The Clippers dumped Rochester 10-3 last night to even the series… tonight’s first pitch is slated for 7:05pm.

* The Famous Chicken makes his annual stop in Columbus tonight. Click here for an interview I conducted with the most beloved mascot in sports. The national media was been reporting the chicken may soon retire.

* Indians Assistant General Manager Chris Antonetti is in town for the series with Rochester. He’s mostly watching Matt LaPorta at first base to see if he’s a viable option for the Indians. LaPorta has been splitting time between first and the outfield since returning from Cleveland, but he’ll play exclusively at first while Antonetti is here.

* The Tribe announced they’ve signed five more draft picks:

RHP Austin Adams (5th round, Faulkner University)
RHP Cory Burns (8th round, Arizona)
RHP Preston Guilmet (9th round, Arizona)
RHP Dale Dickerson (16th round, Nicholls State)
RHP Tyler Sturdevant (27th round, New Mexico State)

* The Clippers put together a seven-run fourth inning in last night’s win. The largest inning this season was eleven runs on June 1st against Norfolk. The eleven runs tied a franchise record.

* The Columbus-Cleveland shuttle is about to get very busy again. Aaron Laffey will pitch for the Clippers tomorrow on a rehab assignment. Jake Westbrook and Scott Lewis are expected to pitch for the Clippers very soon. No word on whether Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore are candidates to make a stop in Columbus at some point during they’re recovery.

* The coaching staffs for the Triple-A All Star Game have been announced:

International League
Manager: Rick Sweet (Louisville)
Coach: Gary Allenson (Norfolk)
Coach: Ken Oberkfell (Buffalo)

Pacific Coast League
Manager: Randy Ready (Portland)
Hitting Coach: Brian McArn (Sacramento)
Pitching Coach: Dwight Bernard (Tacoma)

I’ll be back with lineups and notes in a bit.

Columbus and Rochester meet tonight at 7:05pm…

* Jake Westbrook has suffered a setback on his rehab assignment. He complained of soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow. Westbrook played catch Monday and may attempt a bullpen session on Wednesday. He still could join the Clippers on the upcoming road trip if the soreness subsides.

* Aaron Laffey will start for the Clippers on Thursday. He is expected to throw three innings or 50 pitches. Laffey has been shelved since May 23rd with a strained right oblique. Laffey has thrown a few bullpen sessions in preparation for Thursday.

* The Indians announced they’ve signed four draft picks:

1B Ben Carleson (6th round, Missouri State)
RHP Brent Brach (10th round, Monmouth)
LHP Kirk Wetmore (11th round, Bellevue CC)
INF Kyle Smith (14th round, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)

* The Clippers lost 4-2 last night to Rochester, but 12,223 entered Huntington Park. It is the largest so far at the new ballpark. The Clippers are averaging 9,293 fans per game, the most in all of minor league baseball.

* Stephen Head is scheduled to play a few innings for Mahoning Valley on Friday. Head banged his right knee in an Indians spring training game on February 28th and re-injured it on May 1st against Durham.

* The Famous Chicken will be at Wednesday’s game. A record crowd a 20,131 attended the Chicken’s first Columbus appearance in 1980. I’ll have a link to an interview with the feathered phenom in a bit.

THE FAMOUS CHICKEN

The Clippers meet Rochester in the opener of a four-game set tonight at 7:05pm.

* Tonight is Dime-A-Dog Night at Huntington Park. Sugardale hot dogs for ten cents each… there is nothing better.

* Clippers catcher Wyatt Toregas returned to the lineup Sunday in fine form. He homered off Louisville’s Sam LeCure in his first at-bat. Toregas missed two games after taking a foul ball off his right hand. Toregas is now the hottest Clippers hitter, batting .421 (8-for-19) in his last six games.

* The Clippers offense is struggling overall. Michael Aubrey is 4-for-23 (.174), Jordan Brown is 3-for-18 (.167), Andy Marte is 4-for-19 (.211) and Michael Brantley is 3-for-19 (.158) over the last five games. Brantley had a 19 game stretch in which he batted .333 before the recent slide.

* Aaron Laffey could be Columbus-bound this week. He is scheduled to pitch three innings on Thursday, likely with the Clippers. He suffered a strained right oblique muscle and was placed on the DL back on May 23rd.

