Game Recaps 8/12: Cooper, Captains grind out win

Jordan Cooper (Photo: IPI)

Captains Chase Loons 4-3

Chase Burnette doubled home Ronny Rodriguez and Brian Heere in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Lake County Captains a 4-3 win over the Great Lakes Loons on Friday night. The Captains went 4-10 against Great Lakes this season and 1-5 at Classic Park.

The Captains jumped out to a two run lead in the bottom of the first inning when Giovanny Urshela doubled home Carlos Moncrief and then scored on a single by Alex Monsalve when the right fielder over ran the ball and the Captains led 2-0. The Loons got a run in the top of the third inning when Chris Jacobs led off the inning with a home run, his tenth of the year and second in as many nights to cut the lead to 2-1. Jacobs tied the game in the top of the fifth inning when he led off that inning with another home run. Jesse Bosnik followed with a home run of his own and the Loons took a 3-2 lead.

Captains starter Jordan Cooper did not get a decision working five innings allowing three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out four. Joey Mahalic tossed a scoreless inning allowing a hit and getting a strikeout. Cody Allen (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings allowing a hit, walking two and striking out four to get his first win as a Captain.

Loons Starter Garrett Gould (11-5) pitched three innings due to a restricted innings count and allowed two runs, one earned on two hits, walking one and striking out one and did not factor in the decision. Ryan Christenson came on in the fourth inning and threw three scoreless innings striking out six. Juan Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss giving up two runs in two innings of work.

The Captains begin a six game road trip on Saturday at 7:00 PM in Dayton. The Captains will have RHP Mike Goodnight (5-11, 4.45) on the hill against the Dragons RHP Mitch Clarke (3-1, 1.33).

Columbus sweeps doubleheader

Columbus swept Rochester in a doubleheader Friday night at Frontier Field, winning both games by a score of 6-3 and 4-3. The teams continue the series with a single game at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

The first game was a completion of the June 10 postponed game in Columbus, when the Clippers jumped out to a early 5-1 lead against Andrew Baldwin and the Wings. Baldwin stepped back out to the mound as the pitcher when play resumed Friday, and struck out Jared Head to strand two runners and end the bottom of the third inning.

Brett Brach took the hill for the Clippers in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Luke Hughes singled and advanced to second base on a Chase Lambin walk creating a scoring threat for the Wings. The runners were left on base as the Brach sat the next two batters down in order.

Baldwin gave up back-to-back hits to his first two batters of the fourth inning. The defense picked Baldwin up earning the first two outs of the inning with a 4-6-3, Hughes, Toby Gardenhire, Aaron Bates double play that allowed the Clippers to plate another run, taking a 6-1 lead before a ground out ended the inning.

In the seventh inning with two outs Jeff Bailey hit a solo home run making the score 6-2 in favor of the Clippers.

Dustin Martin lead off the eighth inning with his twenty-second double of the season. Lambin walked with two outs before the Clippers brought Nick Hagadone in relief of Brach. Gardenhire immediately worked a walk to load the bases for Rochester, bringing Steve Holm to the plate. Holm worked a walk that drove in a run and cut the Clippers lead in half. That was all the Wings were able to manufacture as a Rene Rivera strikeout stranded the runners and ended the inning.

In Friday's regularly scheduled game, Rochester starter Deinys Suarez made his debut with the Wings after being promoted from New Britain. Suarez got off to a rocky start giving up a single to his first batter of the game and following it up with a home run to Cord Phelps that gave the Clippers an early 2-0 advantage.

Rene Tosoni and Hughes had back-to-back singles with two outs in the first inning for Rochester but were left on the base paths as the next two batters were sat down in order.

Suarez worked a 1-2-3 inning in the second getting help from the defense who turned a 4-6-3, Hughes, Gardenhire, Jeff Bailey double play to end the inning. Suarez returned to the hill in the third inning pitching another 1-2-3 inning.

Suarez pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth inning but gave up a run in the sixth that prompted the Wings to go to the pen and call on Dusty Hughes to come in and relieve the starter. Suarez gave up three earned runs on six hits in his 5.1 innings of work. Hughes hit the first batter he faced, putting men on first and second base with one out but struck the next two batters out to end the inning with the Clippers up 3-0.

Columbus starter Zach McAllister held the Wings' offense in check throughout the game. Bailey tripled off McAllister with two outs in the sixth inning, extending his hitting streak to nine games.

McAllister served up a lead off double in the seventh to Brian Dinkelman who scored on a Holm single, ending the Clippers shutout. Luke Hughes had a two-out single to bring the Wings to within a run at 4-3. Martin followed by drilling a hard-hit ball that second baseman Argenis Reyes couldn't handle, moving Hughes to third base as the tying run. Closer Josh Judy replaced McAllister, and Judy got Bailey to fly out on ball that went to the warning track in left field.

