EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Aeros Notes

July 24, 2008 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Game #105 - Away Game #54 - Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 12:05 P.M.

Akron Aeros (63-41) at Altoona Curve (46-57)

Cleveland Indians Pittsburgh Pirates

Today's Starters: Akron - RHP Kevin Dixon (8-5, 4.05 ERA)

Altoona - RHP Dan Reichert (0-1, 6.75 ERA)

Upcoming Probables:

Friday: AKR LHP Scott Lewis (4-2, 3.45 ERA) vs. BIN LHP Mike Antonini (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Saturday: AKR RHP Frank Herrmann (8-3, 4.85 ERA) vs. BIN RHP Tobi Stoner (1-4, 5.44 ERA)

Sunday: AKR RHP Steven Wright (2-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. BIN RHP Bobby Parnell (9-5, 4.43 ERA)

Monday: AKR LHP Ryan Edell (5-6, 4.20 ERA) vs. ERI TBA

The Book on Kevin Dixon...

1B- High Strikeouts - 9, set 5/30 vs. Bowie - Most Hits Allowed - 9, set 4/30 vs. Erie

- Longest Outing - 8.0 IP, set 5/20 vs. Altoona - Most Walks Allowed - 5, set 4/19 at Bowie

- Shortest Outing - 2.1 IP, set 4/24 vs. Harrisburg - HR Allowed (Season) - 11

Pitched in relief for the first time this year in his last appearance, following the rehab start of Cleveland's Fausto Carmona

- Reeled off four straight wins from June 27th-July 12th, going 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26.0 innings

Throws a four-seam fastball between 87-92 mph, as well as a sinker (two-seamer), changeup, slider and splitter

Aeros are 13-5 when Dixon starts

Last time out: Earned the SAVE in a 7-2 victory vs. Erie 7/19 (4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

UAEROS REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN ('08)

CURRENT STREAK - ................................................. L1 LONGEST WINNING STREAK - .......................... 10 (6/4 - 6/14)

LAST 5 GAMES - ......................................................... 1-4 LONGEST LOSING STREAK - ... 3 (set 3x, last 7/20 - 7/21 (2)) LAST 10 GAMES - ...................................................... 3-7 BEST RECORD - ................................................... 61-35 (July 14th)

HOME RECORD - ........................................................ 31-20 WORST RECORD - .............................................. 8-13 (April 25th)

ROAD RECORD - ........................................................ 32-21 SEASON vs. ALTOONA - .......................................................... 10-7

Aerodynamics...

Too Little, Too Early...The Aeros got off to a good start last night, using a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning from All-Star 3B Wes Hodges to jump out to an early advantage. Akron was unable to carry the momentum the rest of the way however, as the Curve came back to score the final six runs in Altoona's 6-3 triumph. CF Trevor Crowe enjoyed the biggest night offensively, collecting his team-leading fifth four-hit night of the season (and his first in almost a month, dating to June 25th). The other eight hitters in the lineup managed to go just 5-28 (a .179 batting average) however, against the Curve pitching duo of Luis Munoz and Juan Mateo. The Aeros mustered just three singles following the home run from Hodges, and did not get a runner into scoring position over the final five innings.

Grounded...With the Aeros struggling to score runs as they have since the All-Star break, they can ill-afford miscues when they have runners on the base paths. That's exactly what happened last night though, as Crowe was erased after all four of his hits. The native of Portland, OR was caught stealing second base in the first inning, was forced out on double plays in both the third and fifth innings, and then got picked off of first in the eighth. The Aeros have lost six of eight since the break, and have scored three runs or less in five of those contests. The pitching staff has certainly done its part by holding the opposition to three runs or less in five of the last eight games as well, yet Akron has dropped a string of close, low-scoring games. The Aeros have been out-scored by just a single run (30-29) over this recent stretch.

Roster Move...The Aeros made another roster move today, transferring LHP Ryan Edell to Class A Mahoning Valley and receiving RHP Kevin Dixon from the Scrappers. Dixon will start today for Akron.

A Ray of Hope...Although with last night's loss the Aeros have now officially lost their first road series since May 2nd-4th, there is a better than average chance that Akron can come away with a victory here in the series finale today. That's because the Aeros are 17-11 during the day this season, and the .607 winning percentage is even higher than Akron's .605 winning percentage in night games (the Aeros are 46-30 in the evening).

Failed Experiment...We here in the Aeros Media Relations department are nothing if not responsible, so based on recent events we felt it was only appropriate to put the Great Magic Number Countdown of 2008 on indefinite hiatus. Since introducing the countdown to the media notes last Sunday Akron has gone 1-5, which led us to believe that the baseball gods were none too pleased with our bravado. So, we apologize, our bad, we'll try it again in a few weeks.

Did You Know...The Aeros are 18-5 in one-run games, but just 14-12 in two-run games.

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Eastern League Stories from July 24, 2008


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