Aeros Halt Bowie, Claim Finale 2-1
May 13, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
AKRON, OH - Josh Tomlin and the Akron pitching staff shut down the Baysox for a 2-1 victory in front of 7,838 fans Wednesday at Canal Park, ending Bowie's chances of picking up the three-game sweep. The Aeros quickly snapped their first losing streak of the season with stellar pitching and timely hitting, and increased their pace as the best team in professional baseball. Akron came into the day with the best winning percentage at any level and now stands at 23-7, while the Baysox dropped to 13-17.
Tomlin and Bowie left-hander Troy Patton matched each other pitch-for-pitch as the game remained scoreless until the Aeros struck for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The rally started with a lead-off double to left field by Jerad Head, and a two-out hit by newcomer Matt McBride drove him home. McBride made a heads up move to advance to second on the throw to the plate, and red-hot Nick Weglarz gave Akron the 2-0 lead with a two-out single of his own.
Tomlin was near perfect all evening, and limited the Baysox to one measly run in the top of the seventh inning. Melvin Dorta's one-out double snapped a streak of 15 straight outs for Tomlin, and Brandon Snyder, the league-leader in batting average at .376, ripped a two-out double of his own to cut the margin in half at 2-1. That spelled the end for Tomlin as Josh Judy came on in relief, and he stranded Snyder as Ambiorix Concepcion grounded out on three pitches. Miguel Abreu led off the eighth with a single and proceeded to steal second and third, but Judy struck out Robert Valido to retire the side and closer Vinnie Pestano then worked a perfect ninth to close the deal.
The 24-year-old Tomlin improved to 4-1 on the year with the victory, pitching a season-high 6.2 innings and holding Bowie to only five hits and one run. He walked one and tied his season-high with eight strikeouts. The native of Tyler, TX worked into the seventh inning for the first time all season, and finished the day with 75 strikes in 98 pitches. Patton (3-1) was excellent as well, going six strong innings and holding the Aeros to five hits, two runs, and two walks while also striking out a pair for his third straight quality start. Patton shut out the Aeros in his two previous outings this season, and ran his streak of consecutive scoreless innings against the team to 16.2 innings before the two runs in the sixth. Pestano's save was his 10th of the year and his first since April 29th.
Weglarz finished 2-3 with a walk and an RBI for his fifth multi-hit game in nine contests this month, while McBride's RBI was his minor league-leading 37th between Akron and Class A Kinston. Head and Niuman Romero both collected two hits also as the Aeros improved to 8-1 on the season in one-run games, by far the best mark in the Eastern League.
The Aeros begin an eight-day road trip Thursday in Altoona with game one of a five-game series. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. as Akron's Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 0.75 ERA) will match-up against Curve lefty Kyle Bloom (0-0, 4.15 ERA). The broadcast begins at 6:20 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 WARF-AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
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