Four-run second does in Aeros

Right-handed pitcher Steve Wright allowed four runs in the bottom of the second inning that proved to be the difference as the Akron Aeros lost game one of a three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7-1 Friday at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

Wright allowed all seven runs and suffered the loss for Akron tossing six innings, scattering seven hits, walking five and striking out six.

Right-handed pitcher Nestor Molina recorded the win for New Hampshire tossing six innings, giving up one earned run on four hits and striking out eight while walking one.

The Fisher Cats (66-52) got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Mike McDade and Moises Sierra rapped back-to-back singles and advanced to second and third on a passed ball. Mark Sobolewski singled home McDade to give New Hampshire a 1-0 lead. Yan Gomes walked to load the bases. Wright then uncorked a wild pitch to allow Sierra to score to make it 2-0. Sobolewski came across to score on a ground out to increase the Fisher Cat lead to 3-0. Later in the frame, Kevin Howard singled home Gomes to make it 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, New Hampshire increased their lead to 5-0 on a sacrifice fly.

Travis d’Arnaud and McDade hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 7-0.

Akron (62-57) grabbed a run in the top of the sixth inning on a Raul Padron RBI double, but that was as close as they would get as New Hampshire went on to the win.

The Aeros and Fisher Cats will continue their three-game series on Saturday. Akron will give the ball to right-handed pitcher Austin Adams, who is 9-8 with a 3.81 ERA in 2011. He will face fellow right-hander Deck McGuire, who is 2-1 with a 4.82 ERA this season. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m.

Kinston gets a 6-2 win

The Kinston Indians (25-21, 63-52) earned the victory on Friday night against the Salem Red Sox by a score of 6-2. The big boost on offense came off the bat of Tyler Cannon. Cannon hit a three-run homerun his fifth of the season and at that time it gave Kinston a 4-0 lead.

The Indians opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, with the bases loaded Red Sox starting pitcher Manny Rivera walked Jesus Augilar, which forced home a run. The walk was one of five on the night for Rivera.

In the third inning, Adam Abraham singled and then Casey Frawley walked. Tyler Cannon then un-loaded on a fastball and smacked it way over the 20 foot high left field wall. The score was 4-0 Kinston.

Kinston added on as soon as they could in the top of the forth inning when Argenis Martinez led off the inning with a double to right field. Tyler Holt promptly doubled him home making the score 5-0 Kinston. Jordan Casas moved Holt to third with a ground out to first base. Jeremie Tice then laced a single to left field scoring Tyler Holt securing the 6-0 lead.

Meanwhile on the mound, Francisco Jimenez was dazzling. Jimenez did not get a decision but he pitched 4.2 innings allowing just one hit, zero runs, allowed just two walks and five strikeouts.

Chris Jones, who got the win (6-1), entered the game and pitched 2.1 innings for Kinston allowing zero hits, with one strikeout.

Trey Haley entered the game in the eighth inning and was greeted with a base hit by Shannon Wilkerson. Josue Peley then singled Wilkerson to second base. A ground ball to first base moved both runners into scoring position and then Heiker Meneses singled up the middle scoring both runners and that avoided the shutout for Salem. The score after eight innings was 6-2 Kinston.

Jose Flores entered the game in the ninth inning and allowed a base hit but that was it as the Salem Red Sox were retired and the Kinston Indians ensured their 25th victory of the second half.

The Kinston Indians will continue the road trip with another game against the Salem Red Sox Saturday Night at 6:05 pm. The scheduled starting pitchers will be RHP Marty Popham (4-2, 4.25) for Kinston vs. LHP Chris Hernandez (10-5, 2.39) for Salem.

Scrappers fall to Cyclones in series opener

The Scrappers scored the first run of the game but the Cyclones rallied and held on late in Mahoning Valley’s 10-6 loss to Brooklyn.

Bryson Myles and Tony Wolters led off the game with singles and after a double steal stood on third and second, respectively. Jake Lowery scored Myles with a ground out to give the Scrappers a 1-0 lead after one inning. The Cyclones scored the next six runs, taking a 6-1 lead to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Scrappers scored three in the inning, one on a sacrifice fly by Todd Hankins and two on a double by Alex Lavisky. Brooklyn scored four in the eighth to pull away. Mahoning Valley scored two in the bottom of the inning, but the Scrappers were held scoreless in the ninth.

Reliever Harold Guerrero picked up the loss. He fell to 2-3. Brooklyn starter Carlos Vazquez picked up the win. He improved to 3-2. The Scrappers and Cyclones continue their series on Saturday night at 7:05 pm.

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