Guardians Farm Report: Burns Shuts Down Richmond Offense in Leading Akron to Victory

Here is a recap of what happened with the Guardians minor league teams last night

Author:
Todd Paquette
Aug 25, 2022 12:58 PM EDT

In this story:

All four Cleveland Guardians full season minor league affiliates were in action on Wednesday night. The Arizona Complex League and Dominican Summer League teams completed their seasons on Tuesday.

Triple-A Columbus Clippers

Buffalo 6 Columbus 2

The Bisons touched up Clippers starter Konnor Pilkington early scoring all six runs off him in the first two innings of the game Wednesday. Pilkington did remain in the game and went five innings but saw his ERA balloon to 5.56 on the year with Columbus.

Kirk McCarty would come in for Pilkington and pitch well holding the Bisons scoreless over the final three innings allowing just two hits while striking out a pair.

The Clippers were held scoreless on three hits until the top of the ninth inning when George Valera would hit and ground rule double then two batters later Ernie Clement would drive him home on a two-run home run making it a 6-to-2 ballgame. The home run for Clement was his third since being optioned to Triple-A by Cleveland.

The loss drops the Clippers record to 68-49 on the season.

Top Performers:

Ernie Clement 1-4 R HR 2RBI
George Valera 1-3 R 2B BB
Bo Naylor 2-4 2B
Nolan Jones 1-4
Kirk McCarty 3.0(IP) 2H 0R 0ER 0BB 2SO

Double-A Akron RubberDucks

Akron 5 Richmond 2

Guardians 23-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Tanner Burns looked sharp in Wednesday's contest against Richmond in one of his best outings on the 2022 season.

Burns who has had an up and down journey this season dealing with some injuries held the Flying Squirrels scoreless over five and two thirds' innings allowing five hits and a pair of walks while striking out six batters in the game picking up the win.

On the year in 17 starts with the RubberDucks he has recorded 75 strikeouts over 69.2 innings to go along with a 3.49 ERA while holding his opponents to a .217 batting average.

Akron on offense would score four runs in the fourth inning first on a two-run double by right fielder Jhonkensy Noel who would extend his on-base streak to 12 straight games.

The other two runs in the frame would come off the bat of recently promoted second baseman Angel Martinez on his first Double-A home run playing in just his third game. The two-run home run by Martinez was his 11th long ball oof the season overall.

The RubberDucks would get an insurance run in the eighth inning on a solo home run by third baseman Daniel Schneemann his sixth on the year.

The Win improves Akron's record to 16 games above .500 at 66-50 on the year.

Top Performers:

Angel Martinez 1-3 R HR 2RBI BB
Daniel Schneemann 1-3 R HR RBI BB
Jhonkensy Noel 1-4 R 2B 2RBI
Jose Tena 1-3 R
Johnathan Rodriguez 1-3 BB
Julian Escobedo 1-4 R
Tanner Burns 5.2(IP) 5H 0R 0ER 2BB 6SO (W)

High-A Lake County Captains

Lake County 10 Cedar Rapids 9 (11 Innings)

Trailing 8-to-5 in the ninth inning Lake County's first two base runners would reach base. The next man up and the number nine hitter left fielder Korey Holland would come up clutch launching a three-run home run to right center field to tie the game up at three-runs apiece.

The game would head to extra innings where both teams would plate a run in the 10th inning making it 9-to-9 contest. In the top of the 11th reliever Zach Hart would stay on for a second inning and hold the Kernels scoreless setting the stage for a possible walk-off win for Lake County.

With one out and a runner on second Captains second baseman Christian Cairo would come through with a double down the right field line to score the winning run on his third hit of the ballgame handing Lake County a 10-to-9 win over Cedar Rapids.

The Captains have now won four in a row and improve to a season best 18 games above .500 at 66-48 on the season.

Lake County center fielder Petey Halpin earlier in the game hit his sixth home run of the season finishing the game going 2-for-5 driving in three runs.

Top Performers:

Korey Holland 2-5 R 2B HR 3RBI
Petey Halpin 2-5 R HR 3RBI
Christian Cairo 3-5 2B 2RBI BB
Joe Naranjo 2-5 2R 2B
Micael Ramirez 2-5 2R 2B
Zach Hart 2.0(IP) 1H 1R 0ER 1BB 4SO (W)

Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats

Delmarva 8 Lynchburg 7

The Hillcats led the Shorebirds 6-to-5 through five innings thanks to a four run fourth with the big hit coming on a two-run double by catcher Victor Planchart.

Delmarva would plate three runs in the sixth inning of reliever Brauny munoz to take an 8-to-6 lead over Lynchburg.

The Hillcats would make it close in the top of the ninth when center fielder Jake Fox would hit his second double of the game driving in a run making it an 8-to-7 game. Lynchburg would then load the bases but with two outs Delmarva would get left fielder Isaiah Greene to pop up ending the comeback attempt.

The loss drops the Hillcats record to 56-60 on the season.