Aeros Falter Late in 7-6 Loss
April 26, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
AKRON, OH - Altoona scored four times in the eighth and Pedro Lopez hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th as the Curve came from behind to score a 7-6 triumph over the Aeros before 3,943 fans at Canal Park Sunday afternoon. Altoona improved to 5-12 while Akron dropped to 13-4, although the Aeros did win three of five games in the series.
Akron got off to a great start thanks to four Curve errors in the first inning alone (Altoona set a season-high with six errors in the game overall). The Aeros had the bases loaded with one out when Josh Rodriguez ripped a grounder to third, and while Angel Gonzalez made a great diving stop on the play, his throw was well wide of first as Carlos Rivero and Beau Mills both came in to score. Jerad Head followed with an RBI groundout to first, and Mickey Hall capped the inning with an RBI knock to center to make it 4-0.
The Curve got on the board in the fourth on a two-run homer from Jason Delaney to cut the margin in half, but the Aeros responded in the seventh as a single by Mills and a double by Carlos Santana put both men in scoring position before Head lofted a soft liner over the drawn-in infield to make it 6-2.
Akron starter Frank Herrmann cruised through seven innings, but found immediate trouble when he went back out to start the eighth. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no one out for Altoona, and the Aeros summoned newcomer Paolo Espino from the bullpen. It wasn't the debut Espino hoped for however, as he bobbled Anderson Machado's come-backer, which should have led to an out at the plate, and Hector Gimenez scored to make it 6-3 on the fielding error. Espino then got Lopez to hit a slow bouncer to short that led to one out, but Rodriguez lost his grip on the relay throw as the ball squirted into right field to score two runs and make it 6-5. Jose Tabata then laced an RBI single to left to tie the game before Espino got out of the jam.
The Aeros had some definite chances to break the tie, getting the leadoff man aboard in both the eighth and ninth innings but never advancing the runner to scoring position. Akron had one final chance in the bottom of the 10th when Damaso Espino led off with a single, but John Drennen hit into a double play and Jose Constanza struck out to end the game.
Jean Machi (1-1) earned the win in relief with three shutout innings, while Paolo Espino (0-1) allowed all three of his inherited runners to score and suffered the blown save and the loss. Herrmann turned in a strong outing, working seven-plus innings and allowing just six hits. He also set a season-high with five strikeouts. Constanza finished 3-6 to lead the way offensively (his third three-hit performance in as many days), while Head had a pair of hits and drove in three runs. Rodriguez went 2-4 with a walk and Hall was 1-2 and walked three times.
The Aeros will enjoy a rare day off Monday before getting back to work and hosting the Harrisburg Senators Tuesday evening at 7:05 p.m. Hector Rondon (3-0, 1.10 ERA) will take the hill for Akron while Harrisburg counters with left-hander Justin Jones (1-1, 2.38 ERA). The game broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 WARF-AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board...
Eastern League Stories from April 26, 2009
- Aeros Falter Late in 7-6 Loss - Akron RubberDucks
- Bats Come Alive As Baysox Avoid Sweep - Bowie Baysox
- Portland loses an epic contest, 20-15 to Connecticut! - Portland Sea Dogs
- Tejada Powers B-Mets to 4-3 Win over Fisher Cats - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Defenders Win 20-15 & Series 3-1 - Connecticut Defenders
- Mets rally for 4-3 win over Fisher Cats - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Curve rally for extra inning win - Altoona Curve
- Trenton falls to new Britain 11-3 - Trenton Thunder
- Aeros Notes - Akron RubberDucks
- Ian Desmond to DL and Adrian Alaniz joins Sens - Harrisburg Senators
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
