Aeros one win from title
September 17, 2005 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
The ball flopped off Jon Van Every's bat like a chip shot, heading for the left-field line in a slow, lazy arc. The two-out cue shot stayed in the air long enough Friday night for the 5,868 fans at Canal Park to hold their collective breath. When the seventh-inning dunker finally touched down just inside the foul line, the crowd erupted, and with good cause. Van Every had just collected the only extra-base hit in the game, accounting for the runs that propelled the Akron Aeros to a 2-0 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs in Game 3 of the Eastern League Championship Series.
So on a night in which the pitching on both sides was brilliant, it was Akron that took advantage of one of the few openings. The victory gives the Aeros the lead in the best-of-five series with the opportunity to win their second title in three years on Saturday night.
Portland starter Wade Miller, making his second rehab start of the week, along with Anibal Sanchez (0-1) and Craig Hansen combined to pitch a two-hitter, matching an all-time franchise playoff low. The only other time the Sea Dogs allowed two hits in a playoff game was on Sept. 9, 1997 in the finals at Harrisburg, a game they also ended up losing (2-1). Harrisburg won the fourth game that year to clinch the crown.
Akron starter Brian Slocum and relievers Travis Foley (1-0), Chris Cooper and Edward Mujica (second save) were just as effective, limiting Portland to five hits. It was the sixth playoff shutout in franchise history and the first since Game Four of the 2003 semifinals, when the Aeros topped Altoona, 4-0, in the series finale.
"I was just asking for Van Every's hit to get down before it went foul," Akron manager Torey Lovullo said. "You know, there's the old adage that baseball is a game of inches, and it certainly was that way tonight."
After putting only four runners on base through six innings, the Aeros finally broke through in the seventh. Ryan Mulhern negotiated a one-out walk, though Sanchez appeared to get out of the inning when Pat Osborn hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Mulhern was running on the pitch, but Ramirez's throw to second baseman Scott Youngbauer appeared to beat him to the bag. Umpire Jake Uhlenhopp called Mulhern safe, giving the Aeros a pair of runners.
Shaun Larkin followed with a fielder's choice that put runners on the corners, setting the stage for the left-handed hitting Van Every. The blooper landed in the Bermuda Triangle between Ramirez, third baseman Chad Spann and the outstretched arm of diving left fielder Chris Durbin. The ball hit just in front of Durbin's glove and rolled into the corner for a two-run double, Akron's second and final hit.
"I was just trying to make an easy swing on it like I had been doing all year," Van Every said. "My downfall has been when I try to do too much. I'm lucky I hit it where no one was playing. I found the hole, and that might have been the first easy hit I had all year."
Portland manager Todd Claus said he had no problem with Durbin's positioning or how the play unfolded. He also wouldn't take Uhlenhopp to task over the call, saying he "didn't think umpires decide baseball games in the newspapers."
"What can you say?" Claus said. "You have a guy at the plate who has struck out over 160 times, 163 to be exact, this year. I had all the confidence in the world with a strikeout pitcher going against him. Give him credit, he found the hole and Durbin gave it everything he had.
"He's not the greatest runner in the world, but he gave us everything he had. What more can you ask from a guy who ran all out and dove?"
Portland had a chance to even things in the eighth. But Cooper came on in relief of Foley and, with runners on the corners, got Youngbauer to hit into an inning-ending double play. The Sea Dogs went quietly in the ninth and, despite Claus shaking up the lineup - Jared Sandberg sat in favor of Matt Van Der Bosch and Ramirez moved back up to fifth in the order - saw their scoreless streak stretch to 15 innings.
Miller went five innings, looking sharp during his 64-pitch (37 strikes) effort. He allowed only one hit (an Osborn liner to left-center), struck out six and walked two, both coming in his final inning. He faced the minimum through four frames, thanks to picking off Osborn after his second-inning single and catcher Alberto Concepcion nailing Ivan Ochoa when he tried to steal second after reaching on Miller's throwing error in the third.
The Red Sox right-hander got Javier Herrera looking with runners on first and second to end the fifth before giving way to Sanchez.
"I felt all right but not great," said Miller, adding he's ready to rejoin the Red Sox and does not need another simulated game before pitching again in the Major Leagues. "My arm was a little tired coming into this. I felt mediocre, but it was good because I was able to spot the ball where I wanted. I threw it where I wanted and made them swing at my pitch. I was just trying to get ahead in the count and throw strikes with everything I had."
Akron starter Brian Slocum, who battled blister problems for much of the latter part of the regular season, was no less effective, pitching into the seventh before turning things over to Foley. Slocum allowed four hits over 6 1/3 innings, walking four (two of which came in the seventh) while striking out three. He also picked off a runner (Van Der Bosch in fifth) and benefited from Herrera nailing David Murphy trying to steal second in the second.
Slocum left after issuing an intentional walk to Murphy, but Portland couldn't capitalize. Spann swung at Foley's first offering and grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Eastern League Stories from September 17, 2005
- Aeros one win from title - Akron RubberDucks
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