The cold weather remained in central Ohio, but baseball was finally played at Huntington Park after three consecutive days of postponements as Columbus and Indianapolis met for the first time since their Governors’ Cup Final meeting last September in doubleheader fashion.
After the championship ring ceremony held before the first pitch, the Clippers and Indians split the two games, with Columbus winning game one 1-0 and the Indians taking game two 4-0 in front of 4,838.
The temperature at first pitch delivered by Clippers starting pitcher Mike Clevinger was 39 degrees, the coldest opening day temperature in Huntington Park history.
Jesus Aguilar, last year’s International League leader in RBI, picked up right where he left off in his first at bat of the season, tallying the only run of game one with his home run into the left field bleachers in the bottom of the first inning.
After that, it was a battle of two of the top pitching prospects for each organization.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1) tossed five innings, gave up an earned run on three hits, walked three batters and stuck out six for the Indians while Clevinger (1-0) continued his domination over Indianapolis from the 2015 postseason. The right-hander threw five innings of scoreless baseball, giving up three hits, walking one batter and fanning six.
Clippers reliever Shawn Armstrong stuck out the side in the sixth inning and Austin Adams collected his first save of the year, striking out a pair of Indians in the seventh and final inning of the game.
Game two saw the Indians post four runs, all coming in the third inning with two outs.
Josh Bell singled to right-center with two runners on, but a Michael Choice fielding error allowed both of those runners to score to make it 2-0.
Soon after, Jason Rodgers took Clippers right-hander Toru Murata deep over the left field wall, making it 4-0, ending the scoring for the afternoon.
After Indians starting pitcher Trevor Williams was taken out in the first inning due to an injury, the Indianapolis bullpen combined for a four hit shutout.
Kelvin Marte (1-0) was credited with the win while Murata (0-1) suffered his first defeat of the year.
The Clippers are back in action tomorrow as they will face the Louisville Bats for the first time this season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. for Sugardale Dime-A-Dog Night at Huntington Park.
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