After losing in the series opener Thursday night, 5-3, the Columbus Clippers rebounded by winning three-straight games against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs over the weekend. With those three wins, the Clippers climbed over the .500-mark for the first time since Opening Day.
In the series finale on Sunday, Jason Bergmann allowed just three hits over six innings of shutout ball as the Clippers prevailed 8-1.
The game was scoreless until the home half of the sixth as Tommy Murphy ledoff the frame with a single to left and advanced to second on throwing error by former Clipper Brandon Watson. Pete Orr followed with a sacrifice bunt, but reached safely thanks to a fielding error by pitcher J. A. Happ. Murphy then scored on a fielder’s choice by Alex Escobar that put the Clippers ahead 1-0.
Columbus scored a pair of runs in the seventh after Jesus Flores began the inning by reaching base on a walk, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ray Olmedo. Garrett Guzman added an RBI double, who later scored on a sac fly by Murphy.
The lone run scored by the Pigs came in the eighth off of Clippers’ reliever Charlie Manning.
Manning surrendered consecutive singles to Watson and Rich Thompson to start the frame with Watson later scoring after a throwing error by Olmedo.
But the Clippers blew the game wide-open in the home half of the inning after Red Wings’ reliever Steve Kline replaced Gary Knotts.
Pete Orr swatted a two-bagger to center, Escobar was hit by a pitch, and Ryan Langerhans followed by smacking a ground-rule double to left-center field plating Orr.
Larry Broadway came to plate and was the second victim of the inning to be hit by a pitch from Kline. Now with the bases loaded, Flores drew a walk scoring Escobar.
After Kline faced five batters and couldn’t get an out, Jason Anderson came on in relief and Olmedo promptly hit a two-run single scoring Langerhans and Broadway. Two batters later, Yurendell de Caster plated Flores with a base hit to make it 8-1.
Bergmann faced 23 batters and threw 82 pitches, with 53 of those for strikes. He finished with five strikeouts and two walks.
On Saturday, the Clippers won 3-2 thanks to another strong outing by a starting pitcher, this time from Tyler Clippard.
Clippard lasted 6-2/3 innings and yielded just two hits with no Pig crossing the plate. He finished with six strikeouts and one walk.
Murphy had an RBI single in the third, Broadway hit a solo homer in the fourth, and Elijah Dukes added an RBI triple in the seventh to account for all of the runs needed by the Clippers.
On Friday, Columbus won another tight game, 4-3, after the Clippers scored three runs in the fourth to win it with Olmedo knocking in a run with a sac fly and Dukes added a two-run single.
Collin Balester recorded his second win over the season by pitching five innings and giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
The Clippers lost the series-opener Thursday night, 5-3, after starting pticher Garrett Mock allowed four runs, though only two were earned, on seven hits in seven innings of work. He finished with four strikeouts and no walks.
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