First Time At the Clip Joint

Scottie Barnes made his AAA debut tonight.  It could have gone better.  Barnes, who walked 2 and struck out 17 over 11 innings for Akron, walked five in five innings en route to giving up four runs (4 H, 3 ER, 3K) against Toledo this evening.  The inconsistent Clippers offense could not overcome the deficit.  No one in the lineup produced more than one hit and the lone RBI came on a Wes Hodges (.129) ground out.

Despite the 4-2 loss, each of the relievers is notable.  Jensen Lewis pitched the 6th and 7th (H, K), indicating that he may have been relieved of his responsibilities as the primary closer.  Frank Herrmann threw the 8th (H, K) for his second strong appearance following a rocky first game.  Unheralded right hander Carlton Smith closed it out (H, BB, 2 K) for his 4th consecutive scoreless appearance to begin the season.  We'll keep an eye on him.

The Clippers take on Louisville again tomorrow at 6:35p with Alex White expected to start.

Other Minor Points of Interest -

That Brett Brach character threw six scoreless (2 H, BB, 4 K) in his debut for Akron.  I guess he might stick around for a bit.  Bryan Price (7.36 ERA) followed with two clean innings (H, BB, 2 K), bouncing back from a shaky showing his last time out.  Th Aeros won 3-0.

Drew Pomeranz started for Kinston and looked human for the first time.  Over four innings Pomeranz gave up three earned on 3 hits, 3 walks and 5 K's.  His ERA rose to 1.80 and he did not stick around long enough to earn the W in the Kinston victory.

After the Myrtle Beach Pelicans exploded for five runs in the bottom of the 8th, Tyler Tufts slammed the door on Winston-Salem.  Ty (1.59) cruised through a perfect 9th, striking out a pair swinging, to pick up his 3rd save.  There are not often consistent closers at the single-A level, so I won't jump to any conclusions, but the numbers are superb.  I'll clue you in soon to the reason that we're following Tyler.

Over the weekend the Indians traded RHP Yohan Pino to the Toronto Blue Jays for "cash considerations."  I think it's funny that the transaction log no longer reads that a player has been "sold."  Ha.  Pino, who pitched all of last season at Columbus, but had been demoted to AA this year; was the Tribe's sole compensation in the Carl Pavano trade of 2009.  Pino is a more than competent AAA pitcher with a reasonable chance of making the bigs.  His departure is indicative of the organization depth in starting pitching.

Cheers.