* We are still waiting on the “official” word that Jake Westbrook will pitch Wednesday. Westbrook has thrown seven scoreless innings over two starts with Akron. Torey Lovullo has said he’ll go about five innings or eighty pitches…unless there has been a setback behind the scenes.

* Kirk Saarloos is slated to make his first start since June 5th. He was skipped in the rotation after allowing eight runs, four earned in only two innings against Charlotte. Saarloos is 3-7 with a 5.63 ERA (11 starts) heading into tonight vs. Rochester.

* Ryan Mitchell, my broadcast partner, paid a visit to the “Sandwiches on Deck” stand in the right field corner at Huntington Park. He returned with this gigantic ice cream sundae in a clipper ship…

That’s all for now… meeting adjourned.

The Clippers and Bats play Saturday and Sunday to complete a four-game series at Huntington Park. Here is the latest:

* Clippers manager Torey Lovullo was back in the dugout Friday. Lovullo missed Thursday’s game to attended his daughter’s high school graduation. Jon Nunnally was the acting manager in the Clippers 6-1 loss to the Bats.

* Wyatt Toregas suffered a bruise on his right hand from foul ball on Friday. The injury occurred on the outside knuckles of Toregas’ hand. He is listed as day-to-day and expected to be available Saturday off the bench. Damaso Espino will start in his place.

* Chuck Lofgren pitched six innings, allowing three runs against Louisville on Thursday. He is 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA in three starts for Columbus. Lofgren, 23, led the Eastern League with a 1.48 ERA in eight starts for Akron before his promotion.

* Jake Westbrook threw four scorless innings Friday for Akron. Westbrook is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and is expected to appear with the Clippers on Wednesday against Rochester. Westbrook has allowed four hits in seven innings over his two Double-A starts.

* Scott Lewis fired three perfect innings for Lake County on Thursday. Lewis retired all nine batter faced, including three strikeouts. The former Ohio State standout is expected to make a stop in Columbus during his rehab assignment.

* The Clippers Booster Club is still looking for folks to make a bus trip to Cleveland on Friday, June 26th. The Indians are playing the Reds at Progressive Field and the trip includes a pre-game party on the Party Deck. Click here for more info.

* Wes Hodges, Stephen Head and George Lombard all remain on the comeback trail from the Clippers disabled list. It appears Head is the closest to returning. He has been working on base running after the Clippers batting practice sessions. Head banged his knee against the wall in an Indians spring training game in Goodyear and re-injured it while sliding for a ball in April.

* Tomo Ohka will start for the Indians on Saturday. Ohka was not expected to make the Clippers roster this year, but farm director Ross Adkins decided to keep him as a long reliever and the gamble paid off. Ohka joined the rotation when Aaron Laffey was called up and proceeded to go 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA over nine starts. He is only the second Japanese-born pitcher to start a game for Cleveland. Kaz Tadano (2004) is the other.

* Michael Brantley is the hottest Clippers hitter… batting .357 (15-for-42) over his last ten games.

* Andy Cannizaro is next best… 11 for his last 33 (.333) over an eight game stretch.

* Wilson Valdez is 4-for-20 (.200) with a double, triple and three RBI since being traded to the Mets for the Clippers roster.

* Kirk Saarloos was pushed to the back of the rotation, missing his scheduled start on Friday. According to Torey Lovullo, the move was made to give Saarloos a few extra days of rest. Saarloos has made eleven starts (3-7, 5.62 ERA). He lasted only two innings in his most recent outing (June 5th at Charlotte) and allowed eight runs, four earned from five hits.

* The Louisville Bats are in town and so are some familiar names from their parent club in Cincinnati. George Foster is signing autographs at Huntington Park this weekend and Eric Davis is camping in the Bats dugout.

Foster, 60, was a career .274 hitter with 348 HR and 1,239 RBI. He won the National League MVP in 1977, a season in which he drove in 149 runs and homered 52 times. He is a five-time All-Star and two-time World Champion.

Davis, 47, is a special assistant to Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty. He is a two-time All Star and won the 1990 World Series with Cincinnati.

* Tony Graffanino was scratched from the Clippers lineup just before Thursday’s game. Graffanino has been battling a stiff neck since the end of the recent road trip. He is listed as day to day.

There is plenty more, but I’ll have to check back later…