EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Altoona Wins Eighth Straight, Beats Aeros 5-2

Published on May 26, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


AKRON, OH - The Aeros faltered yet again Wednesday night by the score of 5-2 at Canal Park as the visiting Altoona Curve won for the eighth game in a row. An early pitcher's duel eventually turned in an epic 3-hour and 24-minute contest before 1,480 fans in downtown Akron. First-place Altoona (30-16) now leads the last-place Aeros (18-28) by 12 games in the Western Division.

After three innings of scoreless baseball, Akron left-handed starter Kelvin De La Cruz made the first mistake of the night. Curve catcher Hector Gimenez smashed a one-out 0-1 pitch from De La Cruz into the canal in left-center for his second homer in as many days. Altoona then knocked out De La Cruz the next inning in the top of the fifth. Speedy Curve shortstop Chase D'Arnaud reached base on an error and promptly stole second base. Josh Harrison scored him with a single to give Altoona a 2-0 lead and De La Cruz left the game two batters later.

Akron finally put a run on the scoreboard in the bottom of that fifth as the impressive lower third of the batting order struck again. A one-out walk to right fielder Jerad Head began the rally and he swiped the next base on a John Drennen strikeout. Catcher Damaso Espino then plated Head with an RBI single to right, cutting the early deficit to just one.

A wild and crazy half inning ensued in the top of the sixth in the one of the longest Aeros games of the season. Three bunt attempts, three infield singles and two throwing errors epitomized an agonizingly long sequence against Akron reliever Omar Aguilar. The Curve increased the margin to 5-1 by the end of the frame, which also ended with a string of three consecutive outs.

Head helped the Aeros produce the final run of the night with a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh against Altoona reliever Tony Watson. Akron would also threaten with several runners in the eighth and ninth innings but would leave a pair of men on base each time. The loss was the third straight for the purple and black as well as the sixth in a row at Canal Park against the Curve.

Highly touted Altoona starter Bryan Morris, the minor league leader in ERA, improved to 2-0 by allowing just one run in 5.2 innings pitched. De La Cruz (1-3) took the loss as he reached 95 pitches after just 4.2 IP because of five walks and seven strikeouts. Head and Drennen each finished 2-3 on the night while Jared Goedert continued his hot tear with a single to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest active mark in Double-A.

The Aeros will look to salvage at least one win in this series with the finale Thursday morning beginning at 10:35 a.m. It is the final Education Day of the year presented by Applebee's with Akron starter Paolo Espino (4-2, 4.05 ERA) facing Altoona's Jared Hughes (7-1, 3.45 ERA). The Aeros also expect to break their 2010-high in attendance with an anticipated crowd of over 8,300 fans. The game broadcast begins at 10:20 a.m. on Sports Radio 1350 AM and online at www.akronaeros.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at (330) 253-5151.

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Eastern League Stories from May 26, 2010


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