The Clippers bullpen gave up a late lead as Columbus fell to the Syracuse Chiefs Monday night 6-4 at Huntington Park.

Starting pitcher Josh Tomlin had a solid outing, going 5.2 innings, giving up two hits and one earned run.

The bullpen, however, blew the lead the very next inning, giving up five runs while allowing nine batters to come to the plate.

With a bullpen that has been solid all year, manager Mike Sarbaugh was confident handing the ball over to his relievers.

Pitcher Carlton Smith replaced Tomlin in the sixth, but momentum quickly shifted in the seventh inning in favor of the Chiefs.

Smith lasted only two-thirds of an inning, threw a wild pitch, committed an error, walked two batters and gave up two hits and two earned runs.

“These things are going to happen,” Sarbaugh said. “Carlton didn’t look comfortable out there.”

When asked why he took Tomlin out of the game, Sarbaugh said, “It was only his third start of the year. We didn’t want to do more than 80 pitches. We want to gradually get to 100 pitches a game.”

Reliever Joe Smith did not do much better in replacing Carlton Smith. He also only lasted two-thirds of an inning, giving up four hits, three runs (two earned) and striking out one.

The Clippers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four innings, thanks to a two-run double by Jason Donald in the third and a fielders choice in the fourth.

Tomlin’s only mistake was a leadoff home run in the sixth by Seth Bynum.

“You got to forget about today and just come back tomorrow,” Sarbaugh said.

The Clippers close out the four-game series against Syracuse today at 11:35 a.m.