Today is Monday. Five days from now it will be Saturday. If the Tribe does indeed place
Carlos Carrasco on the DL, as they are expected to, the team will need a starter for their Saturday tilt. Tonight,
Alex White started the first game of a double header against Indianapolis. He started and he was, again, masterful. White (1.90 ERA) threw five and two thirds, giving up a 1st inning solo dinger, but nothing else of consequence. In gaining his first AAA victory, he allowed five hits and two walks, while striking out eight. Alex has thrown 23.2 innings in four starts with a WHIP a whisper over one and 28 Ks. While the presumption is that we will see
David Huff get the call, the table could not be set any better to give the kid a shot.
The Clippers offense continued to roll, giving White more support than he needed.
Chad Huffman (.250) launched his 5th bomb,
Travis Buck (.545) drove in two more,
Jordan Brown (.275) doubled twice and brought in a run and
Luis Valbuena (.309) doubled in a pair. If only we could get
Lonnie Chisenhall (.213, 0-3, BB, R today) going.
Carlton Smith got the final four outs of the seven inning affair to maintain his perfect ERA.
Brown struck again in the night cap, bashing a 5th inning grand slam to get the Clips back into the game. Run scoring singles in the 6th by Valbuena and
Ezequiel Carrera (.298) gave Columbus the 6-5 lead that held to be the final.
Joe Martinez (6.75) started, but was gone in the 4th after allowing three earned. Get used to him. If the Indians do bring another starter up, Martinez will likely slide into the Columbus rotation.
Jess Todd (12.38, no really) is a train wreck. In a mere inning and a third Todd surrendered 3 hits and 3 walks en route to two more runs. He's pitched 8 innings this season and put
24 men on base. The opposition is hitting
.486 off of him. These are the kinds of numbers that can lead to release and end a career. I foresee a DL stint in his future.
Jensen Lewis (0.00) threw a clean sixth and earned his second win in as many days.
Josh Judy was effective in the 7th for his 2nd save.
It was a great home stand, in spite of the rain. My seal of approval (I'll come up with a more clever name soon) goes out to Indianapolis Indian
Garrett Olson. One of the most talkative players that I have encountered, he oozes a zen perspective that is shocking in a pro player.
The Clippers take to the road tomorrow, headed to the rolling hills of Gwinnett to visit the Bravos. As we continue to speculate on who might start for the Tribe on Saturday, we can rest assured that it will not be
Scott Barnes, who toes the rubber Tuesday for Columbus.
Other Minor Points of Interest --
Another successful, albeit brief, start for
Drew Pomeranz (2.00) with Kinston on Monday. Drew tossed just three innings, allowing a solo homer and two additional hits, while mowing down five. No worries on his health, Pomeranz is fit as a fiddle, high A-ball is just wacky with starters sometimes.
Update: Word on the street is that Pomeranz felt some "hamstring tightness" and his removal was precautionary. All indications are that Pomeranz is simply "day-to-day," as are we all.
Kyle Blair continued to throw well for the Captains, notching his second win. Blair allowed five hits, among them a bases empty dong, and struck out four in his five innings of work. True, Kyle has only made four pro starts, but he is a 22-year old with NCAA experience under his belt. If he continues to perform, the 2010 fourth round pick, could rise quickly through the organization.
Cheers.
