Joe Naranjo sends Lake County to the playoffs, Gabriel Arias blasts a 454-foot homer

Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Sept. 11, 2022

Columbus Clippers 7, Louisville Bats 6

Box Score · Clippers improve to 77-55

Will Brennan played leadoff man like a pro, going 3-5 with a double and scoring two runs.

Gabriel Arias was even better as he kept his recent power streak up, absolutely hammering a 454-foot tater down the left field line for his 13th home run of the season. Arias went 3-4 with the home run and a walk.

Bo Naylor and Brayan Rocchio also doubled, with Rocchio stealing a base.

Starting pitcher Xzavion Curry struggled, allowing six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings while striking out five and walking two.

The bullpen was up to the challenge, however, as Kevin Kelly, Andrew Misiaszek, Ian Hamilton and Justin Garza combined for 4.1 shutout frames of relief.

Akron RubberDucks 2, Harrisburg Senators 1

Box Score · RubberDucks improve to 75-56

Akron received a solid starting pitching performance from Tanner Burns, who allowed just one run on five hits in 5.2 innings while striking out eight, although he did walk four batters.

The offense was extremely quiet until the top of the ninth inning. Trailing 1-0, Micah Pries tied the game with his 18th homer of the season.

Daniel Schneemann then walked and came all the way around to score on a single from Raynel Delgado followed by a throwing error to give the RubberDucks the lead.

Mason Hickman continued his resurgence out of the bullpen by slamming the door with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief and three strikeouts to earn the win.

Lake County Captains 3, Fort Wayne TinCaps 2

Box Score · Captains improve to 76-53

With the Captains needing a win to qualify for the Midwest League playoffs, they needed a strong pitching performance from Aaron Davenport, and they got one.

Davenport had one of his best starts of the season, allowing two runs on three hits in 6.0 innings while striking out eight and walking none.

Despite Davenport’s efforts, Lake County trailed 2-0 when he left the game. That was, until Lake County scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The scoring started with an RBI single from Christian Cairo that scored Yordys Valdez. Joe Naranjo then followed up with a huge 2-run home run to give the Captains a 3-2 lead.

Alexfri Planez reached base safely three times, going 1-2 with a pair of walks and a stolen base. Korey Holland went 2-4 with a stolen base and Aaron Bracho tripled. Christian Caira also reached base twice, going 1-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

The bullpen then slammed the door as Raymond Burgos tossed 2.0 scoreless frames and Alaska Abney picked up his third save.

Single-A Lynchburg’s game was rained out.