EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Aerodynamics

Published on July 30, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Tic-Tac-Toe...The Aeros won their third straight from the Erie SeaWolves last night, claiming game three of this four-game series by the final score of 5-1 at Canal Park. After winning just three of the first 15 games with Erie this season, Akron is now on the verge of its first four-game sweep since July 4th-7th, 2008 at Binghamton. The SeaWolves got on the board in the first inning, as recently acquired RHP Connor Graham walked three of the first four batters he faced and Alex Avila scored Andy Dirks with a groundout. That would be it for the dangerous Erie offense however, as the Aeros took the lead for good with a quartet of runs with two down in the bottom of the third. 3B Jerad Head had an important at-bat in the inning, tying the game with an RBI fielder's choice and hustling to beat out a potential double play and extend the frame. LF Nick Weglarz then drew a walk, C Carlos Santana laced a sinking liner to right for a two-run double, and 1B Beau Mills followed two pitches later an RBI two-bagger of his own. CF Jose Constanza drove in the final run of the night with an RBI single in the seventh.

Connor's Condition...In his Double-A debut, Graham showed flashes of brilliance as he lit up the assorted radar guns behind home plate in his 3.1 innings of work. The 6'7" right-hander needed 34 pitches to get through the first inning but just 26 to mow down Erie in the next two frames before departing with one on and one out in the fourth because of a recurring blister on his pitching hand. Graham finished with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings and retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced.

Quite the Relief...Once Graham left, the Akron bullpen took care of everything to preserve the win. RHP Steven Wright stayed perfect and improved to 8-0 with 2.2 shutout innings, RHP Zach Putnam followed with four Ks in two scoreless frames of his own, and RHP Josh Judy fanned a pair in a scoreless ninth. The relief corps has now posted a .179 ERA and .193 batting average against in the last 14 games, while the 14 strikeouts last night tied a season-high for the staff as a whole.

Santana on Fire...An offensive star yet again last night, Santana finished 1-4 with the two-RBI double in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-best seven games, his longest run since a 10-gamer with Kinston in August 2008. The switch-hitting catcher and native of the Dominican Republic has now recorded a hit in 14 of his last 16 contests and is batting .333 with five home runs, 14 RBI, and an .821 slugging percentage in 12 games since the All-Star Break.

Mowing them Down...Last night's 14 punch-outs marked the third time this month the pitching staff had reached that mark in a single game, and the Aeros have now recorded 175 strikeouts in their past 21 games, an average of 8.3 per contest. Akron averaged just 6.6 strikeouts per game in the first 84 games of the season, and notched 10 or more strikeouts in a game on just 13 occasions. In the past 21 games however, Akron has reached double-digit Ks 11 times.

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Eastern League Stories from July 30, 2009


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