Tugboat whiffs 8 in five scoreless innings, Kahlil Watson heating up in Akron with homer
Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Sunday, July 7, 2024
Columbus Clippers 5, Toledo Mud Hens 6 (F/11)
Box Score · Clippers fall to 38-48
Johnathan Rodriguez did his thing on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a massive 400+ foot home run with a ridiculous 116.8 mph exit velocity.
An 116.8-mph Johnny rocket
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 7, 2024
Johnathan Rodriguez (@CleGuardians) launches a homer off of a building for the @CLBClippers. pic.twitter.com/zgHGhtODPH
If he can start elevating the ball more at the MLB level, he could still help Cleveland out this year.
Jose Tena went 2-for-4 with a walk while Raynel Delgado went 2-for-5. Myles Straw went 1-for-3 with a walk, a hit by pitch and a stolen base. Kyle Manzardo went 1-for-4 with a walk.
Starting pitcher Will Dion had a rough day at the office, failing to make it to the second inning. His final line was one inning pitched, two runs allowed on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Conner Gillispie helped save the bullpen by tossing 3 2⁄3 scoreless frames of long relief.
Akron RubberDucks 8, Erie SeaWolves 2
Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 46-35
Akron got some huge help from the middle of its lineup on Saturday. Kahlil Watson had a monster day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double.
#Guardians 21yr old (INF/OF) prospect Kahil Watson collected three hits (3-5 2R 2B HR 2RBI) tonight for Akron including his 13th HR of the season a 2-run shot in the 4th inning at Erie. Watson now has three HR's over his last five games.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/Um5Njo4KKX
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 7, 2024
Milan Tolentino also had a three-hit game, going 3-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base.
#Guardians 22yr old INF prospect Milan Tolentino with a 3-hit game (3-5 R HR 2RBI SB) tonight for Akron in their win at Erie including his 6th HR of the season a 2-run shot in the 4th inning 105.6 mph off the bat! Tolentino has been swinging a hot bat over his last 13 games for… pic.twitter.com/SYADYnQyLt
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 7, 2024
Other standouts included Petey Halpin, who went 2-for-5 with a home run, Joe Lampe, who went 1-for-3 with a home run, two walks and a stolen base, and Kody Huff, who went 1-for-3 with walk. Yordys Valdes only had one hit, but it was a big one, his first home run of the season and first at the Double-A level.
Starting pitcher Aaron Davenport set a career high with eight strikeouts. He allowed two runs on five hits with one walk in five innings pitched.
#Guardians 23yr old RHP prospect Aaron Davenport picked up the win tonight for Akron striking out eight Erie batters over 5.0 innings allowing just two runs. The eight strikeouts are a season high for Davenport.
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 7, 2024
Line - 5.0(IP) 5H 2R 2ER 1BB 8SO (85 Pitches 62 Strikes)
2024 -… pic.twitter.com/0g1ezq1b8E
The bullpen was outstanding as Hunter Stanley, Ross Carver and Bradley Hanner combined for four scoreless one-hit innings with a pair of strikeouts and no walks.
Lake County Captains 3, Dayton Dragons 0
Box Score · Captains improve to 49-31
Saturday was Tugboat bump day and Matt Wilkinson delivered with his best start since being promoted to High-A. Wilkinson tossed five shutout innings, allowing just one hit with two walks and eight strikeouts.
#Guardians 21yr old LHP prospect Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson was dealing tonight for Lake County striking out eight Dayton batters over 5.0 scoreless innings of work allowing just one hit!
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) July 7, 2024
For Wilkinson it was the 11th time this year he reached 8+ strikeouts in just 15 starts.… pic.twitter.com/FjOknJVqgX
Juan Zapata, Adam Tulloch and Magnus Ellerts closed out the two-hit shutout with four impressive scoreless innings of relief, with Ellerts picking up his ninth save of the season.
Offensively, Angel Genao continues to hit since being promoted to High-A. Genao went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk.
Angel Genao has shot the gaps twice today with authority. LF-C and now RF-C for 2Bs. Right handed strength, easy acceleration. pic.twitter.com/hOSh89Dh1c
— Justin L. (@JL_Baseball) July 6, 2024
Jonah Advincula went 2-for-4 while Maick Collado homered for his first straight game.
Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Salem Red Sox 5
Box Score · Hillcats fall to 45-36
Jaison Chourio had the lone multi-hit game for Lynchburg on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a walk.
Esteban Gonzalez singled and stole a pair of bases while Jose Pastrano went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Starting pitcher Yorman Gomez allowed two runs on four hits in four innings with three strikeouts and a walk. Josh Harlow followed with a pair of scoreless innings.
ACL Guardians 3, ACL Reds 4
Box Score · Guardians fall to 19-29
David Leon had a big game, going 3-for-4. Jeffrey Mercedes went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in. Luis Merejo went 0-2 but walked twice and stole a pair of bases.
Starting pitcher Melkis Hernandez tossed four scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out five and walking one. Keegan Zinn had a rough outing in relief, allowing three runs in two innings on three walks and two hits to take the loss.
DSL CLE Mendoza 4, DSL LAD Bautista 12
Box Score · Mendoza fall to 11-11
DSL Mendoza got knocked out of this game right away when they allowed seven runs in the first inning.
Top prospect Robert Arias had himself a big game, going 3-for-5 with two doubles.
DSL CLE Goryl had its game postponed by rain.