Aeros Media Notes
September 4, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
Game #139 - Home Game #66 - Friday, September 4, 2009 - 7:05 P.M. Akron Aeros (85-53) vs. Erie SeaWolves (71-66)
Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers
Today's Starters: Akron - RHP Josh Tomlin (13-9, 4.30 ERA)
Erie - RHP Jared Gayhart (1-0, 4.76 ERA)
Upcoming Probables:
Saturday: AKR RHP Jeanmar Gomez (10-4, 3.38 ERA) vs. ERI RHP L.J. Gagnier (1-0, 2.84 ERA)
Sunday: AKR RHP Connor Graham (1-3, 5.13 ERA) vs. ERI RHP Jonah Nickerson (8-12, 5.37 ERA)
Monday: AKR LHP Scott Barnes (1-2, 6.66 ERA) vs. ERI LHP Ramon Garcia (4-3, 5.76 ERA)
Tuesday: OFF DAY
The Book on Josh Tomlin... - High Strikeouts - 8 (set three times), last 5/19 at Trenton - Most Hits Allowed - 12, set 4/29 vs. Harrisburg - Longest Start - 7.0 IP (set five times), last 8/11 at Connecticut - Most Walks Allowed - 3, set 4/29 vs. HAR and 7/13 at ERI
- Shortest Start - 3.1 IP, set 8/22 at Erie - HR Allowed (Season) - 20
Activated from the disabled list today after missing a week with a left calf strain Leads the league with 13 wins and ranks second with 116 strikeouts Needs a victory tonight to tie Paul Byrd for second on the franchise's single-season wins list (Byrd had 14 in 1992) Throws a four-seam fastball between 88-92 mph, as well as a curve, slider, and change Aeros are 15-9 when Tomlin starts Last time out: Earned the WIN in an 11-5 victory at Bowie 8/27 (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 WP) UAEROS REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN ('09)
CURRENT STREAK...................................................... W4 LONGEST WINNING STREAK....... 7 (4/17-4/24 (1) and 7/27 - 8/2)
LAST 5 GAMES............................................................. 4-1 LONGEST LOSING STREAK.................................... 6 (7/9 - 7/16) LAST 10 GAMES........................................................... 6-4 BEST RECORD.............................................. 85-53 (September 3rd) HOME RECORD............................................................ 42-23 WORST RECORD..................................................... 2-1 (April 10th) ROAD RECORD............................................................ 43-30 SEASON vs. ERIE.......................................................................... 9-14
Aerodynamics...
Baseballs and Broomsticks...The Aeros polished off a three-game sweep of Altoona with a 4-0 shutout last night, getting some clutch pitching from starter Eric Berger and relievers Steven Wright and Brian Grening as the trio combined to strand 13 Curve runners. Berger left runners on the corners in the first before stranding two men in scoring position in the second, and Akron got him all the support he needed with three runs in the fourth thanks to consecutive run-scoring triples from LF Jerad Head and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall, plus a sacrifice fly from SS Carlos Rivero. The Curve loaded the bases in both the fifth and sixth but couldn't score either time, as Berger struck out Miles Durham to end the fifth and Wright induced a double play from Milver Reyes to end the sixth. The Aeros then capped the scoring in the seventh as Rivero led off with a single and scored on 2B Josh Rodriguez's two-out RBI knock to center.
True Value...Akron C Carlos Santana was named Eastern League Most Valuable Player today, just the third Aero to ever win the award (following Jordan Brown in 2007 and Victor Martinez in 2002). It is Santana's second straight league MVP award, as he also claimed the honor last year in the California League. Santana has been a force at the plate all season, batting .289 with 21 home runs and 94 RBI while appearing in 127 games. He currently leads the league with a .518 slugging percentage, a .930 OPS, and 89 walks. He ranks second in the league in homers, RBI, and on-base percentage (.412), is third in runs scored (89), and fourth in both extra-base hits (52) and total bases (217). The 23-year-old has also been excellent defensively, throwing out 30% of would-be base stealers to rank fifth in the league in that category. Santana was the starting catcher for the Southern Division in this year's Eastern League All-Star game at Trenton, appeared in the prestigious Futures Game as part of Major League All-Star Weekend, and was selected as the catcher for the EL's season ending All-Star team last week. He has already set a new franchise record for walks in a season (breaking Ken Ramos' mark of 82 set in 1992), currently ranks fourth on Akron's single-season list in on-base percentage, and is only three RBI away from tying Wes Hodges' single-season record of 97.
Atomic Red Hots...2B Josh Rodriguez is batting .455 (10-22) with three multi-hit games during his season-high, five-game hitting streak. His usual partner on the middle infield, SS Carlos Rivero, is hitting .364 (8-22) over his last five games with three doubles and three runs scored, and has driven in a run in a season-high five straight games.
Heads, Carolina...The Class A Kinston Indians are still battling for a spot in the Carolina League post-season, and enter the final series of the regular season tied with the Salem Red Sox for the wild card lead in the Southern Division. The K-Tribe close at Potomac while Salem will host first-half champion Lynchburg.
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Eastern League Stories from September 4, 2009
- Fisher Cats pitchers strike out 15 batters in 14-inning loss at Portland - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Some magic in the teal, Dogs win in 14-innings 3-2 - Portland Sea Dogs
- Senators Double Down On Baysox - Bowie Baysox
- Defenders Win 12-6 - Connecticut Defenders
- Tomlin, Constanza lead Aeros in 5-1 Win - Akron RubberDucks
- Paniagua Perfect, B-Mets Open Home Stand with 7-2 Win - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Trenton loses 8-7 heartbreaker - Trenton Thunder
- Curve skid hits six as Altoona falls - Altoona Curve
- Rock Cats Hold off Trenton, Creep Closer to Playoffs - New Britain Rock Cats
- Marrero leads Senators to 7-3 win over Bowie - Harrisburg Senators
- Montanez Rejoins Baysox - Bowie Baysox
- Erie SeaWolves at Akron Aeros - Erie SeaWolves
- Aeros Media Notes - Akron RubberDucks
- Aeros Promote Meyer; Tomlin Activated - Akron RubberDucks
- Carlos Santana of the Akron Aeros is Named the 2009 Eastern League Most Valuable Player - EL1
- Santana Named Eastern League MVP - Akron RubberDucks
- 2009 Curve Attendance Finishes on the Upswing - Altoona Curve
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