Game Recap 8/28: Nuno Racks Up K's, Win

Playoff Race:
Columbus: 1.5 GB for division, lead wildcard by 1.5 games
Akron: 2.5 GB for wildcard (can't win division)
Kinston: 1.0 GB for division, lead wildcard by 2.0 games
Lake County: Already in

Nuno Strikes Outs Eleven, Captains Win

Vidal Nuno dazzled for seven innings on Saturday night in front of 7,916 fans. Nuno struck out a career high eleven hitters as the Captains defeated the Silver Hawks 2-1.

Lake County took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler Holt reached on a one out double to right center. Casey Frawley picked up infield base hit to short. The shortstop Victor Estevez’s throw to first went out of play allowing Holt to score.

Argenis Martinez singled to right field with two outs in the fourth. Delvi Cid made it 2-0 with an RBI triple to right centerfield scoring Martinez.

South Bend finally touched up Nuno in the eighth inning when Victor Estevez led the inning off with a solo homerun to make it 2-1.

Vidal Nuno (6-7) earned the win pitching seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits, striking out eleven. In his Captains’ debut Takafumi Nakamura picked up the save pitching two innings and giving up two hits. Andrew Wolcott (2-4) suffered the loss pitching just two thirds of a innings allowing one run on two hits, with one strike outs.

The Captains and Silver Hawks play game two of the four game series on Sunday at 1:00 PM with the Captains sending RHP Brett Brach (4-8, 3.55) to the mound to opposes LHP Tyler Skaggs (8-4, 3.57).

Indy blanks Clippers in opener of five-game set

The Clippers returned to Huntington Park for their final weekend homestand of 2010, but the Indianapolis Indians played the part of a rude guest Saturday, jumping all over Columbus in the early going and costing to an 8-0 victory in front a capacity crowd.

Brandon Moss got Indy on the scoreboard with a two-run blast in the first inning, and that was just the start of a rough night for David Huff (7-2). The Indians added two more runs in the second and four in the fourth, which would end the lefty's night prematurely.

Offensively, the Clippers did very little, putting zeroes on the scoreboard while squeezing out just four hits. The team was 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Four Indy pitchers joined forces for the shutout, with Brian Bass (3-4) getting the win in relief.

Columbus didn't lose ground in the division chase, as Louisville lost to Toledo to keep the Bats' lead at a game-and-a-half. Buffalo, however, crept a bit closer in the wild card race.

The Clippers will close out the home portion of the series with Indy on Sunday, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Zach McAllister (8-11, 5.19) will get make his second start for Columubs, opposite righty Mike Crotta (5-8, 4.42).

Akron Scores Second Erie Shutout 9-0

The Aeros shutout Erie for the second time in this four-game series with a 9-0 decision in front of 4,209 fans at Canal Park. The loss is Erie’s 10th here this season and 19th straight here dating back to May 24 of 2009. Akron (69-64) has now outscored the SeaWolves (59-74) by a 26-2 count so far in the series.

The Aeros struck first when designated hitter Jerad Head hit in center fielder Jordan Henry on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice in which the SeaWolves attempted to turn a double play in the first inning. Right fielder John Drennen eventually took advantage with an RBI-single to right field that scored second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Head faced another bases-loaded opportunity in the second and he promptly delivered with a two-RBI double down the left field line that scored shortstop Cristo Arnal and Henry. First baseman Beau Mills followed with a two-RBI single that scored third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and Head for a 6-0 lead. Head added his fourth RBI of the night in the fourth with a sacrifice fly that brought in Kipnis.

The Aeros scored an unearned insurance run in the seventh after Head scored from third on an error by Bryan Pounds that allowed left fielder Tim Fedroff to be safe at first. Arnal made the score 9-0 in the eighth when he scored on a ground out by Chisenhall.

Left-handed starter Matt Packer celebrated his 23rd birthday in style as he shut out the SeaWolves and struck out eight batters, the most he has had with the Aeros, through six innings of work. The Germantown, Tenn. earned his first Double A win and improved to 1-2. Erie starter Jon Kibler (5-5) took the loss after he gave up seven runs on seven hits with six walks and two strikeouts in four innings.

