EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Aerodynamics

Published on June 26, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Walking Off with a Walk...It was yet another close battle with the Trenton Thunder, but Akron was able to walk away with the 4-3 victory in the rubber match of a three-game series by scoring the final four runs of the contest Thursday afternoon at Canal Park in front of 5,555 fans. LHP Ryan Edell struggled early on while allowing three runs and seven hits in the first four innings, but calmed down to earn his fourth quality start of the season as Trenton managed only one hit in the final five frames. The Aeros struck for single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to draw within a run before rehabbing DH Asdrubal Cabrera took control in the late going. Cabrera started the tying rally in the seventh with an infield single and a stolen base before scoring from second on an infield single by 1B Beau Mills, and he then scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Thunder reliever J.B. Cox walked RF Matt McBride with the bases loaded the give Akron the come-from-behind win.

World Travelers...Aeros LF Nick Weglarz and C Carlos Santana will represent Cleveland in the 11th annual XM Futures Game as part of All-Star Weekend Sunday, July 12th at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Both will play for the World Team in the exhibition game, which serves as a showcase for the top talents in minor league baseball (52 Major League all-stars and 190 current big leaguers have played in the game). Weglarz, who has homered in three straight games, is hitting .264 with 11 homers and 51 RBI (tied for second in the EL) while Santana is batting .263 with 11 homers and 46 RBI and is first in the league with 50 walks and tied for first with 46 runs scored. Weglarz also tied a franchise record with four walks yesterday, becoming just the 12th player to do so overall and the first since Jason Cooper and Corey Smith both did it July 16th, 2004 against Erie.

Who Needs Starters...Aeros relievers tossed three innings of one-hit, shutout baseball yesterday, as RHP Carlton Smith spelled Edell for his sixth consecutive scoreless appearance and RHP Josh Judy earned his second win of the series with a perfect ninth. Impressively, it was the 14th win for an Akron reliever in the past 33 games, and on the season the bullpen has a 24-8 record with 24 saves and a 3.24 ERA. During this stretch of 33 games the Aeros have gone 19-14, although the starting pitchers are only 5-9 with a 3.89 ERA and 4.2 innings pitched per start (hence the large number of wins going to the ‘pen).

On Pace for Greatness...With the victory yesterday, Akron remained in a tie for the best record in professional baseball this season and the team is in line for the best season in recent Eastern League history. Thursday's game marked the halfway point in the season, and the Aeros are on pace to win a franchise-record 96 games. The last team in the EL to win 96 games was Reading in 1983, although Akron would have to win 97 games to surpass Harrisburg's .681 winning percentage in 1993. On the individual side, Weglarz (51 RBI) and closer Vinnie Pestano (20 saves) also are on pace to break the record-setting 2008 seasons of Wes Hodges (97 RBI) and Randy Newsom (28).

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Eastern League Stories from June 26, 2009


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