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EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Aeros Notes

July 17, 2008 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Game #97 - Home Game #48 - Thursday, July 17, 2008 - 7:05 P.M.

Akron Aeros (61-35) vs. Erie SeaWolves (39-58)

Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers

Today's Starters: Akron - RHP Steven Wright (1-1, 6.75 ERA)

Erie - RHP Josh Rainwater (6-4, 3.86 ERA)

Upcoming Probables:

Friday: AKR LHP Ryan Edell (5-5, 4.30 ERA) vs. ERI RHP Lauren Gagnier (0-1, 108.00 ERA)

Saturday: AKR RHP Kevin Dixon (8-5, 4.12 ERA) vs. ERI LHP Danny Christensen (5-7, 4.44 ERA)

Sunday: AKR LHP Scott Lewis (4-2, 3.73 ERA) vs. ERI LHP Luke French (5-10, 4.70 ERA)

Monday: AKR TBA at ALT TBA

The Book on Steven Wright...

1B- High Strikeouts - 7, set 7/10 vs. Bowie - Most Hits Allowed - 8, set 6/24 vs. Bowie

- Longest Outing - 5.2 IP, set 6/19 at Bowie - Most Walks Allowed - 3, set 6/29 vs. REA & 7/10 vs. BOW

- Shortest Outing - 4.0 IP, set 7/4 at BIN & 7/10 vs. BOW - HR Allowed (Season) - 6

- Has yet to put together a quality start since his promotion from Class A Kinston June 19th, but has struck out 20 in 24 innings

Struck out five of the first nine men he faced in his last start before allowing five of the next six to score, including two home runs

Throws a four-seam fastball between 88-92 mph, as well as a two-seamer, curve, slider, and change

Aeros are 4-1 when Wright starts

Last time out: Took a NO-DECISION in a 10-9 victory vs. Bowie 7/10 (4.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 2 HR)

UAEROS REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN ('08)

CURRENT STREAK - ................................................. W1 LONGEST WINNING STREAK - .......................... 10 (6/4 - 6/14)

LAST 5 GAMES - ......................................................... 4-1 LONGEST LOSING STREAK - 3 (5/2 - 5/4 and 6/24 (1) - 6/25) LAST 10 GAMES - ...................................................... 8-2 BEST RECORD - ................................................... 61-35 (July 14th)

HOME RECORD - ........................................................ 30-17 WORST RECORD - .............................................. 8-13 (April 25th)

ROAD RECORD - ........................................................ 31-18 SEASON vs. ERIE - ........................................................................ 7-4

Aerodynamics...

All-Star Break...Three Aeros played for the Southern Division in last night's Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game in Manchester, NH before a record crowd of 8,762 fans at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. In the 5-3 Northern Division triumph, Aeros 3B Wes Hodges was 0-2 on the night with a walk and grounded into a double play before being replaced by Bowie's Jeff Nettles in the bottom of the sixth. 2B Josh Rodriguez finished 0-4 in the game with a strikeout and also grounded into a double play, and RHP Scott Roehl surrendered one run on two hits with a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. New Britain's Luke Hughes pounded a three-run homer in the sixth and was the Top Star Award winner as the game's top player. New Hampshire's Travis Snider took the title in the Irving Oil Home Run Derby.

Olympic Bound...Two Aeros will represent their respective countries in the Beijing Olympics next month. LF Matt LaPorta, a native of Port Charlotte, FL will join the U.S. side as they look to re-capture Olympic glory after failing to qualify in the 2004 Athens Olympics. The United States took home the gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics with a roster that featured former Aero CC Sabathia and several other Major Leaguers including Ben Sheets, Roy Oswalt, and Brad Wilkerson. LaPorta hit is hitting .375 (6-16) with a home run and four RBI in four games with Akron. The other Aero to play in the 2008 Olympics will be RHP T.J. Burton, representing his native Canada. The Ottawa, ON native is 2-2 with a 4.77 ERA with Akron this season and is 22-24 over seven seasons in the organization. Former Aero RHP Jeff Stevens will join LaPorta on the U.S. side; he was 5-1 with one save and a 2.51 ERA with Akron before his June 3rd promotion to Class AAA Buffalo.

Look at the Schedule...With the season's "second half" starting tonight, the Aeros begin a stretch of 27 games in 25 days through August 10th that features no off-days and a pair of road double-headers. The Aeros also play 14 of their next 19 games at Canal Park, where they are 30-17. The first nine games of the second half are against opponents with losing records (Erie and Altoona), and Akron does not play third-place Bowie again this year and has just three games left with second-place Harrisburg. The Aeros have a winning record against every team in the Eastern League this season.

At the Break...The Aeros currently hold the Eastern League's best record at 61-35 (.635) and stand in first place in the Southern Division by 6.5 games over Bowie. The 6.5-game cushion is the largest division lead at the All-Star break in franchise history, but the Aeros have led the division at the break in six of the last seven years. After reaching their low-water mark of 13-18 on May 6th, Akron is 48-17 for an extraordinary .738 winning percentage, and they have lost just one of the 20 series since that date (dropped three of five to Bowie June 23rd-26th).

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