EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Aerodynamics

July 22, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Not Erie Again...The Erie SeaWolves won for the 11th time in 13 tries against the Aeros last night, defeating Akron by the final score of 5-2. The Aeros took the early lead with a pair of RBI groundouts in the third inning as a walk and two errors loaded the bases, but the SeaWolves stormed back to take hold of the game yet again. Bobby Livingston (7-5) took the loss despite earning his second quality start in four outings with the Aeros, while the Akron offense went hitless over the final four frames. Including a three-game sweep May 29th-31st and the four-game sweep July 10th-13th, Erie has now taken nine in a row from Akron. It is the longest current losing streak for the Aeros against any team in the Eastern League, besting an ongoing seven-game losing streak since August 12th, 2007 against the New Britain Rock Cats.

Ducks on the Pond...It has been a struggle for the Aeros to take advantage of their opportunities in the past few weeks, as they are now batting .202 with runners in scoring position in the last 11 games and are batting .179 with RISP in the 13 games against Erie (including an 0-12 effort last night). Akron ranks seventh in the Eastern League at .255 in this category for the year, while opponents are at .248, good for fifth in the league.

Big Mac on Fire...Akron LF Matt McBride had a pair of hits including a double yesterday, giving him his seventh multi-hit game in the month of July and continuing a recent hot streak for the 24-year-old out of Bethlehem, PA. Over his past 11 contests he is now batting .450 (18-40) to go along with 11 runs scored, seven doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI. The product of Lehigh University is now batting .269 in 58 games with the Aeros, leads the Indians player development system with 74 RBI, and is tied for second in all of minor league baseball with 32 doubles combined between Class A Kinston and Akron.

Youth is Served...The youngest player on the team this season, 21-year-old SS Carlos Rivero has enjoyed increased success at the plate during July. Rivero was batting just .196 on June 25th, but has 25 hits in his last 25 games to boost his average to .222 entering play tonight (hitting .294 over that span). The native of Venezuela has also been outstanding in the field, leading all Eastern League shortstops with a .974 fielding percentage.

Zone Defense...After committing just 17 errors in a 35-games stretch from the second game of a doubleheader May 17th to June 23rd, the Aeros now have 31 errors in their last 28 games including seven multi-error games. The team had another three errors last night, including a crucial error by C Carlos Santana which led to two huge insurance runs for Erie in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Aeros are now 26-23 when committing an error and 7-12 when having multiple errors, although the club is still on pace for only 114 errors, which would be just three more than the franchise record set last season.

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Eastern League Stories from July 22, 2009


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