The day after routing the Iowa Cubs, 14-5, the Columbus Clippers’ pitching staff had a day they’d like to forget Thursday, as the Cubs took it to the Clips, 10-2, in the second straight afternoon game at Huntington Park. After the clubs combined for nine home runs Wednesday, the winds shifted and only three went over the fence Thursday.

It looked as though it might be a pitchers’ duel through the first four innings. The Clippers led 1-0 by virtue of a Milan Tolentino home run in the 2nd, his sixth of the year. That ties Tolentino for the team-lead with Dom Nuñez and Will Wilson. Wilson, who was hot out of the gate, has been with the Cleveland Guardians since April 23.

Then the Cubs completely changed the tone of the contest, scoring five runs in the fifth inning, and adding three in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead. Two of the scores came against Columbus starter Will Dion (2-4), who allowed four hits and three walks in his 4.0+ innings of work, while striking out six. Dion took the loss.

Relievers Tanner Burns and Bradley Hanner followed, each giving up three runs on three hits. Burns threw one inning, while Hanner was on the mound for two frames. Andrew Misiaszek then came out of the bullpen in the eighth inning and gave up two runs in the ninth. Parker Mushinski recorded the  Cubs’ final out.

Yordys Valdes hit a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to record the Clippers’ second run, but that was all Columbus could muster, falling 10-2. The win gave Iowa their first victory in the series and halted the Clippers’ win streak at four. Besides Tolentino and Valdes, Petey Halpin was the only other Clippers’ hitter to have a multi-hit game, knocking out two singles.

Columbus and Iowa will play the fourth of their six-game set Friday night at Huntington Park with the first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. The Clippers will send Aaron Davenport (NR) to the mound for his first Triple-A start.

Davenport spent last year and the beginning of this season with the Akron Rubber Ducks in Double-A. So far in 2025, the native of Kirkland, Wash., is 3-0 in eight starts with a 2.66 ERA. He has allowed 25 hits and walked only seven in 40.2 innings, while striking out 40. The right-hander was selected by the Guardians in the sixth round of the MLB draft in 2016 and is 24 years old.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Cubs will go to 37-year-old Kenton Maeda (0-0, 18.00), who is a nine-year MLB veteran. It will be Maeda’s first Minor League start this season. He was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Chicago Cubs’ organization at the end of April. The native of Osaka, Japan had appeared in seven games out of the bullpen for the Tigers this year before arriving in Des Moines.

EXTRA BASES:

• Originally, left-hander Doug Nikhazy was scheduled to start for Columbus Wednesday against Iowa. He was, however, called up to the Guardians that day because Cleveland ended up playing a double header in Minnesota due to a weather postponement the day before. He did not appear in either game and returned to Columbus Thursday.
• Columbus activated outfielder Chase DeLauter from the 7-day injured list Thursday. DeLauter has yet to play for the Clippers this season. The 23-year-old, former first round pick of the Guardians, has been on the IL twice this season and has played eight rehab games with Cleveland’s Arizona Complex League. He did not appear in Thursday’s game at Huntington Park.
• The Guardians activated outfielder Lane Thomas from the 10-day injured list Thursday. Thomas had spent the past nine days on a rehab assignment with the Clippers. He hit .333 in seven games with Columbus, going deep twice and knocking in five runs. Thomas, who was traded to Cleveland from the Washington Nationals during the 2024 campaign, went on the IL this season after re-aggrevating a wrist injury on April 22. He was hit with a pitch in the Guardians’ opener.