CLEVELAND — The Indians’ season-long parade of top prospects marched on Friday at Progressive Field.

Jason Kipnis started at second base and batted eighth in his first big league game, going 0-for-2 and being hit by a pitch as the Tribe dropped a 3-0 decision to the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland’s 2010 Minor League Player of the Year had been promoted from Triple-A Columbus a day earlier.

“We brought Jason up because we feel he can help us win games,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He’s not a finished product, and neither is Lonnie (Chisenhall), but we still feel like he can help us win.

“In an ideal situation, you’d let them finish developing in the minor leagues, but we do feel like some of these guys can finish their development here.”

Kipnis failed to record a hit on the very humid evening, but made two strong defensive plays in front of a crowd that included his parents, Mark and Kay.

The Tribe’s second-round draft choice in 2009 sprinted down the right-field line to grab a Carlos Quentin fly ball in the first inning, then gunned down Mark Teahen on a hard-hit ball up the middle in the sixth.

“I really liked the plays he made defensively,” Acta said. “He showed some athleticism going to his right against Teahen, and really got over there to make a play on that ball by Quentin.”

The 24-year-old Kipnis became the seventh Cleveland player to make his MLB debut this season, joining third baseman Chisenhall, outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, second baseman Cord Phelps, starting pitchers Alex White and Zach McAllister and relief pitcher Josh Judy.

Kipnis was called up during his worst stretch of the season, batting just .103 over his last 10 games for the Clippers.

“I was a little surprised because it’s not like I’m playing at the top of my game right now,” he admitted. “But it’s always exciting. I think everybody dreams of that moment.”

On the season, Kipnis was hitting .289 with 12 home runs, 55 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 91 games with Columbus. He participated in the MLB All-Star Weekend Futures Game in Phoenix and was named an International League All-Star.

More impressive, the
5-foot-11, 185-pounder earned those honors in his first season at the Triple-A level. He split last year between Single-A Kinston and Double-A Akron while making the transition from the outfield to second base.

“We project this kid to be an everyday player, just like with Chisenhall,” Acta said. “But the fact is none of us honestly know what these guys are going to do until they get here.

“May I point out that (the now-demoted Luis) Valbuena had the best numbers of those guys in Triple-A and last year?”

Kipnis, though, seems like a pretty solid bet to stay with the Indians for the rest of the season.

The Illinois native was recently named the best prospect in the organization by Baseball Prospectus. That award came one year after he was chosen as a Baseball America All-Star.

Kipnis said the success he has had as a pro made him ready for this opportunity, which comes with the Tribe in the thick of a pennant race.

“This situation actually puts less pressure on myself,” said Kipnis, who bats left and throws right. “I just want to come in and help the team keep doing what it’s doing, which is winning games.”

LORAIN — Moises Velez’s extensive criminal history has police pursuing multiple leads in the search for his killer.

Mourners gathered outside Southerners Place in Lorain where Moises Velez was shot and killed late Wednesday. (CT photo by Chuck Humel.)

Velez

“His history makes it troublesome, because there’s so many scenarios that we’ve got to narrow down,” police spokesman Lt. Mark Carpentiere said Thursday. “Sometimes these things fall together really quickly and sometimes they take time.”

Velez, 22, was shot in the head around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday outside Southerners Place at 2926 Pearl Ave. The killing came about four months after Velez — who had numerous convictions, including resisting arrest, theft and possession of marijuana — was charged with felonious assault March 20.

Click here to view more photos.

Velez was accused of shooting 22-year-old Lorain resident Christian McAfee in the hand near Vic’s Nightclub in downtown Elyria after a fight at the bar. Police said they found a .44-caliber pistol in the Lincoln Navigator that Velez was driving when he was stopped shortly after the shooting.

Carpentiere said no gun was found on Velez after he was killed, but Velez’s cousin Juan Maldonado said Velez told him he had been carrying a pistol the last few weeks because he feared for his life.

Jose Torres, Velez’s stepfather, said early Friday that his stepson was killed outside Southerners while intervening in a fight between friends.

Violence at or around Southerners is common. Between July 25, 2009, and Wednesday, police were called to the south side bar 83 times, according to department records. Calls included numerous arguments, fights and reports of shots fired, including a incident on June 22 of last year in which the bar window was shot out.

“The bar’s got a very long history of being a place we have to frequent,” said Carpentiere, a Lorain officer since 1990.

Jimmy Sanchez, who said he has been managing the bar since December, said when customers cause problems, they are told to leave.

“Outside is not our problem,” Sanchez said.

Despite his criminal history, Torres said Velez was a loyal, outgoing and protective and was only defending himself in the Vic’s incident. Torres said Velez had talked recently about returning to automotive school after leaving due to money problems.

“He was a good kid,” Torres said. “He was always trying to make you feel good, even in the bad moments.”

Around 12:30 a.m. today about 15 of Velez’s friends and family stood outside a makeshift candlelight vigil on the sidewalk outside Southerners.

“You should’ve called me,” Ruth Kelly,Velez’s grief-stricken mother said as she stared at a picture of her son on a T-shirt. “I love you.”

Contact Evan Goodenow at 329-7129 or egoodenow@chroniclet.com.

ELYRIA TWP. — They had a blast, two actually, but the blown electrical transformers firefighters dealt with in scorching heat Thursday were anything but fun.

Following explosions at an Elyria Township substation, power was off to about 4,500 customers for about five hours until workers restored it about 10 p.m. (CT photo by Chuck Humel.)

