Jhonkensy Noel takes over home run lead for all of minor league baseball, Rodney Boone tosses shutout

Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for July 1, 2022

Columbus Clippers 10, Iowa Cubs 6 (F/10)

Box Score · Clippers improve to 45-32

The bottom of Columbus’ lineup carried the team on Saturday, racking up nine RBIs out of the team’s 10 runs.

David Fry went 1-5, but that one hit was a big one, a 10th-inning grand slam. Several players also reached base multiple times. Will Benson went 1-4 with a pair of walks and a stolen base, Alex Call went 1-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch, Will Brennan went 1-4 with a walk and two stolen bases and Mitchell Tolman went 2-5 with three runs batted in.

Bo Naylor actually had the best game, going 3-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base.

Starting pitcher Peyton Battenfield had a quality start, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits in 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts and a walk.

Akron RubberDucks 10, Erie SeaWolves 9 (F/12)

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 42-31

For the second consecutive day, Brayan Rocchio and Jhonkensy Noel both had monster performances.

Rocchio went 3-6 with a home run and two doubles. He has been scorching hot for over a week now.

Jhonkensy Noel also homered twice for the second consecutive game. He was supposed to be facing tougher competition after being promoted to Double-A, but he’s been so impressive that he’s likely going to be named player of the week in his first week with Akron.

Jose Tena went 2-6 with a double, Daniel Schneemann went 2-6 and Micah Pries went 1-4 with a pair of walks.

Starting pitcher Tanner Burns struggled, allowing three runs on three hits in 3.1 innings while striking out six and walking four. It was actually Robert Broom who saved the day, pitching innings nine through 12 and not allowing any runs until his fourth inning of work, which brought his pitch count to 55 (insane for a reliever).

Lake County Captains 8, Lansing Lugnuts 0 (G1)
Lake County Captains 2, Lansing Lugnuts 4 (G2)

Game 1 Box Score · Game 2 Box Score · Captains move to 39-35

Game one was the Rodney Boone show. The talented right-hander showed no fear of his promotion to High-A last month, tossing a complete game shutout of 7.0 innings, three hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.

Alexfri Planez went 2-4 with a pair of doubles while Korey Holland went 2-3 with a home run. Petey Halpin, Johnathan Rodriguez, Milan Tolentino and Michael Amditis also doubled while Joe Naranjo went 1-2 with two walks.

In game two, Lake County outhit Lansing 8-5, but one of Lansing’s hits was a big one, a three-run home run off of Doug Nikhazy. Halpin went 2-3 with a walk, Angel Martinez went 2-4 and Johnathan Rodriguez doubled and walked.

Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Salem Red Sox 9

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 38-36

Starting pitcher Josh Wolf is still trying to figure things out after recovering from a shoulder injury. He allowed three runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts in just 3.2 innings on Saturday. The bullpen didn’t fare much better, allowing an additional six runs over the next 5.1 frames.

Offensively, Yordys Valdez was the lone Hillcat to have a decent game, going 2-4 with his second home run of the season.

ACL Guardians 3, ACLReds 2

Box Score · ACL Guardians improve to 12-8

The ACL Guardians were outhit 8-2 and they somehow won on Saturday. Both hits took place in the fifth inning, where, along with a walk, a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch, they managed to scrape together three runs.

DSL Guardians Blue 0, DSL White Sox 7

Box Score · DSL Guardians Blue fall to 11-11

• Reydon Hidalgo, LF: 3-4
• Gueile Borrome, SS: BB, SB
• Jesus Montilla, 3B: 1-3, BB
• Frederic Garcia, RHP: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

DSL Guardians Red 2, DSL Athletics 8

Box Score · DSL Guardians Red fall to 7-15

• Christopher Espinola, CF: 3-4, HR, SB
• Emelio Tavares, C: 1-3, BB
• Javier Tovar, RHP: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K