Written by Al Ciammiachella

---

The Clippers went to extra innings again yesterday, this time in winning fashion when Cord Phelps drove in his third run of the day. Akron won a 2-1 squeaker after a strong starting pitching performance, and a 2010 draft pick was dominant for Lake County.

 

Kyle Blair, SP-LCC: W (3-3), 6 IP, 5 H, 9 K, 2 BB

Now THAT”S more like it. Blair turned in the best performance of his professional career for the Captains yesterday, tying his career high in IP and recording a personal best in strikeouts. It came not a moment too soon, as Blair was coming off of two disastrous starts in which he allowed a combined 15 ER in just 6 2/3 IP. Blair was a 4^th round choice out of the University of San Diego last year, and was seen as a polished pitcher who had a chance to move very quickly through the system. After going 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA in April, Blair had struggled in May up until last night. Still, when Drew Pomeranz moves up to Akron, Blair is a leading candidate to take his place in the Kinston rotation.

• David Huff, SP-COL: 4 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, BB. Huff’s 1^st start since May 13, and he’s back to not striking out batters.
• Zach Putnam, RP-COL: 2 IP, H, K, BB. Putnam with 8 scoreless innings in a row, and his ERA for the season is down to 2.76.
• Josh Judy, RP-COL: S (7), IP, BB, K. Judy hasn’t given up a run since May 11, and has 5 scoreless outings in a row (6 IP), not including a scoreless inning for the Indians mixed in that timeframe.
• Cord Phelps, SS-COL: 3-6, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, R. Phelps’ May line: .327/.378/.594 with 5 HR and 28 RBI. And yet, I continue to watch Orlando Cabrera trot out to 2^nd base at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B-COL: 0-2, 4 BB, R, K. Despite not recording a hit, Chiz reached base four times and scored a run.
• Joe Gardner, SP-AKR: 8 IP, ER, 6 H, 6 K, BB. Gardner with his best start of the year, setting a season high in both IP and K and matching his season low with 1 ER allowed. It’s a shame he didn’t pitch well enough to win.
• Adam Miller, RP-AKR: W (1-0), IP. One inning, a ground out, two flyouts and Miller records his 1^st Eastern League win since 2006.
• Tim Fedroff, LF-AKR: 3-4, 3 1B. One night after seeing his hitting streak come to an end, Fedroff starts a new one with three base hits.
• Beau Mills, DH-AKR: 2-4, 2 1B. Mills is hitting .256/.313/.372 in 13 games since arriving in Akron from extended spring training.
• Chun Chen, C-AKR: 1-2, RBI, K. Chen didn’t start, but entered the game as a pinch hitter and ended up with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9^th.
• Clayton Ehlert, RP-LCC: S (9), IP, ER, H, K, BB. Ehlert locked down save #9 on the season despite giving up a solo HR in the 9^th.
• LeVon Washington, CF-LCC: 1-3, BB, 2 R, SB. Washington with hits in back to back games, and his 2^nd SB on the season.
• Alex Monsalve, C-LCC: 2-4, RBI, SB. Monsalve is hitting .277/.318/.359 on the season, with 2 HR and 19 RBI.
• Anthony Gallas, LF-LCC: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K. Gallas with double #21 on the year, and he’s hitting .371/.463/.571 over his last 10 games.