It took three hours and the Clippers only got in three and a half innings. Still, what we did get was fun to watch. Mitch Talbot looked sharp in the four innings of work that became his second rehab start. Mitch only got to throw 54 pitches, but he did so effectively. Outside of a first inning solo dinger by Josh Reddick (it was monster), Talbot was only in trouble once, using a strike out and a ground ball to strand runners on the corners. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out five. He induced four more outs on ground balls, including a double play, and kept the PawSox off balance by consistently changing speeds in spite of the nasty weather.
The game was suspended halfway through the fourth inning with Columbus ahead 2-1. Those runs came courtesy of back-to-back long balls from Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps to lead off the contest. Phelps' was his 7th of the season, one short of his career high set last season.
The game resumes at 5:05p tomorrow and will be played to full nine-inning completion. The regularly scheduled game will follow, but will last just seven frames as in a MiLB double header. Only in the International League folks.
Other Minor Points of Interest --
Joe Gardner delivered an excellent start (6 IP, 4 H, R/ER, BB, 5 K) in the first game of an Akron twin bill to earn his first win in more than a month and raise his record to 3-2. Gardner (2.70 ERA), a third round pick in 2009, has stymied opponents to the tune of a .227 OBA.
Beau Mills, the #13 overall pick in 2007, made his season debut today after spending the first six weeks of the season recovering from a left Achilles injury. Mills, who is beginning his third season at AA, singled and laid down a sacrifice bunt in five official trips. Once a top five organizational prospect, Mills is now considered marginal at best following OPS seasons of .724 and .689 at Akron.
Cheers.
