On Friday, the Columbus Clippers got their season off to a good start with an 8-5 win in Toledo over the Mud Hens. On Saturday, the Clippers’ offense again scored a lot of runs, even though they all came in one inning, and Columbus topped Toledo, 7-6.

For the second day in a row, the Mud Hens scored first, pushing a run across in the bottom of the opening inning when Justin-Henry Malloy recorded an RBI double. That was all of the scoring until the Clippers came to bat in the third.

In the third inning, the first seven Columbus batters reached safely and all seven came in to score. Kyle Datres knocked in two runs with his first Triple-A hit, a single. Two batters later, Angel Martínez doubled to drive in two more. Martínez now has four RBIs in the Clippers’ first two games.

Catcher Dom Nuñez was up next and slammed a three-run homer to finish up the Columbus scoring on the day. So, the first seven batters in the Clippers’ third inning reached on an error, a walk, two singles, a walk, a double, and a home run. All in all, 10 batters came to the plate and the Clippers led 7-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, Toledo responded with four runs, all with two outs. The big hit was a triple from Hao-Yu Lee that drove in the final two scores. In the ninth inning, the Mud Hens were able to score a run with two outs. Then, with the tying run at second, Columbus reliever Andrew Misiaszek fanned Eliezer Alfonzo and the Clips held on for 7-6 win.  

In his first start of the season for Columbus, lefty Ryan Webb went four innings, allowing only one run on one hit and three walks., but did not figure into the decision. Tanner Burns (1-0) earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief. Misiaszek, who gave up a hit and posted the final strikeout, picked up his first save of the campaign. Toledo starter Matt Manning (0-1) took the loss.

If the weather holds, the teams look to finish up their three-game series Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.