Jose Tena blasts two bombs in Columbus slugfest, Ralphy Velazquez homers again for Lynchburg

Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Thursday, April 18, 2024

Columbus Clippers 9, Buffalo Bisons 12 (F/10)

Box Score · Clippers fall to 7-9

Trailing 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jose Tena rose to the occasion and blasted a game-tying three-run bomb to send the game into extra innings.

Tena had a monster game, going 3-for-6 with two home runs overall.

Johnathan Rodriguez also was huge at the dish, also going 3-for-6 and blasting a home run, a two-run shot in the first inning.

Several players had big days at the dish as Kyle Manzardo reached base three times, going 2-for-5 with a double and a walk, Myles Straw went 2-for-5 with a walk, Dom Nunez went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and a walk and Lorenzo Cedrola went 2-for-4 with a walk. Micah Pries only had one hit, but it was a laser home run with 110.2 mph exit velocity.

With all that offense, it’s crazy that Columbus lost the game, but that was because three of the four pitchers who appeared had rough days. The lone arm that had a good day was Franco Aleman, who tossed two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts and zero walks or hits allowed.

Akron RubberDucks 0, Erie SeaWolves 4

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 6-5

It was a rough day at the plate for the Akron offense as the top six members of the lineup went a combined 0-for-21 with no walks.

Joe Naranjo was the lone standout, going 2-for-3 with a double while Christian Cairo singled and stole a base.

That was it.

Starting pitcher Jaime Arias wasn’t bad, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks in four innings, but that one run allowed was enough to take the loss.

Jordan Jones was excellent out of the bullpen, striking out four batters with one walk in two scoreless innings of relief.

Lake County Captains 1, Lansing Lugnuts 6

Box Score · Captains fall to 4-5

Lake County had eight base runners, but went hitless with runners in scoring position.

The lone run was scored on a solo blast off the bat of 2023 third round pick CJ Kayfus, who continues his scorching start tot he season, going 2-for-4 with a 1.186 OPS.

Maick Collado and Guy Lipscomb Jr. both went 2-for-4 while Justin Boyd went 1-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Jake Miller took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks in four innings. Jay Driver tossed 1 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings out of the bullpen with a strikeout.

Lynchburg Hillcats 7, Salem Red Sox 2

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 5-6

The Ralphy Velazquez show continues in Lynchburg. The 2023 first round pick went 1-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season and a pair of walks, raising his OPS to 1.172.

Lynchburg terrorized the basepaths on Wednesday as Luis Durango, Rafael Ramirez Jr., Juan Benjamin, Angel Ganao and Wuilfredo Antunez all stole a base while Tommy Hawke stole two bases.

Jaison Chourio walked twice, Mejias went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, Antunez and Hawk also both went 2-for-4 with a walk while Ramirez Jr. and Genao both went 1-for-4 with a walk and Benjamin went 1-for-5 with a walk. The Hillcats reached base a whopping 20 times with walks and hits combined.

Starting pitcher Kyle Scott was effective, allowing one run on four hits with a strikeout and two walks in four innings. Jack Jasiak earned the win with four innings of stellar long relief, striking out four and allowing one run on four hits with no walks. Steven Perez closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.