaps: Thursday 7/2

Clippers crush Toledo

The Clippers snapped a seven game losing streak with a 16-3 rout of Toledo.

Matt LaPorta hit a grand slam to highlight an eight run first inning. Five runs scored before an out was recorded and the first seven Clippers reached base and scored. Michael Brantley singled and scored twice in the inning, bringing in two runs.

LaPorta led off the second with a double and scored again on a Niuman Romero single. Andy Marte doubled home Jordan Brown in the third.

Brian Grening started for Columbus, his first appearance at the Triple-A level. He struck out the first three batters of the game. On a limited pitch count, Grening left with one out in the third inning. He allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out five.

Jensen Lewis and Vinnie Chulk aided in blanking the Mud Hens line-up through seven innings. They allowed three hits, struck out four, and walked two. Rich Rundles pitched the eighth and allowed three runs on four hits. Masa Kobayashi retired the side in order in the ninth.

Marte hit his team leading eleventh homer in the sixth inning. Josh Barfield also singled and scored in the sixth. LaPorta collected his fifth RBI of the night with a double in the seventh. Tony Graffanino followed with a three-run blast to cap the scoring.

Aeros split double header

Akron and Bowie split a doubleheader Thursday night, as the Aeros fell 3-0 in the opener before rebounding to win 3-2 in the nightcap. Akron improved to 52-27 after the game two triumph, while the Baysox are 44-36.

One bad inning doomed the Aeros in game one, as starter Hector Rondon mowed down the Baysox in order in the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. Jonathan Tucker opened the inning with a single to center, and advanced to second on a tapper back to the mound by Robert Valido. Rondon then got ahead in the count 1-2 on former Aero Eric Crozier before surrendering an RBI triple to put Bowie ahead 1-0. Mike Costanzo followed with a run-scoring double over Nick Weglarz’s head in left field on the next pitch to make it 2-0, and Miguel Abreu hammered an RBI double of his own to left-center for the third run of the inning.

That would be plenty for Sox starter Brian Matusz, as the left-hander improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.49 in the complete game shutout. Rondon (7-5) went the distance as well and turned in a quality start in the losing effort, allowing three runs and four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out eight, and allowed only one base runner and no hits in the five innings outside of the fourth. Jared Goedert was the only Aero to reach base more than once in the opener, doubling in the second inning before walking in the fifth.

It was the Aeros who took advantage of one big inning in game two, as Carlos Santana belted a three-run homer down the right field line in the top of the fifth to account for the difference. It was Santana’s 12th of the year and gave him 50 RBI on the season while also erasing a 1-0 Bowie advantage. The Baysox cut the margin to 3-2 on Adam Donachie’s two-out RBI single in the sixth, but Vinnie Pestano slammed the door from there to preserve the win.

Steven Wright (6-0) stayed perfect with the win in relief, blanking Bowie for 2.1 innings and allowing just two hits. Fredy Deza (3-3) started and took the loss, surrendering three runs and six hits in 4.2 innings. Pestano’s save was his league-leading 22nd of the season.

K-Tribe roll

After Blue Rocks starter Danny Duffy (6-3) allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out six batters through the first three innings, the Carolina League All-Star imploded in the fourth. A Tim Fedroff walk started the frame, and then back-to-back singles by Lonnie Chisenhall and Ole Sheldon loaded the bases. Roman Pena then hit a soft grounder to first baseman Chase Fontaine who threw home to try to get Fedroff. But Wilmington catcher Ryan Eigsti dropped the ball and was charged an error. The rest of the runs in the frame were earned however, as Adam Davis drove home two more with a double and Cord Phelps and Fedroff had RBI walks. Kinston sent a season-high tying 11 batters to the plate in the inning.

Kinston got another stellar performance by Russell Young (2-3), his fifth straight impressive start as he went six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks to go with five strikeouts. Kinston relievers David Roberts and Garrison Campfield helped preserve the win from the K-Tribe bullpen.

Captains put together rally in win

Bo Greenwell singled home two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and Nate Recknagel added a RBI single as the Lake County Captains scored four runs to come from behind and beat the West Virginia Power 4-1 Thursday. The Captains trail the Power by a half game in the Northern Division standings.

The Power tallied a run in the top of the seventh inning off of Captains reliever Travis Turek when Calvin Anderson led off the inning with a walk. He went to second on a balk and to third on a ground out. Anderson scored on a ground out by Brett Willemburg and it was 1-0.

Captains' starter Danny Salazar did not get a decision despite going six scoreless innings allowing only three hits, walking two and striking out two. Turek (1-0) got the win allowing the one run on one hit, walking four in two innings of work. Steve Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his thirteenth save, which is good for second highest in the SAL. Power starter Rafael De Los Santos did not get a decision either, working 5.2 scoreless innings and allowing three hits, walking four and striking out two. Duke Welker (0-9) took the loss allowing the four runs in two innings of work.

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