C.J. Kayfus continues raking after promotion, Austin Peterson dominates and Welbyn Francisca hits grand slam

Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Columbus Clippers 3, Iowa Cubs 2

Box Score · Clippers improve to 26-37

Columbus didn’t have any particularly big hits, but three different players had multi-hit games. Johnathan Rodriguez led the way, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Jhonkensy Noel stayed scorching hot, going 2-for-4, as did Myles Straw. Jose Tena had one hit, but he knocked in a pair of runs.

Starting pitcher Joey Cantillo had his best outing of the young season as he works his way back to full strength. Cantillo tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and one hit.

Tyler Beede allowed one run in two innings of relief on a solo shot, but also struck out five batters. Andrew Walters also allowed a run on a solo shot while striking out a pair in 1 ¹⁄₃ innings. Peter Strzelecki earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Akron RubberDucks 3, Hartford Yard Goats 4

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 33-25

Akron’s bullpen was the culprit in this one as the team got a surprisingly great start from Jaime Arias, who tossed five scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and two hits allowed.

Reliever Davis Sharpe gave up two runs on five hits in 2 ²⁄₃ innings, then Jordan Jones gave up the big blow, a two run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to allow Hartford to walk it off.

Akron lost despite outhitting Hartford 13 to 8. Alexfri Planez led the way, going 3-for-5 at the dish to continue his recent torrid streak.

C.J. Kayfus also continues to be unbelievable despite his recent promotion. He went 2-for-4 with a walk, raising his batting average at Akron to a whopping .500.

Milan Tolentino and Dayan Frias both went 2-for-4 with a double while Petey Halpin walked twice and Nate Furman went 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.

Lake County Captains 1, Fort Wayne Tincaps 0

Box Score · Captains improve to 35-23

No Rake County? No problem!

It was all about the pitching Tuesday for the Captains, especially with the dominant Austin Peterson on the mound. Peterson was sensational, tossing 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks. He allowed four hits. It’s time to promote this man to Akron like yesterday.

The bullpen also was terrific as Jake Miller, Jay Driver and Zane Morehouse combined for 3 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings. Driver hasn’t allowed a run in his last 16 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched and now sports a 0.48 ERA on the season.

No one for Lake County reached base safely twice, although all four of the Captains’ hits were for extra bases. Alex Mooney, Cooper Ingle and Angel Genao all doubled.

The biggest blow of the game, however, came off the bat of Jose Devers, who hit a solo shot in the seventh inning to account for the only run of the game.

Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Augusta GreenJackets 9

Box Score · Hillcats fall to 31-27

This game was close until Augusta teed off for a seven-spot in the top of the seventh inning to turn it into a laugher.

Ralphy Velazquez walked twice and scored the lone run for the Hillcats. Juan Benjamin and Manuel Mejias both went 2-for-4, with Mejias doubling. Tommy Hawke also went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

The lone pitching bright spot was starting pitcher Alonzo Richardson, who allowed two runs on five hits in 5 ²⁄₃ innings while striking out two and walking none.

ACL Guardians 10, ACL Athletics 6

Box Score · Guardians improve 12-16

Don’t look now, but top middle infield prospect Welbyn Francisca is starting to heat up. The 18-year-old native of the Dominican Republic went 2-for-5 with a grand slam, a stolen base and three runs scored Wednesday. It was his first home run of the season and first in the United States.

Christopher Espinola also had a big game, going 3-for-5 with a double and a triple while Yaikel Mijares went 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and three runs batted in.

Starting pitcher Keegan Zinn was rock solid, tossing three scoreless, hitless innings with five strikeouts and three walks. Zinn was drafted out of high school in the 12th round last year and is just 19 years old.

DSL CLE Goryl 12, DSL Astros Orange 7

Box Score · Goryl improve to 5-2

This game was INSANE. It’s not often a team scores 12 runs with just six hits, but that’ll happen when they walk a whopping 15 TIMES. This game somehow didn’t have any errors from either side, but five players were hit by pitches and there were 11 wild pitches and even a balk.

Estivel “Patience King” Morillo went 0-for-2 with a whopping four walks and a stolen base. Johan Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double and two walks while Dauri Fernandez went 2-for-5 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base and four runs batted in. Four other players walked twice.

Estarlin Cruz earned the win with two scoreless innings pitched and four strikeouts.

DSL CLE Mendoza 4, DSL Orioles Orange 3

Box Score · Mendoza improve to 2-2

Trailing 3-0, the DSL CLE Mendoza squad roared back late with one run in the bottom of the eighth and then three more in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off against The DSL Orioles Orange.

Juan Frances had the big hits, going 2-for-4 including the game-winning walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth that plated two runs. Gabriel Rodriguez went 1-for2 with a walk, a hit by pitch and two stolen bases. Randy Martinez went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Starting pitcher Manuel Osorio was INSANE, striking out a ridiculous nine batters in just four scoreless innings. Still just 19 years old, the Venezuelan southpaw might be worth keeping an eye on. He walked two and gave up just one hit. Long reliever Rodarni Salvador was spectacular as well, striking out four batters in three scoreless innings.