Aeros Media Notes
September 16, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
Playoff Game #5 - Road Game #3 - Wednesday, September 16, 2009 - 6:35 P.M. Akron Leads Best-of-Five Series 1-0
Akron Aeros (4-0, 89-53) at Connecticut Defenders (3-2, 83-59)
Cleveland Indians San Francisco Giants
Today's Starters: Akron - RHP Jeanmar Gomez (1-0, 1.50 ERA)
Connecticut - RHP Daryl Maday (0-0, 9.00 ERA)
Upcoming Probables:
Thursday: OFF DAY
Friday: AKR LHP Eric Berger (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. CON LHP Craig Clark (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday (if necessary): AKR LHP Scott Barnes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. CON LHP Ari Ronick (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday (if necessary): AKR RHP Josh Tomlin (2-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. CON TBA
The Book on Jeanmar Gomez... - High Strikeouts - 8 (set four times), last 8/2 at Binghamton - Most Hits Allowed - 12, set 5/31 at Erie - Longest Outing - 9.0 IP, set 5/21 at Trenton - Most Walks Allowed - 5, set 7/23 at Erie
- Shortest Outing - 3.0 IP, set 7/4 at Harrisburg - HR Allowed (Season) - 11
- Delivered the first perfect game and first individual no-hitter in Aeros franchise history May 21st at Trenton
- Honored as the Eastern League's Pitcher of the Year for 2009 (tied for sixth in EL in wins and ranked third in ERA)
- Claimed his first win since August 8th in game two of the SDCS against Reading, allowing two hits in the first five innings
- Throws a four-seam fastball between 89-93 mph, as well as a curve and change
- Aeros are 1-0 in the post-season when Gomez starts, and were 14-8 when he started in the regular season
- Last time out: Earned the WIN in a 6-2 victory vs. Reading 9/10 (6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 GIDP)
UAEROS REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN ('09)
CURRENT STREAK...................................................... W8 LONGEST WINNING STREAK......................... 8 (8/31 - current)
LAST 5 GAMES............................................................. 5-0 LONGEST LOSING STREAK.................................... 6 (7/9 - 7/16) LAST 10 GAMES........................................................... 9-1 BEST RECORD.............................................. 89-53 (September 7th) HOME RECORD............................................................ 46-23 WORST RECORD..................................................... 2-1 (April 10th) ROAD RECORD............................................................ 43-30 SEASON vs. CONNECTICUT....................................................... 4-2
Aerodynamics...
Staying Perfect...The Aeros remained undefeated in the post-season last night, claiming the opener of the Eastern League Championship Series 7-2 over the host Connecticut Defenders at Dodd Stadium. RHP Josh Tomlin delivered his second outstanding start in the playoffs, surrendering just two run on five hits over seven strong innings. The offense also got him plenty of support early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and knocking Defenders starter Ben Snyder from the game in the top of the fourth. CF Jose Constanza got the Aeros on the board with a sacrifice fly in the second, SS Carlos Rivero and RF John Drennen delivered back-to-back RBI singles with two down in the third, and 1B Beau Mills socked a two-run homer in the fourth. Akron has now won a franchise-record 12 straight games, although the legitimacy of said record is in some dispute since eight of the wins came in the regular season and the last four have come here in the post-season.
Turning Point...With Akron holding a 5-0 lead yesterday, Tomlin ran into his only major jam in the bottom of the fifth. Eddy Martinez-Esteve was robbed of a base hit on a leaping catch by Carlos Rivero at short to start the inning, but Brandon Crawford reached on an infield single and Ramon Castro followed with a knock to right to put runners at first and second. Bobby Felmy then lined out sharply to right field for the second out as Crawford tagged and went to third, and Jackson Williams got Connecticut on the board with an RBI single down the right field line (a throwing error on Drennen moved the runners to second and third). That set the stage for batting champ Brock Bond, who led the circuit with a .333 mark but hit just .048 (1-21) in six games against Akron. Tomlin won the battle again however, striking out Bond on a nasty 2-2 curveball and deflating the Defenders. Connecticut didn't get the potential tying run to the on-deck circle for the remainder of the game.
A Winning Combination...The main question entering these playoffs was if the Akron offense could support a pitching staff that led the Eastern League in team ERA during the year. Consider the question answered with a resounding "YES!" The Aeros are hitting .342 through the first four games of the post-season, with six regulars hitting .300 or better. 3B Lonnie Chisenhall is leading the way with an incredible .563 average (9-16) after batting just .183 during the regular season, while Drennen is hitting .471 (8-17). Akron has 31 runs on 51 hits in the playoffs, while allowing only 11 runs on 27 hits.
A Flair for the Dramatic...The Mahoning Valley Scrappers got a thrilling win over Staten Island to stay alive in the New York-Penn League finals last night, as catcher Chun Chen delivered a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th to force the deciding game three tonight at Eastwood Field. NYP All-Star Clayton Cook will start for the Scrappers tonight at 7:05 p.m.
Eastern League Stories from September 16, 2009
- Rodriguez Bomb in 9th Propels Aeros - Akron RubberDucks
- Defenders Fall In Game Two 7-6 In Stunning Fashion - Connecticut Defenders
- Aeros Media Notes - Akron RubberDucks
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