Columbus Clippers Rained Out, But Win Home Opener
The Columbus Clippers were victorious in their home opener, posting a 5-2 win over the Toledo Mud Hens and evening their record at 5-5. The win was to be the first game of two with Toledo but rain forced the postponement of Sunday’s game.
Home run friendly Huntington Park was a welcome sight for the road weary Clippers and the long-ball is what drove the Clipper offense; homers by Carlos Moncrief, Francisco Lindor and Jesus Aguilar plated all five Columbus runs.
Toledo got on the board first when Jordan Lennerton singled home Daniel Fields who led the game off with double.
In the bottom of the first inning Tyler Holt walked and, with two outs, Aguilar singled to left. Moncrief then launched a first pitch offering from Mike Belfiore over the right field wall, putting the Clippers up 3-1.
Columbus added another run in the bottom of the third inning as prized prospect Francisco Lindor hit his first home run of the season. The switch-hitting shortstop turned on a 0-2 offering from Belfiore and drove it over the left field wall.
Toledo cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fourth inning as Daniel Fields hit his first homer of the season off of Clippers’ starter Shawn Marcum.
Jose Valdez relieved Melvin Mercedes in the home half of the eighth inning. After retiring James Ramsey, the right hander took Aguilar to a 3-2 count before the power-hitting first baseman drove the seventh pitch of the at-bat to deep left for his second home run of the season.
Marcum won his first game of the season pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and one strike out. Shawn Armstrong earned his fourth save in his fourth opportunity, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Ryan Webb, Kyle Crockett and Dustin Molleken combined for three scoreless innings for the Clippers. Belfiore (0-2) took the loss for the Mud Hens.
Columbus continues to struggle offensively, posting a team slash line of .168/.248/.282 and averaging 2.2 runs per game. Defensively the opposite is true; with a 1.85 team ERA they’ve only allowed 17 runs in ten games.
The Columbus Clippers did step up their offense a bit on this night. They finished with eight hits, including three home runs, a season high. Carlos Moncrief had two hits, including his home run, and drove in three. Jesus Aguilar also added two hits and a home run. He also scored two runs to lead the club on this night.
Indianapolis comes to Columbus for a three-game series beginning Monday.
By Mike Tanchevski