Minor League Recap - High Scoring Excitement in Lake County

7th inning shenanigans in High-A, Triston McKenzie start in AAA, and a walk off error in Low-A led for an exciting night for Cleveland affiliates.

Columbus Clippers (38-47) - AAA

TOL 3 - COL 4

Box Score

The Columbus Clippers bested the Toledo Mud Hens (DET) Friday night. Triston McKenzie made his first start in AAA since being sent down. He started the game strong, striking out the side in 10 pitches. The rest of the night wasn’t as dominant; starting the 2nd with 2 walks, starting the 4th with a leadoff solo HR, a wild pitch in the 5th, and another solo HR in the top of the 6th before being replaced. But when Triston was on, the batters couldn’t touch him. Triston struck out 8 Toledo batters. McKenzie looked confident despite it all and hopefully this will give him the space to correct and adjust his mechanics so that he can rejoin the Guardians soon. McKenzie threw 85 pitches in 5.1 IP. He gave up 3 H, 3 R, and 2 BB.

The Clippers bullpen was able to go scoreless the rest of the game. RHP Nick Mikolajchak came in to relieve Triston in the top of the 6th. Mikolajchak threw 1.2 IP, giving up 0 hits, runs, and walks. He struck out one batter and his ERA is sitting at 1.83. RHP Tanner Burns pitched the 8th inning, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 2. The win would be awarded to LHP Anthony Gose who came on in relief in the 9th inning. Gose walked 1 and struck out 1 but maintained the tie for Columbus offense.

The Clippers took a bit to get the scoring rolling. In the bottom of the 6th, Kyle Manzardo (2-4) doubled on a line drive. Two batters later he was brought home by a Myles Straw single. In the bottom of the 7th, Micah Pries singled and advanced to 2nd when Christian Cairo singled. A Jose Tena walk loaded the bases for Juan Brito to deliver a sac fly, scoring Micah Pries. Kyle Manzardo hit a ground out RBI, and the Clippers and Mud Hens were tied going into the 8th. In the Columbus 9th, Micah Pries and Christian Cairo struck out to start the inning. With 2-out, Jose Tena stepped to the plate and, on the first pitch, hit a walk-off home run. The HR was hit 100.1 mph and went 384 ft. Tena wen 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1BB.

Akron RubberDucks (45-35) - AA

AKR 1 - ERI 6

Box Score

The Akron RubberDucks avoided a shutout from the Erie SeaWolves (DET). LHP Ryan Webb got the start and had a solid outing. He threw 80 pitches in 4.2 IP, allowing 3 hits and 1 run, Webb struck out 6 before being relieved by RHP Lenny Torres Jr. Torres Jr. finished the 5th inning, but was not able to work his way through the 6th. In the Bottom of the 6th he gave up 2 singles, 2 walks, and 3-run HR. His final line reads 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 0 K. RHP Davis Sharpe pitched the 6th and 7th inning, allowing 3 H and 1 unearned run. In the 2.0 IP he struck out 4. RHP Jack Leftwich finished the game for the RubberDucks, pitching the 8th inning, allowing only 1 H and striking out 2.

Akron offense was quiet all night, only piecing together 4 hits. The RubberDucks sole run came in the Top of the 4th. Kahlil Watson and Aaron Bracho started the inning with a pair of singles. Milan Tolentino hit a sac fly that scored Kahlil Watson.

Lake County Captains (48-31) - High A

DAY 1 - LC 20

Box Score

Yes, you read that score right. The Lake County Captains absolutely demolished the Dayton Dragons (CIN) last night. LC pitching had a great night. RHP Trenton Denholm got the start and improved his record with the win to 8-2. Denholm threw 6.0 IP, allowing only 3 H and 1 R. He walked 3 batters and struckout 4. RHP Jake Miller, RHP Zane Morehouse, and RHP Allan Hernandez each threw a hitless, shutout inning, striking out 4 and walking 2 in the final 3 innings of the game.

The Captains were scoring very modestly through the 6th inning. Jorge Burgos hit an RBI double and Jose Devers hit an RBI single in the Captains 1st inning. In the bottom of the 3rd Jake Fox hit an RBI single. A solo HR in the bottom of the 4th from Maick Collado put the Captains up 4-0. In the bottom of the 5th Alex Mooney stole 2nd base then scored on a throwing error.

A 4 run lead isn’t insurmountable. Dayton had a chance to fight back-

Going into the bottom of the 8th with a 16 run lead, the Captains weren’t done yet. Alex Mooney hit an RBI double, Cooper Ingle hit an RBI single, and the last run of the game came off a Jorge Burgos sac fly.

Lynchburg Hillcats (45-35) - Low A

SAL 5 - LYN 6

Box Score

The Lynchburg Hillcats walked off the Salem Red Sox (BOS) in extras. LHP Alex Clemmey started the game strong for the Hillcats. Alex pitched 4.0 innings of hitless, scoreless baseball. Clemmey walked 2 but struck out 7. RHP Kendeglys Virguez didn’t quite carry the same dominant momentum. He pitched 3.0 innings and gave up 4 H, 4 R, and walked 1. He struck out 4 before turning over the remainder of the game to RHP Wardquelin Vasquez. Vasquez got the win, improving his record to 3-1. He threw the final 3 innings, allowing 4 hits but holding Salem to 1 run. He walked 1 batter but struckout 2.

The Hillcats victory was a team effort. The team recorded 8 hits, from 8 individual batters. Rafael Ramirez Jr. was the only player to not record a hit, but he walked 3 times in Friday night’s game. Lynchburg was scoreless through the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 6th Wuilfredo Antunez started the inning with a single and a stolen 2nd base. Esteban Gonzalez and Rafael Ramirez Jr. each walked. Manuel Mejias popped out, scoring Antunez and advancing the runners with the assist of a fielding error. A wild pitch scored Gonzalez and was followed by Lexer Saduy walking. A passed ball scored Ramirez Jr. and Lexer Saduy was thrown out at home on a single from Kevin Rivas.

In the bottom of the 9th the Hillcats were down two. Saduy started the momentum with a single to left field. A wild pitch allowed Saduy to advance to 2nd and Kevin Rivas walked. Fran Alduey singled to load the bases. Antunez drew a walk, scoring Saduy. Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to score Rivas, tying the game. In the bottom of the 9th, still tied, Juan Benjamin started on 2nd as the ghost runner. After Manuel Mejias struck out Benjamin stole 3rd base and ultimately scored on a throwing error to walk-off (error-off?) the game.