Minor League Recap: Clippers Win Donnybrook

Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Friday, June 14th, 2024

Columbus Clippers 9, Iowa Cubs 6

Box Score · Clippers improve to 28-37

It was a shootout between Iowa and Columbus Thursday, it was almost entirely a back-and-forth affair.

The ball was jumping off the bats for both teams. For the Clips, Jose Tena, Johnathan Rodriguez and George Valera all had round trippers that would prove to be very important. Those homers accounted for 5 of the Clippers’ runs for the game.

Speaking of Valera, George has been scorching hot lately, and proved it again here. Including his solo shot, the former top prospect for the Guards went 3-5 with 2 RBI. Since May 26th, he has logged a slash line of .298/.397/.511, showing he has been seeing the ball much better as of late.

Darren McCaughan handled the starting duties on the mound for the Clips Thursday. He went for 5 innings of 5-run baseball, striking out 4 and giving up a solo shot.

Mason Hickman took the mound after Darren and threw 2 more innings, giving up 2 more runs. The Cubs wouldn’t score another run after that, however, as Hunter Stanley and Peter Strzelecki held the 2-run lead for the remaining 2 innings. Strzelecki recorded his 7th save of the season while Stanley would complete a hold for the 1st time.

Akron RubberDucks 2, Hartford Yard Goats 3

Box Score · Rubberducks fall to 34-26

Akron was under control of the game for all but the last two innings, unfortunately. Ryan Webb shut down the Yard Goats’ lineup for seven strong innings, fanning seven batters.

Things did not fare well for the Ducks’ bullpen, however. Tyler Thornton and Jack Leftwich shared the 8th. Thornton hit a batter and walked another one, and when Leftwich came in he would give up a 3-run bomb to his first batter, Sterlin Thompson. That might’ve been the only offense for the Yard Goats, but it surely was enough.

On the bright side, Kahlil Watson and Kody Huff both hit solo homers, as those would be the only two runs the Ducks lineup provided.

Lake County Captains 13, Fort Wayne TinCaps 6

Box Score · Captains improve to 36-24

The Captains’ lineup was all-hands-on-deck Thursday in their 13-6 blowout win against the TinCaps. Every hitter was able to reach base safely one way or another, and it just seemed like the Caps would not relent in their scoring.

Some standout performances include Guy Lipscomb, who went 3-3 with a free pass and a sac fly. Jonah Advincula had three hits of his own as well. Tyrese Turner went 2-4 with a 3-run bomb to boot.

Furthermore, Maick Collado, Cooper Ingle and Alex Mooney all logged 2 ribbies each. It was all-around a stellar day for the Captains’ offense.

I was waiting so long to cover a start from Tugboat on one of my Minor League Recaps, and I finally got one! Matt Wilkinson made his 12th start Thursday and, though it may not be the most memorable, Tugboat was able to K his 100th batter in his professional career. Wilkinson logged 4 choppy innings, giving up 2 bombs that would add up to 3 ER. Not to worry though, that outing was enough to get the job done.

After Tugboat’s 4 innings, Juan Zapata and Allan Hernandez pitched the remaining 5. Zapata fanned five in his 3 innings of relief, while giving up 2 earned runs. Hernandez gave up one more run but also struck out 3.

Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Augusta GreenJackets 0

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 33-27

The Hillcats’ pitching staff was on a heater Thursday. They only allowed 4 baserunners the whole game. Rorik Maltrud gave Lynchburg five strong innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 8 batters. Matt Jahchec succeeded Maltrud on the bump and struck out all but three batters in his three innings of relief. He finished with a final line of 3.0 IP, 1 H, 7 K. Josh Harlow would shut the door from there and struck out one in his 9th inning save.

On the offensive side, the Hillcats produced two runs that ended up being enough to secure the win, thanks to the team’s stellar staff. Jaison Chourio would be the one to thank for the offense’s production. He went 1-3 with 2 RBI, one coming from a double that scored Tommy Hawke, and the other coming from a sacrifice fly to score Fran Alduey. Ralphy Velazquez and Robert Lopez also had themselves a 2-hit game each.

ACL Guardians 2, ACL White Sox 6

Box Score · ACL Guardians fall to 13-17

The ACL Guards were able to create a lot of traffic on the basepaths last night, but the team’s execution after the first inning just wasn’t there. Jonathan Martinez drove in the team’s only two runs on an RBI double in the first, scoring Jose Pirela and Welbyn Francisca.

After Martinez’s 2-run double, the ACL Guardians would go 0-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving 8 men on base.

I will say that the ACL Sox having Eloy Jimenez on his first rehab start would prove to be a large advantage against their AL Central counterpart.

Jogly Garcia toed the mound for the ACL Guards Thursday, giving up a bomb and 4 ER in 3.2 IP. Raphael Cordones and Kendelglys Virguez ended up pitching a combined 3.1 scoreless with 4 K’s. Lastly, Jose Ramirez (not *the* Jose Ramirez of course) gave up two earned in the 8th.