Clippers' Espino wins a pitching duel over Louisville: Minor league report

Paolo Espino, Bryce Stowell and Vinnie Pestano help slumping Columbus protect International West division lead.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 1, Bats 0: Columbus scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, and held on to beat Louisville, Ky. Drew Sutton hit his 18th double, Wes Hodges sacrificed him to third, and Sutton then scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt McBride.

Paolo Espino (1-1), the first of three Columbus pitchers, struck out eight in seven innings. Bryce Stowell pitched the eighth and Vinnie Pestano struck out two of the three hitters he faced in the ninth and picked up his 11th save.

Notes: In the past 19 days, the Clippers have seen their 101/2-game lead in the Western Division of the International League evaporate. They were 11/2 games ahead of Louisville after Saturday's win.

AA Akron Aeros

Aeros 12, Rock Cats 2: Lonnie Chisenhall belted a three-run homer and Alex White allowed three hits and one run over six innings as Akron topped New Britain (Conn.) at Canal Park. The Aeros pounded out 20 hits as eight players had at least two hits -- Chisenhall and Tim Fedroff each had three.

Notes: Jason Kipnis leads the Aeros in hitting, at .333 in 219 at-bats. Other team leaders are Lonnie Chisenhall with 14 home runs and Beau Mills with 58 RBI. Alex White (6-6) and Scott Barnes (6-8) are tied for the most wins.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Hillcats 3, Indians 1: A double by Donnie Webb and single by Bo Greenwell in the top of the fifth was the only scoring Kinston (N.C.) could muster in a loss to Lynchburg (Va.). Hillcats starting pitcher Justin Walker (2-1) struck out eight in six innings.

A Lake County Captains

Dragons 4, Captains 2: Dayton scored three runs in the top of the third and made them hold up for a victory over Lake County at Classic Park in Eastlake.

Brett Brach (4-7) was the starting and losing pitcher. He lasted seven innings and gave up three runs, two earned, and eight hits. Lake County was just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Notes: Shortstop Casey Frawley, hitting .263, had the highest batting average in the Captains' starting lineup. Frawley went 0-for-4 for Lake County, which fell to 22-26.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Spinners 4, Scrappers 3: Lowell (Mass.) put together a pinch-hit single, two walks, and a single to score the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning of a New York-Penn League game. James Reichenbach (1-2) came on in relief for Mahoning Valley in the eighth and absorbed the loss.

Notes: First baseman Jonathan Burnette, hitting .288, had the highest average in the Scrappers' starting lineup. The averages of the other eight, updated through the end of Saturday's game: .240, .233, .250, .190, .230, .189, .208 and .260. The Scrappers fell to 23-33.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers 6, Miners 4: Lake Erie held Southern Illinois to just three hits and won their game in Marion, Ill.

Peter Beagrie ITV St Petersburg Sir Alex Ferguson Petrofac Manchester United