Tolentino powers Clippers past Iowa with two-homer outburst, 9-4 win

Milan Tolentino turned a tense one-run game into a Columbus cruise, and he did it with one swing after another. On a warm Wednesday night at Huntington Park, the Clippers erased an early deficit, then used Tolentino’s two-homer outburst to pull away from Iowa for a 9-4 win that pushed Columbus to 9-8.

The key stretch started in the fourth, when Stuart Fairchild launched his third home run of the season to left-center and trimmed the gap to 4-2. Tolentino followed in the fifth with his first homer of the night to make it 4-3, keeping the Clippers within striking distance after Iowa had grabbed control early. By then, the game had already shifted from a sluggish start to the kind of power display that can change the mood in one inning.

The sixth inning is where Columbus took command. Kahlil Watson scored on an errant throw by Fairchild while trying to steal second, tying the game at 4-4. Moments later, Tolentino unloaded again, this time on a two-run homer with two men on to give the Clippers the lead for good. Watson added another solo shot in the seventh, a blast over the center-field trees on a 91-mph cutter, and Columbus kept stretching the margin until the finish became a formality.

Tolentino’s night carried extra weight because it was not a random spike. He entered with three home runs on the 2026 season and left with four, adding to the power profile he built last year when he reached 20 homers for Columbus. For a hitter trying to carve out a louder role in Cleveland’s system, a game like this does more than pad a box score. It shows that the power plays against Triple-A pitching, and that he can change the shape of a game in a hurry.

Logan Allen took the ball for Columbus and allowed four runs across the first four innings, but he also struck out seven, enough to keep the Clippers close until the offense broke through. Colin Holderman finished the bridge from the middle innings to the late surge, working 2.0 scoreless innings for his second win.

The Clippers and Iowa Cubs were set to continue the six-game series Thursday at 12:05 p.m. at Huntington Park, where the homestand also included $5 Wednesday and a Business Day Special. After Tolentino’s two-homer burst, Columbus will take the field with a little more noise around one of its most dangerous bats.