Guardians Baseball Insider

Scoreboard

Triple-A – Columbus Clippers 4, Indianapolis Indians 1 (game halted in Top of 9th by rain)
Double-A – Erie SeaWolves 6, Akron RubberDucks 0
High-A – Lake County Captains 14, Dayton Dragons 4
Low-A – Salem Red Sox 9, Lynchburg Hillcats 2

HIGHLIGHTS

Triston McKenzie (Columbus, SP): W (1-0), 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K – McKenzie was dominant in his first start after being optioned to Triple-A. While it may not mean much in terms of an immediate or rapid return to the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario given how poorly Triple-A dominance has translated into performance in the bigs this season, a stellar Triple-A debut is still a good sign for a guy whose struggles have been speculated to stem in part from skipping the level entirely en route to the show.

Jose Tena (Lake County, SS): 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 1 BB – Tena was unstoppable at the plate yesterday, as his statline clearly shows. While it represented a rebound from a golden sombrero on Saturday, that four-strikeout game ended a streak of nine full games (not including a pinch-hit strikeout) with a hit, so this was an outlier, it was not a fluke. One of his doubles and his triple came in one inning.

BEST OF THE REST

Daniel Johnson (Columbus, RF): 2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 CS – Johnson’s two-run single capped off the Clippers’ four-run fifth with some insurance runs.

Nolan Jones (Columbus, 3B): 0-3, 2 SB, 1 HBP – Jones’ season steals total went from zero to two in one night despite going hitless (one did come after the HBP, the other after reaching on a fielder’s choice).

Kevin Herget (Columbus, RP): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 K – After struggling mightily in his first start after having his contract purchased from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association (6 ER on 7 H and 4 BB in 4 IP) and being the victim of defensive miscues in his second (two runs allowed in six innings, both unearned), he impressed in his relief debut. Yes, it’s only one outing, but he might fill the hole left in the Clipper bullpen by Blake Parker’s callup.

Eric Mock (Akron, RP): 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R (earned), 2 BB, 3 K – Mock kept both inherited runners from scoring after starter Eli Lingos left the game after being struck by a line drive (Thankfully, he was able to walk off the field under his own power and was responsive and able to carry on a conversation following the game. MRI and other test results had not come back in time for inclusion in this column.) and set the tone for a solid day for the RubberDucks bullpen on an otherwise lousy day at the Corner of State and Main.

Francisco Perez (Akron, RP): 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K – This dominant statline from Perez is hardly surprising when you look at his season numbers: 0.90 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, .104 opponents’ batting average, and 36:6 K:BB ratio.

Dakody Clemmer (Akron, RP): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K – Since allowing four runs (three earned) in 1.1 innings in a two-game stretch in mid-May (5/16 and 5/20), he has allowed only one earned run in 6.1 frames in four games.

Skylar Arias (Akron, RP): 1 IP, perfect, 1 K – Arias remains unscored upon in June following this perfect ninth.

Raynel Delgado (Lake County, 3B): 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB – Delgado’s four RBI nearly equaled the six he had entering Sunday. Also, the stolen base was his ninth of the season.

Joe Donovan (Lake County, C): 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 PB – Donovan;s fifth-inning homer was his first professional hit. Not a bad way to open one’s base hit account in the pros.

Mason Hickman (Lake County, SP): W (2-2), 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 5 K – Hickaman was a little shaky in the first inning but threw off Dragons hitters as the game went on with an array of his offspeed stuff while being backed by an excellent offensive performance.

Nic Enright (RP, Lake County): IP, 2K – Enright has 22 strikeouts with just two walks in 13 innings as he has dominated at the back of the Captains bullpen.

Brayan Rocchio (2B, Lake County): 2-5, 2B, 2 R – Rocchio added to Lake County’s big day at the dish with multiple doubles, one from each side of the plate.

Daritzon Feliz (RP, Lynchburg): 3IP, 2ER, 6K – Not a great day with Feliz but he did fan six batters in three innings and he’s had other bad outings this year so in that lens, this was a little better.

Will Bartlett (1B, Lynchburg): 1-4, HR, RBI – Bartlett smacked his fourth homer of the season in this one and while he’s hit some skids lately he’s still hitting for plenty of power.

Angel Martinez (SS, Lynchburg): 1-4, 3B – Martinez only had one hit and scored a run, but also whiffed twice. But he’s been reliable at doing damage or getting on base at the top of the lineup almost every game manager Dennis Malave rights his name on the lineup card.