Lack of offense lead to Clippers 9-2 demise

Offense was lacking for the Clippers Saturday night, and a loss was the end result in Columbus.

Columbus fell to the Indianapolis Indians, 4-0, in game two of its series against the International League West Division leaders. The Clippers won the series opener and first game of the home stand, 5-1, on Friday night. Columbus has five more games on its seven-game stand at Huntington Park.

The Clippers struggled to score during their most recent road swing, and after seeming solving their offensive woes on Friday, the poor performance at the plate returned for Columbus Saturday. The Clippers managed just four hits and struck out seven times.

At the plate, only three Clippers recorded hits. Second baseman Cord Phelps led the way with two hits while first baseman Lars Anderson and center fielder Aaron Cunningham each had one hit. Only one Clipper--shortstop Gregorio Petit--walked.

Both teams struggled to score early. The two teams combined for one hit and no runs through the first two frames.

Indianapolis broke the scoring gates open with a solo home run in the top of the third. The Indians played two more runs in the fourth before scoring their final run of the game in the seventh.

The Indians did their scoring on just six hits, compared to the Clippers four. While Indianapolis only outhit Columbus by two, they made up for it with power. Indianapolis had three home runs and left just five runners on base.

Columbus left-hander T.J McFarland took the loss--his sixth of the season--while allowing four runs on six hits in seven innings of work. The Clippers bullpen threw two-shutout innings in relief.

Columbus and Indianapolis will play game three of their series Sunday at 6:05 p.m

Andrew Holleran is a third-year journalism student at The Ohio State University. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewjholleran or reach him via e-mail at holleran.9@buckeyemail.osu.edu.