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| Jason Kipnis (photo: Tony Lastoria) |
The Clippers held on for a 9-7 victory of Charlotte on Wednesday. Jeanmar Gomez (3-0) got the win for Columbus and Clippers right-hander Zach Putnam got his 5th save of the season. Brandon Hynick (1-3) was hit with the loss.
The Clippers got the bats going in the bottom of the second. Travis Buck doubled down the right field line. Jason Kipnis followed with a single to left center to put runners on the corners with 1 out. The next batter, Wes Hodges hit a line drive to left field to drive in Buck and give the Clippers a 1-0 lead. The offensive onslaught continued when Luke Carlin single to right field to knock in Kipnis for a 2-0 Columbus lead. It would be 3-0 in favor of the Clipper when a wild pitch got away from Charlotte catcher Tyler Flowers that allowed Wes Hodges to score.
A two out power show would then take place in the bottom of the third inning when Jason Kipnis crushed a two-run bomb that landed in the Wendy's hamburger right field balcony. Just like that, Columbus had a 5-0 lead after 3 innings.
That lead would become 6-0 when Cord Phelps knocked in Ezequiel Carrera on an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.
Things got a lot tighter in the top of the sixth. After Sean Gallagher and Tyler Flowers singled and Lastings Milledge walked, Jordan Danks hit a grand slam to deep left center to make it 6-4 Clippers.
It would become a one run advantage for the Clippers as Dayan Viciedo, a thorn in the side of Columbus pitching, knocked in Eduardo Escobar with a two out RBI single in the top of the seventh to make it 6-5 Clippers.
With their big lead nearly evaporated, the Clippers got to work to try to cushion their one run lead. Carrera led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left field. The next batter, Cord Phelps would wallop a pitch out of the ball park onto Nationwide Boulevard to give the Clippers an 8-5 lead.
The Knights would not back down. The next inning, Gookie Dawkins knocked in McPherson on a single to right field to make it 8-6. Immediately following the Dawkins RBI single, Escobar knocked in Danks to again make a one run Clippers advantage. Clippers relief pitcher Josh Judy struck out Alejandro De Aza swinging and got Jim Gallagher to fly out to left field to end the inning.
More runs would cross the plate for the Clippers. Hodges singled to being the inning. Carlin bunted him over to second. A wild pitch while Jered Head was batting allowed Hodges to advance to third. Another wild pitch to the backstop allowed Hodges to score from third to make it 9-7 Clippers.
The Clippers will send Joe Martinez to hill for Thursday's business special at Huntington Park. He will face Gaby Hernandez, who will be making the start for Charlotte. First pitch is 11:35 AM.
Aeros Take Finale Behind Solid Outing From De La Cruz
The Akron Aeros won the final game of a three-game series against the Erie SeaWolves 4-1 Wednesday at Jerry Uht Park.
Kelvin De La Cruz got the win for the Aeros tossing five scoreless innings, scattering two hits, striking out seven and walking four. Cory Burns pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn his 10th save of 2011.
Casey Crosby got the loss for Erie pitching six innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits, walking six and striking out five.
The Aeros (15-18) got on the board in the top of the third inning off Crosby. With one out, Jordan Henry and Karexon Sanchez worked back-to-back walks. With Jared Goedert at the plate, the Aeros pulled off a double steal as Henry stole third and Sanchez took second. Later in the at-bat, Goedert reached on an infield single that allowed Henry to score to give Akron a 1-0 lead. Crosby uncorked a wild pitch with Matt McBride at the plate that allowed Sanchez to score to make it 2-0.
It remained 2-0 until the top of the eighth inning. With two outs, Matt McBride doubled and, after Shawn Roof misplayed the ball in left field, came across to score to make it 3-0.
The SeaWolves (15-16) loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of eighth inning, but could muster just one run as Burns got out of the jam.
Akron added another run in the top of the ninth inning and went on to the win.
The Aeros will head to Bowie to begin a four-game series with the Baysox Thursday. Right-handed pitcher Joe Gardner gets the start for Akron. Gardner is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 2011. He will face fellow righty Wynn Pelzer, who is 1-3 with a 3.60 ERA this season. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on Fox Sports 1350 AM or online at sportsradio1350.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m.
Kinston Swept in Wednesday's Doubleheader
Myrtle Beach blanked Kinston in both games of a doubleheader, 6-0 and 2-0, Wednesday night in South Carolina.
In game one Myrtle Beach starting pitcher Joe Wieland, fresh off of Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors, was the story, facing just 21 batters in the seven inning, complete game victory. Tyler Holt started the game with a single, but Wieland would not allow another base runner until Abreu singled in the fifth inning. Both Holt and Abreu were erased from the bases on double plays. Wieland (3-2) gave up just two hits, striking out two and not walking a batter.
Kinston starter T.J. House had some rough luck early. An error, walk and sacrifice bunt, got two Pelicans into scoring position to start the bottom of the third inning. Ryan Strausborger gave Myrtle Beach the 1-0 lead with an RBI single. Mike Olt made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. With two-outs in the inning, House walked three straight batters, driving in Strausborger and giving the Pelicans a 3-0 advantage. The Pelicans would add a run on an RBI single by Jared Hoying in the bottom of the sixth All three runs were unearned. Things fell apart again in the sixth inning, when Myrtle Beach would score three more runs off of House. House (1-4) took the loss for Kinston, giving up five hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out two. Jose Flores got the final out of the sixth inning after giving up a hit.
In game two, Kinston starter Brett Brach was cruising, having given up only one hit through the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth frame, Jared Hoying led off with a walk. With one-out in the inning, Ryan Strausborger hit a two-run homer to give Myrtle Beach a 2-0 lead. It would prove to be the only mistake Brach made. The K-Tribe starter gave up just three hits and those two earned runs in six innings of work. Brach (3-2) walked two and struck out three in the loss.
Ryan Kelly kept K-Tribe bats at bay, giving up just three hits in six innings. Kelly (2-1) walked two and struck out four.
The Indians end the roadtrip Thursday night with a 7:05 pm start in Myrtle Beach. Drew Pomeranz gets the start for Kinston. The K-Tribe returns to Historic Grainger Stadium for a seven game homestand starting this Friday night!
Dragons Find Some Lutz, Beat Captains 3-1
Donald Lutz hit two homeruns on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Field driving in three runs in for Dayton as the Dragons defeated the Captains 3-1. Lutz gave the Dayton a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two run shot to leftfield and never looked back.
Donald Lutz hit his second homerun of the game pushing Dayton's lead to 3-0 with a solo shot to right field in the sixth inning.
In the top of the eighth inning the Captains got on the board, Anthony Gallas doubled to start things off, moved over to third on an Alex Lavisky ground out. Argenis Martinez drove in his 13th run of the season with ground out to second.v
Daniel Tuttle (3-0) was fantastic for the Dragons earning the win tossing six scoreless innings allowing just two hits, walking one and striking out seven. Drew Hayes pitched the ninth for his third save of the season. Cole Cook (1-4) suffered the loss allowing three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out four.
Lake County and Dayton finish up their three game series on Thursday night from Fifth Third Field at 7:07PM. The Captains will the hand the ball to RHP Steven Wright (0-0) against LHP Tanner Robles (2-3) for the Dragons. Catch all the action on AM1330 WELW or online at captainsbaseball.com.
The Lake County Captains, the 2010 Midwest League Champions and Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, return home for a six-game home stand beginning Friday as the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Ft. Wayne Tincaps make their first appearances at Classic Park this season.
Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).
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