Game Recap 5/4: Haley Has Career Night For Captains

Haley Dominates in Captains Win

Captains starting pitcher Trey Haley dominated on the mound and the Lake County Captains took advantage of five Dayton Dragons errors on their way to an 8-3 win on Tuesday.

The Captains scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning without a base hit thanks to a couple of throwing errors by the Dragons defense. One run scored on one of the bad throws and the other two runs on ground outs by Bo Greenwell and Roberto Perez and the Captains led 3-0. The Captains added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jason Smit singled home Casey Frawley and it was 4-0. Frawley had doubled and extended his hit streak to eleven games.

The Captains added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Roberto Perez extended his on base streak to fourteen games with a single and three batters later scored on a single by Chun Chen and it was 5-0. Chen ended up with four hits. The Dragons picked up two runs in top of the eighth inning off of Captains reliever Francisco Jimenez on a solo home run from Josh Garton and a ground out RBI from Andrew Means and it was 5-2. The Captains added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on an error and RBI’s from Kyle Smith and Greenwell to end the scoring at 8-2.

Captains starter Trey Haley (2-0) got his second consecutive win pitching seven scoreless innings allowing only three hits, walking one and striking out a season high nine batters. Jimenez allowed the two runs on three hits in .1 innings of work. Cory Burns pitched the final 1.2 innings and collected his eighth save allowing one run in the ninth inning.

Dragons starter Jacob Johnson (0-3) took the loss going five innings allowing five runs, two earned, on six hits, walking two and striking out two.

The Captains and Dragons play game two on Wednesday at 6:30 PM with the Captains sending RHP Joe Gardner (1-0, 3.68) to the mound against the Dragons RHP Pedro Villarreal (0-2, 4.33).

Clippers End Home Stand on Good Note

For the second straight day, the Columbus bullpen couldn't hold a lead. But they were bailed out Tuesday by Shelley Duncan's second home run of the day, which fueled the Clippers to a 7-5 victory over the Syracuse Chiefs and ensured a winning homestand.

Duncan and Chris Gimenez both hit two-run blasts in the first inning, helping spot starter Mike Gossling (who replaced the scratched Carlos Carrasco).

Syracuse tied the game in the sixth with a pair of runs off of reliever Carlton Smith. Joe Smith (1-1) came on to get Columbus out of a jam, setting up Duncan for the heroics in the seventh -- which came after a Trevor Crowe double and a walk to Carlos Santana.

Josh Whitesell homered in the eighth off of Jess Todd to account for the final score. Saul Rivera stranded a leadoff double in the ninth to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Clippers took three of four from Syracuse and head into their first scheduled off day of the season after completing a 6-4 homestand. An eight-game road trip starts Thursday night in Lehigh Valley at 7:05.

Akron Ends Losing Streak

The Aeros ended their six game losing streak Tuesday night at Canal Park against the Trenton Thunder 8-4 in front of 1,373 fans. Akron is looking to start a new streak of their own, but in the other direction as the team is now 9-16 on the 2010 season.

The Aeros scored first with one run in the bottom of the first inning off a Beau Mills single, which allowed outfielder Tim Fedroff to come around and score, making it 1-0 after the first inning. The Aeros offense began to show signs of life when they scored two more runs in the second inning. The Thunder began to chip away at the lead in the fourth inning when Daniel Brewer doubled to right-field off starting pitcher Zach Putnam and David Adams launched his third home run of the season making it 3-2.

The Thunder again got on the board the following inning off a double by Daniel Brewer, allowing two more runners to cross the plate making it a 4-3 contest. Zach Putnam tied his longest outing of the year going six innings and allowing only four runs, while striking out four. Beau Mills tallied two base hits and drove in four runs to lead the Aeros offense Tuesday night. Akron’s offense erupted in the bottom of the seventh inning when they crossed the plate five times making it 8-4. Two straight singles by Jared Goedert and Nick Weglarz and a catcher’s interference call on Matt McBride loaded the bases before Beau Mills came up and connected with a double that allowed all three Aeros to come around and score making it 8-4. Vinnie Pestano gave up a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to Thunder catcher Austin Romine before Reid Gorecki strikes out swinging.

Justin Germano (1-1) came out of the Aeros bullpen and was just what they needed as they were looking to end their six game losing skid. Germano came into the game in relief of Zach Putnam and was lights out, allowing no runs on no hits and striking out one Thunder batter. Wilkin De La Rosa (0-2), who is a native of the Dominican Republic, was charged with his third blown save of the year after only making it through a third of an inning. De La Rosa allowed five runs to cross the plate, while striking out one during his outing Tuesday night at Canal Park. Mills led the way offensively for the second night in a row, finishing 2-4 with four RBI on the night. Fedroff and Goedert also finished with two hits apiece. Cord Phelps recorded his first triple of the season, as well as a double while going 2-4 on the night.

The Aeros have two games remaining at home before departing for a week long road trip. Left-hander Ryan Edell (0-1, 8.27 ERA), who last pitched against the Binghamton Mets, will go for Akron against Thunder right-hander Ryan Pope (0-2, 5.68 ERA). Indians’ closer Kerry Wood is set to make his second rehab appearance out of the Akron bullpen Wednesday. Wood is expected to work only one inning tomorrow night.

Lynchburg Walks Off With Win Over Kinston

Neftali Soto hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Lynchburg walked off with a 6-5 win over Kinston Tuesday night in Virginia.

Kinston’s bats came to life early as Kinston scored two runs, on four singles, a walk and an error in the top of the third inning. Cristo Arnal scored on an error by Lynchburg right fielder Justin Reed and Jason Kipnis drove home Lucas Montero on an RBI single later in the inning. Kyle Bellows would keep the hits coming with a solo home run in the fourth inning, his first round tripper of the season. The K-Tribe would take a 5-0 lead on a bases loaded, two RBI single by Jordan Henry in the top of the sixth inning. Kinston banged out 13 hits on the night, but it would not hold up.

After Kinston starter Alexander Perez and reliever Joey Mahalic combined for six innings of scoreless, two hit ball; Lynchburg would come to life. With Travis Turek pitching in the bottom of the seventh inning, Josh Fellhauer hit a two-out, RBI double to put Lynchburg on the board. The K-Tribe lead would continue to shrink when Cody Puckett followed with a two-run home run, making the score 5-3. After giving up a one-out double in the top of the eighth inning, Turek was replaced by Matt Langwell. Langwell gave up an RBI single, as Day scored and made the score 5-4. Langwell would then get out of the inning, earning his Carolina League leading sixth hold of the season. In the bottom of the ninth, K-Tribe closer Steve Smith got Josh Fellhauer to pop out and then gave up a walk to Cody Puckett. The next batter, Neftali Soto, then took the first pitch he saw from Smith over the left field wall for a game winning two-run home run. Smith (0-3) picks up his second straight loss, as Salem walked off with a win against him on Sunday. Jordan Hotchkiss (2-0) gets the win for Lynchburg.

Bellows went 3-for-5 for Kinston. Kipnis, Doug Pickens and Cristo Arnal each had two hits.

The K-Tribe will take on the Hillcats for game three of the four game set Wednesday in Virginia. Game time 7 pm Kelvin De La Cruz will be on the mound for the Indians.

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