Akron RubberDucks 2, Bowie Baysox 3 (F/12)
RubberDucks fall to 12-8
I have to admit, I did not see this coming. After his struggled last season, I assumed minor league baseball had figured Matthew Wilkinson out.
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Not so fast.
Now at Double-A, Wilkinson is pitching better than ever. For the second consecutive start, he was unhittable on Saturday. Tugboat tossed 5.1 hitless innings, allowing one run on a pair of walks with seven strikeouts.
Akron’s offense, however, failed to help Wilkinson out, managing just one run through regulation before losing in the 12th inning.
Jake Fox had the best game offensively, going 2-for-4 with a walk, raising his season batting average to a whopping .400.
Ralphy Velazquez went 2-for-6 with a double and Jose Devers tripled.
Relievers Hunter Stanley, Sean Matson and Jack Jasiak were rock solid, combining for 4.2 innings of scoreless relief before Reid Johnston allowed a pair of unearned runs in the 11th and 12th innings.
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Lake County Captains 3, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (F/10)
Captains improve to 10-10
Don’t look now but Jace LaViolette is heating up.
The 2025 first round pick went 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season on Saturday. He also doubled. walked and stole a base.
Ryan Cesarini had the only other multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base while Nolan Schubart blasted off with what ended up being the game-winning home run in the 10th inning.
Starting pitcher Franklin Gomez continued his stellar string of pitching, tossing 5.0 shutout innings on Saturday. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four. On the season, his ERA has now dropped to 1.00.
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Michael Kennedy has a strong bounceback performance as well. He pitched 4.0 innings of piggyback relief, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk to earn the win.
Submariner Cam Schuelke allowed one unearned run with a strikeout to pick up the save.
Hill City Howlers 2, Hickory Crawdads 4
Howlers improve to 11-9
Hill City was in a position to win this one, but one bad relief outing cost them.
Robert Arias continued his hot streak at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a walk and his ninth stolen base.
Of note, Dauri Fernandez doubled in his first at bat, then left the game mid at bat in the third inning. I hope it’s nothing serious.
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Jonathan Martinez went 2-for-3.
Starting pitcher Harrison Bodendorf was sensational yet again. This time he was nearly perfect, tossing 5.2 scoreless, hitless innings with six strikeouts and one walk.
Unfortunately, Luke Fernandez just didn’t have it as he came in and was bombarded for four runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings to blow the lead and take the loss.
Keegan Zinn had his best outing of the season with 1.2 scoreless frames of relief.
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