Game Recaps 6/14: Kipnis triples Columbus to 8th straight

Jason Kipnis (Photo: Lianna Holub)

Clippers complete 4-game sweep of Buffalo

It was quite the night for Jason Kipnis and Chad Huffman as their extra base hits paced the Clippers to 7-3 victory over Buffalo which led to a four game sweep of the Bisons and increasing the Columbus' winning streak to eight.

Clippers rigthhander Scott Barnes was dealing early, striking out five through his first three innings Barnes would get some support on offense in the top of the fourth when a Jason Kipnis triple turned into the Clippers first run of the ball game. The error by Bisons second baseman Luis Hernandez allowed Kipnis to come in to score, allowing the Clippers to stake themselves to a 1-0 lead.

The Clippers would be back at again offensively in the top of the sixth and again it would involve Jason Kipnis. After a one out single by Ezequiel Carrera, Kipnis came to the plate. Kipnis's second triple of the night put another run on the board, making it 2-0 in favor of Columbus. The Clippers were not done there. Chad Huffman got Kipnis home with a hit of his own. That made it 3-0 Columbus. Not to be outdone, the next batter Jerad Head increased the Columbus lead with his 6th home run of the season. So by the time the inning was over, Columbus had a comfortable 5-0 advantage over Buffalo through 5 1/2.

The Bisons were able to get a run of their own in the bottom of the sixth. Buffalo had runners on second and third with one out. They were only able to get one run out of the deal as Fernando Martinez came in on a Jason Botts sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.

Things got a little hairy for Clippers righthander Nick Hagadone, who had come on to relieve Barnes. A Mike Nickeas double and a Jesus Feliciano single put runners on the corners with nobody out, but Hagadone got a pitcher's best friend: a ground ball double play. A run would come into to score during that play, but that was all the Bisons would get as Hagadone got Michael Fisher to pop out to end the inning.

The very next inning, Chad Huffman would put on a power display when he came to the plate with a runner on second and one out. Huffman's two run shot would make it 7-2 Columbus in the top of the eighth.

Like the bottom of the seventh, the bottom of the eigth was no easy task for Columbus pitching. Zach Putnam, one of the more reliable arms in the Clippers, did not get off to the swiftest of starts when he came on to pitch. A Fernando Martinez single, Valentino Pascussci walk and Zach Lutz walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Putnam struck out Jason Botts for the first out. He would then get Luis Hernandez to ground into a force out as Columbus got the out at second. It allowed Martinez to score and make it 7-3. For the third time in the contest, Buffalo would only get one run out of a potentially big offensive inning as Putnam got Mike Nickeas to popout to shortstop to end the frame.

Josh Judy would come on for the Clippers in the ninth, striking out two to complete the four game sweep overe Buffalo and push the win streak to eight.

Zach McAlister will get the start on Thursday when they open a four game series with Scranton Wilkes Barre as he opposes D.J. Mitchell. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

Aeros Fall To Fisher Cats, 7-2

The Akron Aeros dropped game one of a three-game series to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7-2 Tuesday at Canal Park.

Travis Hafner made a rehab start for the Aeros going 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Jason Donald was also in the lineup for Akron going 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Right-hander Joel Carreno picked up the win for New Hampshire tossing six innings, giving up one earned run on three hits, walking four and striking out eight.

Southpaw Kelvin De La Cruz was saddled with the loss for the Aeros lasting 3.1 innings, giving up six earned runs on three hits, walking six and striking out two.

The Aeros (31-34) scored first in the bottom of the second inning. Hafner led off with a walk. With two outs, Nick Weglarz walked and Donald followed with an RBI single scoring Hafner and giving the Aeros a 1-0 lead.

The Fisher Cats (38-25) erupted in the top of the fourth inning. Travis d’Arnaud led off with a single. Mike McDade and Moises Sierra drew back-to-back to walks to load the bases. The Fisher Cats tied the game 1-1 on De La Cruz’s third straight walk. With one out and the bases full, De La Cruz issued back-to-back walks as New Hampshire jumped in front 3-1. De La Cruz was lifted for right-hander Bryan Price, who allowed three more runs to score to make it 6-1. All six runs were charged to De La Cruz.

New Hampshire added a run in the top of the sixth inning to make it 7-1.

Akron scored a run in the home half of the eighth inning, but drew no closer as New Hampshire went on to the win.

The Aeros and Fisher Cats will continue their three-game series Wednesday. Akron will give the ball to right-hander Joe Gardner, who is 3-5 with a 4.47 ERA in 2011. He will face fellow righty Henderson Alvarez, who is 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA on the season. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

Kinston beats Sox 5-2

A fantastic spot start from a K-Tribe newcomer grabbed Kinston a 5-2 win over Salem Tuesday night at Historic Grainger Stadium. With the win, Kinston (34-30) ends the night less than three games behind Myrtle Beach for first place in the Southern Division.

J.D. Reichenbach (rye-kin-bach) made his Carolina League debut on Monday night, facing one batter in the second game of that night’s double header. With K-Tribe pitching still reeling from 37 innings thrown over the last two days, the recent Lake County call-up was thrust into his first professional start. The former Elon University star responded, not giving up a hit in his 5 2/3 innings of work. Reichenbach (1-0) walked two and struck out two.

Salem's All-Star starter Chris Hernandez fell behind early, after the K-Tribe's Adam Abraham hit an opposite field, two run homer with two outs in the bottom of the first. It was the eighth home run of the season for Abraham, tying Casey Frawley for the team lead. Kinston added to the lead when Doug Pickens hit his first home run of the season with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. The center field smash gave Kinston a 3-0 lead. With two outs in the fifth inning, back-to-back walks to Tyler Holt and Frawley set the table for another K-Tribe newcomer. Anthony Gallas delivered his second RBI hit in his second game as a K-Triber. The double gave Kinston a 5-0 lead.

Kinston would hold on from there. Jose Flores gave up one earned run in 1 1/3 innings of work. Rob Bryson, who played with Kinston last season, made his first appearance of the year, striking out three while not giving up a hit in an inning of work. Bryson, who was promoted to Double A last season, broke his foot in Spring Training and is working his way back to Akron. All-Star Preston Guilmet picked up his 15th save of the season, giving up just one hit in the ninth inning. On the offensive side, Holt went 2-for-3 and was on base three times for Kinston.

The K-Tribe finishes up the homestand with a Wednesday night 6:30 game against Salem. Marty Popham gets the start for Kinston. The Indians then hit the road for 10 of their next 13 games.

Loons Beat Captains 3-1

Jonathon Garcia’s second inning solo homerun to deep leftfield led Great Lakes to a 3-1 win over Lake County on Tuesday night at Classic Park. The loss sent the Captains to their sixth straight loss of the season.

The Loons added a pair of runs making it 3-0, in the top of the fifth inning. A couple of walks, a Captains error and a hit batter set up the runs for Great Lakes. Christian Lara added an RBI single.

The Captains got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ronny Rodriguez led the inning off with a triple down the line in left and scored on an RBI ground out by Brian Heere to make it 3-1.

Angel Sanchez (2-0) picked up the win for the Loons tossing six innings allowing a run on two hits, talking three and striking out four. Kyle Blair (3-5) took the loss for the Captains, allowing three runs, two earned on four hits, walking four and striking out five. Captain’ reliever Bryce Stowell returning from injury tossed two scoreless innings with no hits and walking one.

Lake County and Great Lakes continue their three game series on Wednesday night at Classic Park beginning at 7:00PM. Getting the start for the Captains will be RHP-Jordan Cooper (1-2) against RHP Zach Lee (4-1) for the Loons.

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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