EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Big Blasts Lead to 8-3 Akron Victory

June 27, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


AKRON, OH - The Aeros struck for five runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back, rolling to an 8-3 victory over Binghamton before 4,187 fans at Canal Park Saturday evening. Akron won for the 17th time in 21 games and improved to 50-23 overall, while the B-Mets continued their slide in the opposite direction, losing for the 20th time in 26 games this month to sit at 27-46 overall.

Akron jumped out of the gates early and often against Binghamton starter Brad Holt, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a single from Asdrubal Cabrera with only one out in the bottom of the first. Beau Mills then laced a single up the middle to score a pair before Matt McBride drove a three-run homer down the left field line to make it 5-0 just six batters into the game. It was McBride's third homer of the year as an Aero and gave him 60 RBI for the season between Akron and Class A Kinston, tied for seventh in minor league baseball.

Another home run paced Akron in the fourth inning, as John Drennen and Jared Goedert starting things off with a single and a walk, respectively. Mets reliever Stephen Clyne then hit Cabrera with a pitch to load the bases, but was on the verge of getting out of the inning when Cristo Arnal lined into a double play. Nick Weglarz made sure the Aeros would capitalize however, booming a three-run homer over the bleachers in right to stretch the margin to 8-0. The blast extended his hitting streak to six games and his on-base streak to 21 straight contests.

The B-Mets avoided the shutout on an RBI double from Jose Coronado and a run-scoring groundout from Emmanuel Garcia in the fifth, and cut the deficit to 8-3 in the sixth when Lucas Duda flared an RBI single to right-center for the final margin.

Josh Tomlin (8-4) earned the win and notched his team-leading seventh quality start of the season while becoming just the second player in both the Eastern League and the Indians minor league system with eight wins. He allowed just three runs, six hits and a walk while striking out seven in a season-high seven innings of work. Holt (0-1) took the loss for the B-Mets as he recorded only one out in his first outing since spraining his ankle June 1st, and he permitted five runs, three hits and two walks in the shortest outing of his professional career. Erik Stiller worked two scoreless innings of relief, marking his 11th scoreless outing in his past 12 relief appearances (0.50 ERA in his last 18.0 innings). Mills, McBride and Weglarz drove in all the runs for the Aeros, and the outfield trio of McBride, Drennen, and Jerad Head went a combined 7-12.

Akron and Binghamton partake in game three of this four-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. for Orbit's Birthday Bash at Canal Park sponsored by ACME Bakeries. Local mascots such as Moondog from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sully from the Lake Erie Monsters will be on hand, and it will also be Strikeout ALS Day sponsored by the ALS Society. Left-hander Aaron Laffey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second rehab start with the Aeros as he makes his way back to Cleveland after suffering a strained right oblique May 22nd at Cincinnati, and is expected to face Binghamton's Jenrry Mejia (0-3, 3.74 ERA). 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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Eastern League Stories from June 27, 2009


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