Altoona Sweeps Tuesday Twin Bill with Aeros
August 4, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
ALTOONA, PA - The first-place Altoona Curve defeated the Aeros twice Tuesday evening, earning a 4-3 victory in Game 1 followed by a 3-2 victory in the 10th inning in the finale. Akron ace Alex White took the loss in the opener in front of 4,542 fans at Blair County Ballpark while a quality start from lefty Matt Packer in his Akron debut was not enough in the extra-inning finale. Akron (56-52) has now lost four straight and moved into a fourth place tie in the Western Division with Harrisburg as Altoona improved to 63-46.
Altoona started the scoring in the bottom of the first against White in the opener. An RBI single by Andrew Lambo preceded an Aeros outburst against Curve lefty Justin Wilson in the second. Four hits, highlighted by back-to-back two-out hits from center fielder Jordan Henry and second baseman Jason Kipnis, gave the visitors an early 3-1 lead.
The lead did not last long as the Curve responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and runners on first and third base. Yung-Chi Chen later delivered a two-run single and Chase d'Arnaud provided the game-winner on a base hit to right-center.
Wilson (9-6) retired the final 10 batters he faced through his six innings pitched, earning the crucial win while recovering from the rough second inning. White (6-5) allowed four earned runs for the first time in 14 Double-A outings, permitting seven hits in five frames. Michael Dubee recorded his second save of the year with a perfect seventh inning.
In the nightcap, Packer and Altoona starter Jared Hughes battled through the first two frames before Akron began the scoring in the third. Shortstop Cristo Arnal singled to begin the frame, stole both second and third and then scored on an error by Josh Harrison. The Curve tied the score at 1-1 on a run-scoring fielder's choice in the bottom of that inning.
The Aeros used a small ball attack again in the fourth when Kipnis initiated the brief rally with a single. He moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on a Lonnie Chisenhall fly out and then scored on a sacrifice fly from first baseman Beau Mills. The lead stood until the bottom of the sixth when Harrison plated Chen with a clutch single to right-center.
The game advanced to extra innings where both bullpens maintained the dramatic tie until the bottom of the 10th. Chen continued his impressive evening with a single to left, moved to second on a controversial balk and scored on d'Arnaud's walk-off base hit to right.
Dustin Molleken (4-4) earned the win for the Curve with by allowing a lone single in the top of the final frame. Reliever Bryan Price (4-3) took the loss in his 2.1 innings, permitting three hits and three walks overall. Packer was dominant after receiving the promotion from Class A Lake County earlier in the day, limiting the powerful Altoona offense to just two runs (one earned) on six hits with six strikeouts in seven efficient innings pitched.
Kipnis starred offensively in the two games for the Aeros, finishing 4-for-7 with a triple, a run scored and two RBI. Henry extended his hitting streak to 10 games with two singles while the team finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the night's second loss.
This four-game series continues Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Blair County Ballpark between the Aeros and the Curve. Akron has yet to officially announce a starting pitcher to face off against Altoona's Rudy Owens (8-6, 2.92 ERA). Join Ken Carman for Wednesday's radio broadcast beginning at 5:15 p.m. on Fox Sports 1350 AM and at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.
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