Clip Joint At 11

Lost in the excitement over the Indians' winning ways is the streak by their AAA affiliate.  The Clipper have taken 11 straight, the last six of those on the road.  Just like the big club, the key has been pitching.  The Columbus pitching staff has posted a 2.72 ERA during the streak and, excluding the recently DFA'ed Jess Todd, the bullpen has been even better at 1.64.  True to form, David Huff gave up 3 runs on 4 hits over seven innnings to earn his third win and Frank Herrmann struck out five of the six men he faced to finish up a 9-3 victory.

On a day when their hottest hitter stranded seven men on base the rest of lineup carried the weight.  Chad Huffman's 0-for-5 was scarcely noticed as Jason Donald (.417) stroked three hits and drove in just as many.  Luke Carlin (.340) scored 2 runs and netted 2 RBI, Jerad Head (.361) knocked three singles and three more Clippers (Carrera, Chisenhall, Kipnis) had two hits and a ribbie. 

The four game series continues on Monday at 7:15 with, wait, I got this one, um... Scott Barnes on the bump.

Other Minor Points of Interest --

Austin Adams got right back on the horse following a start in which he retired just 2 of the eight men he faced.  Today, Adams went seven strong, allowing a run on 3 hits and 3 walks and striking out 8.  He evens his record at 2-2.

Nick Hagadone followed Adams and threw another 1.1 scoreless.  That's 14.2 for the season with a .157 OBA and a 9.5 K/BB ratio.  Hagadone continues to build his case for promotion, although, with the aforementioned Columbus 'pen performance, it may be awhile.

Chun Chen's bat has truly awoken as he smashed two more round trippers.  Chen (.288) had three hits, three runs, 3 RBI to go along with 2 walks.  Chen has been batting cleanup all season long and has finally started to show why.  Leadoff man Jordan Henry (.283) had three hits himself and stole his 7th base.

Drew Pomeranz may still be without his first pro win, but the rest of his numbers are fantastic.  Pomeranz threw five and a third today, allowing an unearned run on four hits.  Pom walked 2 and fanned seven.  Over 23.1 in 2011 he has a WHIP of 0.86 and has struck out 34.  The organization's plan is to keep Drew on a similar schedule to that of Alex White, which means he should be in Akron by June and Columbus to start 2012.

Cheers.