The blown units at the Ohio Edison substation at 42390 Griswold Road at 5:07 p.m. cut electricity to about 4,500 customers, according to Edison spokesman Joe Faga. They also rattled two firefighters and two Edison workers who were in the substation about 20 feet from the blasts.

Click here to view more photos.

Fire Chief Russ Scarbrough said a 138,000-volt lightning arrestor failed, causing the explosions, which caused no injuries. He said the explosions sounded like a bomb and noted that the porcelain material the equipment is made of could’ve acted like shrapnel.

“There was no indication it was going to fail, just boom, it went,” Scarborough said. “It could’ve been bad, real bad. It’s just pure luck nobody got hurt.”

Firefighters were called by company workers at 3:16 p.m. to cool the transformers as a precautionary measure, Scarbrough said. They were greeted by 101-degree heat and drained their 1,000-gallon pumper truck within four minutes.

Tankers from the Amherst, Carlisle Township and South Amherst fire departments were then brought in. Scarbrough said firefighters poured another 5,000 or 6,000 gallons of water on the transformers before the explosion.

Faga said the outage affected parts of Amherst Township, Elyria Township and Lorain and electricity was restored to all customers by 10 p.m. Faga, an Edison employee since 1999, said Thursday was the first time firefighters were summoned to cool the transformers.

However, resident Tom Miller said the explosions and outages aren’t a first. Miller, who said he has lived down the street from the substation since 1970, said explosions have occurred about four or five times in extremely hot weather and they rattled the windows of his house.

“They’re just like a bomb,” said Miller, 67. “And then everything in the house shuts down.”

Miller, who said his house is too old to have air conditioning, said people need to conserve power in hot weather to prevent electrical overloads. He said when firefighters cool the transformers using neighborhood hydrants, water pressure in his house turns low and water turns brown.

“The first thing we usually do is take a clear glass and check the water,” Miller said as he hosed down his front yard. “It looks like chocolate milk.”

Besides inconveniencing residents, the outages cut electricity to some area traffic lights and caused at least one accident.

Elyria resident Miranda Austin, 28, said she was turning left from Murray Ridge Road onto state Route 113 east at 5:30 p.m. when she was struck by a westbound car. The accident knocked the front bumper off her car and caused extensive front end damage.

“I knew the lights were out when I crossed the other intersection,” a frustrated Austin said as she stood on the shoulder of the road by her battered car. “I was the driver who actually paid attention to the lights being out.”

Temperatures are expected to reach highs in the 90s today, Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service and Faga advised customers to conserve energy. However, Faga said the outage was not due to overuse.

“That piece of equipment would’ve failed regardless,” he said.

Contact Evan Goodenow at 329-7129 or egoodenow@chroniclet.com.

AKRON — You’ve heard the name, you’ve read the reviews … now you can see him for yourself.

Pomeranz

Drew Pomeranz — the 2010 first-round and fifth-overall draft pick of the Cleveland Indians — made his Canal Park debut for the Akron Aeros on Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to Altoona.

On a day when the temperatures reached 90 degrees, Pomeranz added some heat of his own. He struck out six Altoona hitters in five innings.

There are no visible radar readings at Canal Park, but Pomeranz said after the game he was told his fastballs were in the 91-93 mph range. And despite having a curveball that has been rated by Baseball America as the best in the Indians farm system, on this day the left-hander let his fastball do most of the work.

“There was no reason to throw many curveballs today,” the 22-year-old said. “They were struggling to hit the fastball. I was able to keep the ball moving around today.”

In his second start at the Double-A level, Pomeranz faced 19 hitters and gave up just three hits and a pair of walks. In addition to the six strikeouts, he had six fly outs and two groundouts. Four of his six strikeouts came against left-handed hitters.

The only run he allowed, on a third-inning sacrifice fly by Curve centerfielder Starling Marte, was enough to tag him with his first Double-A loss.

Pomeranz said the midday heat did not affect him on the mound.

“I just spent three months pitching in Kinston, N.C. … now there’s a place that’s hot,” he said. “I probably pitched five or six day games there, so this didn’t feel (bad) to me at all.”

Over his first two starts with Akron, Eastern League hitters are batting .178 (6-for-34) against Pomeranz.
“The adjustment from Single-A to Double-A has not been bad,” he said. “In Double-A, the batters like to swing at more pitches. I like that.”

Pomeranz began his first season in professional baseball at Class A Kinston. There he went 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA while striking out 95 hitters in 77 innings. He also earned a spot on the Carolina League All-Star team and represented the Cleveland Indians in the All-Star Futures game held July 10 in Phoenix.

Pomeranz has been kept on a strict pitch count of around 85 pitches per start this season. On Wednesday, he threw 84 pitches before turning the game over to the Aeros bullpen in the sixth inning.

“I think the pitch count has been good for me,” Pomeranz said. “It keeps me focused on conserving pitches and throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters.”

The most innings Pomeranz threw in college was 100 2/3, in 2010 while leading the University of Mississippi to the NCAA regional tournament. That same season, he was named Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA.

After Wednesday’s start, Pomeranz has pitched 86 2/3 innings in 2011.

“I kind of expected that I might be starting to get tired, but honestly this is the best I’ve felt all year,” he said.

Pomeranz, who grew up in Collierville, Tenn. — just outside Memphis — said he doesn’t think he ever pitched in Ohio prior to Wednesday.

“After I signed with the Indians last year I spent about 10 to 20 days at Mahoning Valley, but all I did was chart pitches every day, I didn’t do any pitching,” he said.

With a career path that projects a brief stay in Akron, followed by a short trip to Columbus before finally landing at Progressive Field, Pomeranz should expect to do a lot of pitching in the Buckeye State.

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.