Altoona Defeats Aeros, Wins 9-3
Published on July 25, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
AKRON, OH - The visiting Altoona Curve defeated Akron Saturday night by the final score of 9-3 in front of a crowd of 4,889 fans at Canal Park. Cleveland Cavaliers legend Austin Carr attended the contest, but witnessed the Curve best the Aeros by collecting 11 hits and scoring nine unanswered runs in just their sixth win in 20 games against Akron on the season. The loss dropped the first-place Aeros to 62-39 while Altoona improved to an inversely proportionate 39-62.
Akron struck first with a monster first inning against Altoona lefty Kyle Bloom. Jose Constanza began the frame with a walk, and Nick Weglarz followed two batters later with an infield single. With two men on base and one out, Carlos Santana smacked his second home run in as many nights on a towering shot to left field, giving the Aeros a quick 3-0 lead. It was his team-leading 17th home run of the season for the switch-hitting catcher, whose solo home run in the sixth inning last night provided the winning margin.
The Curve would control the game from there however, as Bloom settled down and the red-hot Altoona offense collected a pair of two-run innings to take the lead. Jim Negrych got the visitors on the board with an RBI groundout in the top of the third and Jose Tabata followed with an RBI single to make it 3-2, his fifth hit in six at-bats in the series. Brian Friday then led off the fifth with a single to left, and clean-up hitter Pedro Alvarez belted a two-run homer in the Altoona half of the bullpen to put the Curve up 4-3.
The Aeros threatened in the seventh with one-out walks to Cristo Arnal and Constanza, but Curve relievers Sean Smith and Corey Hamman combined for the final two outs. Altoona then broke the game open in the top of the eighth against a pair of Akron relievers as Carlton Smith began the frame by allowing a double to Tabata and a pair of walks. Left-hander Matt Meyer came into the game and got an out with a fielder's choice at the plate, but a walk, a sacrifice fly, another walk and a three-run double to right field by Friday provided the final margin of the night.
Bloom (4-5) earned the victory for the Curve as he retired the final eight batters he faced in his five innings, while Akron starter Josh Tomlin (9-8) took the loss in his third attempt to become the second Eastern League pitcher with 10 wins on the season. Santana was the star for a second night in a row, as he finished 3-4 with the three-run home run, marking his first multi-hit contest since July 4th at Harrisburg. Constanza drew three walks and had an infield single in the ninth while Weglarz also collected a pair of hits, ending a recent slump that saw him bat .125 (7-56) over his previous 18 games.
The Eastern League-leading Aeros wrap up their three-game series with the Curve Sunday afternoon starting at 1:35 p.m. Scooby Doo will be on hand to entertain fans young and old courtesy of Cartoon Network and Time Warner Cable, and it's another Family Pack Day with four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four bags of chips for just $48. Akron left-hander Bobby Livingston (7-5, 4.72 ERA) and Yoslan Herrera (6-3, 3.34 ERA) of Altoona are the scheduled starters. The game broadcast begins at 1:20 p.m. on SportsRadio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
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