Akron improved their playoff chances as they gained a game on current Western Division wild card leader Harrisburg with the Senators 2-1 loss to Trenton, as well as third-place Bowie as they fell 6-5 to New Britain. The Aeros are now 2.5 games back of the wild card lead with nine games remaining.

The Aeros look to clinch the four-game sweep Sunday as left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes (6-9, 4.77 ERA) faces SeaWolves southpaw Duane Below (5-12, 5.04 ERA) in the final regular season home game.

Kinston Beats Salem 5-3

Kinston starter Joe Gardner won his Carolina League leading 12th game of the season, as Kinston handed Salem a 5-3 loss Saturday night at Historic Grainger Stadium. The win was Kinston’s fifth straight, matching their longest win streak of the season. The win gives Kinston a two game cushion in the Southern Division wildcard race.

The K-Tribe pulled ahead in the bottom of the first inning against Red Sox starter Stolmy Pimentel. Bo Greenwell walked and Jeremie Tice belted a two-run homer to left to put Kinston on top 2-0. Tice has now homered in back to back nights, giving him four round trippers as a K-Triber. The Indians added on in the second inning, which started with back-to-back walks to Donnie Webb and Alex Castillo. The duo pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Justin Toole hit an RBI groundout to make it 3-0. Pimentel exited after just two innings in which he surrendered three runs on a hit, walked five and struck out one. He made 64 pitches in his two frames of work.

Kinston extended the lead in the top of the fourth inning when Webb led off with a triple and Castillo drove him in with a single. Castillo would later make the score 5-0 when he came across on an RBI hit from Karexon Sanchez. Gardner (12-5) gave Kinston a solid start giving up no runs on four hits. He walked five and struck out five.

Salem got on the board against Kinston reliever Chris Jones in the top of the seventh inning. Mitch Dening led off with a double and Dan Butler followed with a home run. After a walk to Alex Hassan later in the inning, Salem cut the Kinston lead to two runs with an RBI hit from Adalberto Ibarra. Matt Langwell came on in relief to help the Indians escape the eighth inning and threw a scoreless 2 2/3 innings for the save. Langwell extended his scoreless inning streak to 17 2/3 innings, the longest streak for the K-Tribe this season. It was Langwell’s fifth save of the season.

The K-Tribe's final home game of the 2010 regular season is Sunday at 2 pm at Historic Grainger Stadium. Austin Adams will take the mound for Kinston to finish the series against Salem.

Scrappers drop fourth straight

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers banged out 13 hits, but could only score one run stranding 14 runners in game two against the Auburn Doubledays and losing 4-1 tonight at Falcon Park.
The Scrappers have now lost four straight as they fall to 28-40 on the season. With the win, the Doubledays improved to 30-37.

Cole Cook got the loss despite pitching well for the Scrappers lasting four innings, giving up two unearned runs and striking out four.

Sam Strickland picked up the win for the Doubledays pitching five scoreless innings, scattering seven hits and striking out five. Dayton Marze pitched 2.1 innings to earn the save.

The Scrappers put runners on base in each of the first three innings, but couldn't set the tone as Strickland worked out of trouble in each frame.

Cook got two quick outs in the bottom of third but a Nick Bartolone error allowed Markus Brisker to reach and the inning to continue. Brisker scored on a wild pitch from Cook that gave the Doubledays the lead. Oliver Dominguez made it 2-0 with a single that chased home Jonathan Jones.

The Scrappers rallied in the top of the seventh when Trent Baker doubled to start the inning off reliever Brandon Berl. Baker advanced to third base on a Bartolone single. With runners on the corners at first and third, Giovanny Urshela blooped a single into center field to score Baker and cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Doubledays answered in the bottom of the frame scoring two times off reliever J.D. Goryl to increase the their lead to 4-1.

The Scrappers threatened in the eight and ninth innings, but Marze held the fort to help the Doubledays win their second straight against the Scrappers.

The Scrappers will look to snap their four-game losing streak in game three against the Doubledays tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Lianna Holub

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