Clip Joint's Rollin'

Round about the time that Carlos Santana decided to walk it off, I lost track of the Clippers game.  Columbus was trailing 5-3 and, with the exception of a 4th inning homer by Jason Kipnis (.257), the offense was looking pretty sluggish.  After digging the Tribe win for a bit, I checked in.  Lo and behold, the Clips had pounded out five runs in the 8th and 9th to take an 8-5 win.

What happened?  Luis Valbuena and Luke Carlin happened.  Valbuena (.313), who some are suggesting may be DFA'ed tomorrow, cranked a two-run 8th inning long ball to tie the game.  Carlin (.341) followed with a bases loaded, bases clearing double in the 9th.  Clippers win.  Clippers win.  Their 9th in a row.

Corey Kluber (6.50 ERA) started and gave up four runs in five innings.  Jess Todd, pitching to save his spot on the 40-man, did throw a clean 6th, but his ERA is still 11.00.  Zach Putnam (1.26) earned the win and Josh Judy (3.48) his 4th save.  It would appear that Judy has now settled into the closer spot.

Kipnis, Carlin and Valbuena all had two hits, as did Ezequiel Carrera (.290) and Jerad Head (.339).  Cord Phelps (.303), on the other hand, was 0-for-5 and struck out four times.

Columbus starts a four game series in Charlotte tomorrow (7:15p).  Barring unforeseen circumstances, the starter will be Joe Martinez.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Akron kicked the snot out of Binghamton, 10-1.  Kelvin De La Cruz (2.88) started but didn't stick around long enough for the win (4 IP, 2 H, ER, 6 BB, 5 K) which went to CC Lee.  Lee (4.26) struck out five and allowed just a walk over three frames.  Chun Chen (.258) went deep for the second consecutive game.

Congrats to my buddy Tyler Tufts, who earned a promotion to AA Frisco yesterday and pitched tonight for the RoughRiders.  Ty got the final four outs of the game without allowing a base runner as Frisco lost 4-0.  Tyler's season numbers are pretty damn impressive (1.13 ERA, .148 OBA, 0.63 WHIP).  Keep it going, kid.

Cheers.