Riley Greene’s blast was a rare bright spot for the farm on Thursday

Bless You Boys

Columbus Clippers 8, Toledo Mud Hens 2 (box)

JaCoby Jones got the Hens off to a good start with a solo shot against Triston McKenzie in the first inning. Unfortunately it was all Clippers from there. They scored three in the first, and knocked starter Pedro Payano out of the game with a five-run fifth inning. A two-out single from Renato Nuñez followed by an RBI triple from Cole Peterson in the sixth was all the Hens could muster the rest of the way.

Jones: 2-5, R, RBI, HR, 2 SO

Nuñez: 2-4, R, SO

Payano (L, 0-1, 8.53 ERA): 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 SO, 2 HR

Coming Up Next: RHP Mark Leiter Jr. will make his first Triple-A start for the Hens. He’ll have another tough opponent from Cleveland’s pitching factory, LHP Logan Allen, for an opponent at 7:05 p.m. ET on Friday.

Altoona Curve 8, Erie SeaWolves 7 (box)

So far this season, RHP Elvin Rodriguez has generally had his way with opposing lineups. That wasn’t the case on Thursday, as the Curve blew him out of the water in the first with a four-run outburst. Riley Greene crushed a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the frame, and the SeaWolves pushed Ryan Kreidler across home plate as well, via a Kerry Carpenter sacrifice fly. They continued to fight back with single runs in the third and fourth, and then finally took the lead with a three-run fifth. Spencer Torkelson started that rally with a leadoff walk—his first of two on the night—followed by an Andre Lipcius single and a Carpenter double. John Valente capped the inning with a two-run single. Unfortunately, the SeaWolves stretched reliever Yaya Chentouf for a third inning of work and the Curve knocked him around for three runs that put them on top for good.

Greene: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, 2 BB

Valente: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2B, SO, SB

Kreidler: 2-5, 2 R, 2 SO, SB

Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday. The Curve will send LHP Trey McGough (0-2, 7.27 ERA) to the mound while the SeaWolves are TBD.

Lake County Captains 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 3 (box)

The Captains and ‘Caps traded runs back and forth through the middle innings until a three-run eighth inning for Lake County allowed them to pull away. The Whitecaps tied things at one with a Corey Joyce solo shot in the fifth. Daniel Cabrera’s sixth inning RBI single scored Trei Cruz, while Eliezer Alfonzo drove in Wenceel Perez in the seventh, but each time the Captains answered with a run of their own in the bottom half. Bryce Tassin and Zack Hess combined to allow three runs in the eighth in relief. Starter Adam Wolf went six for the Whitecaps, leaving with a 2-2 tie.

Perez: 1-3, R, 2B, BB, SO

Joyce: 1-4, R, RBI, HR, 3 SO

Cruz: 0-2, R, 2 BB

Coming Up Next: RHP Tanner Burns (2-2, 2.51 ERA) will be a stiff test for the Whitecaps’ offense on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. The Whitecaps are TBD.

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1 (F/7)(Gm1)(box)

Joey Wentz stretched out to five innings in his rehab outing with Lakeland, but the offense couldn’t pick him up after mistakes led to a pair of add-on runs for Fort Myers. Wentz allowed a batter to reach on his own throwing error in the third and then gave up a two-run shot to Misael Urbina. Wentz also allowed a solo shot in the fourth.

The Flying Tigers actually had the lead at one point, despite just two hits in the game, scoring their sole run in the first inning. Parker Meadows led off with a single and advanced to second on an error. He moved to third on a Gage Workman fly out, and Jimmy Kerr brought him home with a sacrifice fly. Jose de la Cruz tripled in the seventh to give them a shot at a comeback, but a pair of strikeouts ended this one instead.

Wentz: 5.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 9, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4 (box)

Starter Joseph Salazar allowed five runs in two innings of work and the Mussels never looked back. Parker Meadows got the Flying Tigers on the board with an RBI double in the third to score Jake Holton. Kingston Liniak then knocked his fourth homer in the fourth with Nick Quintana and Colt Keith aboard. At that point Lakeland was down a run, but they couldn’t get any closer while Matt Walker allowed three runs in the sixth and the Mussels pulled away.

Liniak: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, SO

Keith: 1-3, R, SO

Meadows: 1-4, RBI, 2B, 3 SO

Coming Up Next: Gio Arriera (1-3, 4.28 ERA) goes for Lakeland on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET. LHP Brent Headrick (2-2, 3.04 ERA) starts for Fort Myers.

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