Nolan Schubart’s bat kept Akron alive, and then it finished the job.
The RubberDucks trailed Altoona on Saturday before Schubart, who had started the day 0-for-3, kept his on-base streak intact with a walk in the eighth inning. Then he came through again in the ninth, lining the walk-off winner as Akron rallied for a 4-3 victory. The streak is now at 50 games.
Since his promotion to Double-A, Schubart has been on a tear, hitting .320 with a 1.020 OPS. Ryan Cesarini also kept contributing, going 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and an RBI.
He’s hitting .300 since moving up to Double-A. Tyresse Turner finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, and Jaison Chourio drew two walks and swiped a bag.
Braylon Doughty turned in a solid start, giving up three runs on four hits over 4.2 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Akron’s bullpen handled the rest. Carter Rustad fired 2.1 hitless innings, and Izaak Martinez followed with 2.0 scoreless innings and three strikeouts to earn the win.
Elsewhere, Columbus got everything it needed from Yorman Gomez and still lost.
Gomez was excellent in a 2-1 defeat to St. Paul, throwing 5.1 shutout innings and allowing just three hits while striking out three and walking two. But Jake Miller surrendered two runs on a pair of solo home runs over 1.2 innings, and Carlos Hernandez finished with a scoreless frame.
The offense never gave Columbus much help. Kody Huff supplied the lone run with a 1-for-2 day that included a home run and a walk, and no one else reached base twice or recorded an extra-base hit. The Clippers fell to 52-48.
Lake County had the opposite problem: not nearly enough pitching, and not enough offense to cover it.
The Captains were hammered 14-4 by Fort Wayne, dropping to 52-39. Jonah Advincula went 2-for-4 with a triple and a hit by pitch, Anthony Martinez was 2-for-5 with a double, and Juneiker Caceres finished 1-for-4 with a walk.
Logun Clark also walked and was hit by a pitch. No one else reached safely twice.
The damage came early and heavily against rehabbing Ben Lively. Working his way back from Tommy John surgery, he allowed eight runs on seven hits and one walk in just one inning, leaving with a 72.00 ERA.
Jackson Humphries was the one bright spot on the mound, striking out eight in 3.1 innings while allowing one earned run and six hits without a walk. Conner Zsak added 1.2 scoreless innings in relief.
In Hill City’s 8-4 win over Delmarva, Reiner Herrera kept building a case that he should be taken a little more seriously. The 20-year-old Venezuelan catcher, who hit 11 home runs in the Arizona Complex League this summer, has now gone deep four more times in 15 games since reaching Single-A.
On Saturday, he went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and finished with five RBIs. He’s carrying a .908 OPS since the promotion.
Cannon Peebles also delivered, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Jonathan Martinez was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, Dauri Fernandez singled, walked and stole a base, Jhorvic Abreus doubled and walked, and Yerlin Luis drew two walks.
Ryan DeSanto gave Hill City a quality start, allowing three runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
In Other News...
Guardians Fans Just Got A Brutal Logan Schmidt Update
Logan Schmidts path to pro ball has taken a detour that matters to the Guardians draft class and to a front office that already had to juggle its bonus pool. Cleveland selected Schmidt in the second round of the 2026 draft, but the prep right-hander has instead lined up a college route, with LSU at the center of his plans and junior college serving as another possible way to keep his draft clock moving.
For the Guardians, the timing is the frustrating part. Prior bonus pool commitments appear to have left the club unable to get close enough to Schmidts price, which is often the reality when a team spends aggressively elsewhere in the draft. If he follows the LSU path, Cleveland would be waiting a long time to see him back in the draft conversation, while a junior college stop would shorten that timeline and keep at least one door open. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Could Erase A Painful Offseason Mistake With One Deadline Move
Lane Thomas already has a strange little place in Guardians history, and it comes with a reminder of how quickly a deadline swing can turn into a regret. Cleveland paid a real price to bring him in two years ago, then watched his time here get derailed by injury before he moved on in free agency. Now, with reports from Cleveland.com and The Athletic linking him back to the Guardians deadline radar, the idea of a reunion has enough logic to make sense even if it still feels a little uncomfortable.
Thomas has been more productive this season with Kansas City, which is why the fit is being discussed at all, and the Guardians could use another bat if they decide to make a move. The question is whether the cost, the health history and the fact that he is headed toward free agency line up in a way that makes a second try worthwhile. For Cleveland, this is the kind of deadline call that can either clean up an old mistake or remind everyone why the first one went wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Face A Deadline Question Fans Can't Ignore
The recent skid has left Cleveland staring at a familiar kind of midsummer pressure, with the trade deadline arriving Aug. 3 and the front office suddenly under a brighter spotlight. Four straight losses have only sharpened the sense that the Guardians need help, especially on the pitching side, and that has pushed the conversation beyond the usual depth moves and into far more ambitious territory.
Tarik Skubal has surfaced as the name that changes the tone of the discussion, even if the path to getting him looks steep. A frontline starter from a division rival is the sort of swing that could reshape a staff in a hurry, but it also comes with obvious complications, from Detroits place in the standings to the risk of paying a huge price for a player who might only be around briefly. For Cleveland, the question is less about whether Skubal would matter and more about whether this is the kind of deadline gamble worth making at all. [Read more 🡒]