Game Recap 5/27: Weglarz Plays Hero For Clippers

Clippers outlast Lehigh Valley in extras

It took nearly three and a half hours, but the Columbus Clippers defeated the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, 3-2 in 11 innings. Nick Weglarz saved the game in the top of the 11th inning by throwing out Andy Tracy from left field at home, and then delivered a two out, game-winning RBI single in the bottom half to give the Clippers the victory.

Weglarz had struggled at the plate since coming up to Columbus, going one for his first 18 at the dish, but his game-winning hit was the Clippers' fifth final at-bat win of the season. Columbus is now 3-1 in extra inning games in 2010. Jess Todd earned the win for Columbus, now 2-2 on the year and Brian Gordon took the loss, his first on the season.

Andy Tracy began the night by driving in Chris Duffy in the top of the first inning with an RBI single to right off of starting pitcher Josh Tomlin. Tracy's hit started a great night for the long-time minor leaguer, as he went 3-for-5. Tomlin struggled in the first inning, throwing 30 pitches and walking two, but the Clippers defense backed up Tomlin and got him out of the opening frame.

The Iron Pigs tacked on another run in the top of the fifth inning when Brian Bocock hit a laser shot off of Tomlin over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, giving Lehigh Valley a 2-0 advantage. Tomlin went six innings giving up the two runs and struck out three but was not a factor in the decision.

The Clippers responded in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs as Josh Rodriguez drove in Jordan Brown, and Michael Brantley followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, driving in Brian Buscher. The Clippers, before their successful fifth, struggled against Iron Pig starting pitcher, Brian Mazone as he allowed only a Carlos Santana single in his first four innings of work. Mazone's line was similar to Tomlin's as he pitched six innings, giving up two earned runs and allowing four hits in the no decision.

The Clippers had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh with two on and no outs, but Buscher struck out swinging and Rodriguez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. The last four batters in the Columbus lineup provided six of the nine Clipper hits as the first five batters in the lineup combined for three hits in 22 plate appearances.

Aeros Win 5-2 In Series Finale Against Altoona

The Aeros defeated the first-place Altoona Curve by the score of 5-2 Thursday, avoiding a series sweep to end a weeklong homestand. A season-high crowd of 8,774 fans on the season’s final Education Day witnessed Akron win for just the third time in 12 meetings with Altoona. Two Aeros hitters continued their recent hot streaks while a rare triple play highlighted the final few innings. With the win, Akron improved to 19-28 on the year while the Curve dropped to 30-17.

Leadoff hitter John Drennen began the game for the Aeros with a double to right and advanced to third on a groundout. Jared Goedert then plated Drennen with a sac fly to the left fielder, giving the hosts the quick 1-0 advantage. The margin would stand for just an inning and a half as Altoona’s Kris Watts initiated a rally with a double of his own to start the third. Miles Durham and singled and both runners later scored on a long throwing error by second baseman Cord Phelps.

Akron struck back with a big three-run inning in the bottom of the fourth as a walk, wild pitch and a single began the rally. Carlos Rivero then lofted an RBI single to left-center, scoring first baseman Matt McBride to even the game at 2-2. Catcher Miguel Perez followed with an even bigger base knock, scoring both Beau Mills and Rivero with a game-changing double to right. The hit parade continued as Drennen nailed another double to provide for the final three-run margin of the day.

That was not the only excitement for the rest of the contest however, as Altoona’s Chase d’Arnaud made history in the top of the sixth. The Aeros had runners on first and second and nobody out for Drennen yet again. He lined out right to d’Arnaud at short, who instinctively stepped on second base for another out and threw to Matt Hague covering first base for the rare triple play. The feat was the first in Curve franchise history since May 3, 2001 against the Harrisburg Senators in Altoona.

Both bullpens were spectacular in the final few innings as the scored remained at 5-2. Curve pitcher Derek Hankins delivered 4.1 scoreless frames while a trio of Akron relievers shut down the opposing offense. Bryce Stowell struck out a pair to end a bases loaded jam in the seventh while Aeros Connor Graham and Carlton Smith cruised through the final two innings to seal the deal. The win finalized a seven-game home stand where the team went 3-4 against Harrisburg and Altoona.

Akron starter Paolo Espino (5-2) earned the win in finishing just an out shy of his second straight quality start. He allowed just two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out six batters in 5.2 innings pitched. Curve starter Jared Hughes (7-2) allowed all five Aeros runs and took the loss with Smith recording his second save of the season by delivering a shutout ninth.

Despite hitting into the triple play, the center fielder Drennen was the offensive star as he finished 3-4 on the day with a pair of doubles, a run scored and an RBI. Drennen now is batting .545 (18-33) over the course of his 10-game hit streak. Goedert flirted with disaster in extending his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games with a single while Rivero and Perez each finished with a pair of hits.

Suicide Squeeze Makes Captains a Winner in 10 Innings

Kyle Smith laid down a suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the tenth inning scoring allowing Casey Frawley to score the winning run as the Lake County Captains defeated the Dayton Dragons 7-6 in ten innings on Thursday. The Captains erased a four run deficit including a two run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Dragons tallied a run in the top of the first inning when Didi Gregorius tripled and then scored on a wild pitch by Captains starter Brett Brach and they led 1-0. The Captains tied it up at 1-1 when Tice hit a solo home run, his fourth homer of the year in the bottom of the first inning. The Dragons re-gained the lead in the top of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Josh Garton and a RBI singled from Kevin Codington and it was 3-1. The Dragons upped the lead to 5-1 when Shane Carlson doubled home two runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Tice hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chun Chen followed with a single and went to third base on a single by Smith. Chen scored on a wild pitch and it was 5-3. The Captains inched closer in the bottom of the sixth inning when Argenis Martinez grounded out allowing Ben Carlson to score from third and the lead was cut to 5-4. The Dragons added a run in the top of the ninth inning when Alex Oliveras doubled home Mark Fleury and it was 6-4. The Captains tied up the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning when Tice knocked in Bo Greenwell and Jason Smit plated Tice with the tying run.

Captains starter Brett Brach took a no decision working five innings allowing five runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out two. Tyler Sturdevant started the sixth inning and threw three scoreless innings allowing a hit and striking out five. Jeremy Johnson (2-0) pitched the final two innings allowing a run on two hits while striking out two to get the win.

Dragons starter Pedro Villarreal did not get a decision either working five innings allowing three runs on six hits walking two and striking out six. Mike Konstanty (0-1) took the loss allowing the run in the tenth inning.

The Kinston Indians had a scheduled night off.

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