Crushers Weekly Outlook (August 6-11)

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FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers Weekly Outlook (August 6-11)

August 5, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


Avon, OH - Coming into the month of August, the Crushers were on their heels, but since the calendar flipped, Lake Erie has a bit of newfound confidence as the home stretch of the 2024 season approaches.

After falling in the first two games to the Florence Y'alls, the Crushers returned home to Avon after rain prematurely ended the series finale. The nine game road trip was the longest of the season, but now the Crushers get the luxury of having an August with 18 home games.

The first batch of those home games started nicely. With Windy City coming into the series winning nine of their last ten, the Crushers won the first two games of the set and took the series - their first series win of the second half. Despite dropping the finale on Sunday, the Crushers were pleased with the outcome.

Reliever Kenny Pierson spoke with Broadcaster Zane Bloom before Saturday's game saying, "We just need to win this series. Over this past stretch things just weren't going well, but now that we're back home we're feeling a lot better." The Crushers won the Windy City series thanks to good pitching performances and timely hitting, something they were lacking in recent games.

Alberti Chavez has been right at the forefront of the offensive production. Chavez was acquired from the Florence Y'alls on July 25th, and all he's done since joining Lake Erie is get on base. He has a hit in all 10 games he's played in a Crushers uniform, and on Saturday he had the big 2 RBI double that proved to be the difference in a Crusher victory. This past week, Chavez is 6-for-16 with two doubles and five walks drawn, good for an OBP of .524 out of the leadoff spot.

Chavez moving to the leadoff spot frees up Jarrod Watkins to move down in the lineup with a chance to drive in more runs. Although Watkins didn't record an RBI last week, he's still the consistent hitter he's been all season, batting .278 with three runs scored in the last five games.

The addition of Scout Knotts to the lineup is also a huge pickup for the Lake Erie offense. Knotts came off the injured list on Wednesday after being out with a calf injury for over a month. In four games, Knotts logged two doubles, two homers, and led the team in total bases with 13. Knotts is slowly starting to get back to playing in the field. He played first base in Sunday's loss to Windy City, but with addition of Jake Guenther to the roster, the Crushers can be cautious and smart with how quickly they acclimate Knotts to playing the field again.

On the pitching side, the Crushers are slowly getting back to finding their first half form. All-Stars Anthony Escobar and Jack Eisenbarger led the starting rotation this week with winning performances, and the bullpen is starting to look like the dominant bunch from before the All-Star Break.

The week ahead features six home games, three with the Evansville Otters and three with the Schaumburg Boomers.

The Otters swept Lake Erie in Evansville the last time the two teams matched up, but Lake Erie still owns the season series 5-4 against them. In the series before the All-Star Break, the Crushers swept the Otters at home in three games, and it's evident statistically that Evansville has struggled away from their home stadium in 2024. Pedro Echemendia and Anthony Escobar are slated to start against the Otters in the series, and both have pitched well against Evansville this season in three combined starts.

Then, over the weekend, perhaps the most important series of the season is on tap. A three game series with the Schaumburg Boomers starting Friday could determine a lot in the West Division standings. Currently, Schaumburg sits 3.5 games behind Lake Erie for third place in the division. The top three teams in the division make the playoffs, so a series win is paramount for Lake Erie and their playoff aspirations.

To this point, Lake Erie has not played Schaumburg in Avon this season. The Crushers have split six games played in Schaumburg so far, and they'll have six more to play against the Boomers at home in August.

The Crushers have held the Boomers offense at bay through six games, but they fell in a couple heartbreakers to them early in the season. That being said, the Lake Erie pitching staff has held the Boomers to 33 runs in six games, good for a 3.52 ERA. Matt Mulhearn is projected to start in the series, and he owns a 1.69 ERA in 10.2 innings against the Boomers so far in 2024.

With the Gateway Grizzlies and Washington Wild Things pulling away in the West Division, the Crushers remain realistic when it comes to their playoff aspirations. If you had told the team they would be at 40 wins heading into the final stretch, they would have taken the offer happily. How they got there is not worth harboring about, the players agree on. What's important now is that the Crushers take care of the business in front of them and build off a series win against the Thunderbolts.

Baseball is an unforgiving game. It takes a complete effort to win games, and no matter the caliber of team in the other dugout, it's hard to win baseball games. Skipper Jared Lemieux's calmness even despite the losing stretch is noteworthy. His goal on the road trip was to go .500, and that didn't happen. But even with the struggles, Lemieux isn't concerned. He's very self aware of how young his team is, and his desire game in and game out is to see them go between the white lines and play the game the right way. The rest will deal with itself.

With the homestand continuing in this first full week of August, it's worth mentioning that the Crushers have been one of the best teams in the Frontier League at home. At 23-10, the Crushers are outscoring opponents 155-106. It's an exciting time to come to Crushers Stadium and enjoy a ballgame, and it's even more exciting with all the fun promotions scheduled for the rest of the homestand. Check out the list below for our promotions for the week of August 6-11)!

This week's promotional schedule:

Tuesday, August 6 @ 7:05pm - Bark in the Park presented by Crisis Canine and K9 Resorts! Bring your dog to the ballpark and enjoy a $1 Hot Dog Night! The first 50 dogs through the gate will also receive a free poop bag dispenser, and all dogs can run the bases after the game!

Wednesday, August 7 @ 7:05pm - It's Ladies Night and White Claw Wednesday! We'll have pop-up shops from local businesses for you to peruse, and you can also bring supply donations for the Safe Harbor Genesis House to support women in Lorain County.

Thursday, August 8 @ 7:05pm - It's another Thirsty Thursday presented by Great Lakes Brewery! All Great Lakes Brewing products will be half off, and there will be karaoke to enjoy after the game!

Friday, August 9 @ 7:05pm - It's Crushtoberfest with Oktoberfest Fireworks in celebration of German Heritage featuring music, dancing, beer, yodeling, wiener dog racing, and much more!

Saturday, August 10 @ 7:05pm - Get ready for gameday with College Football Kickoff with Saturday Night Lights Fireworks! It's also Down Syndrome Awareness Night! Wear your school colors and bring your school spirit with a pre-game Fan Party and Cornhole Tournament!

Sunday, August 11 @ 2:05pm - Break out your costumes, because it's Halloween Day and a Sunday Funday presented by Main Event. We'll have a pregame costume contest and parade, then postgame Trick-or-Treating with Crushers players!

Crushers Stadium has lots of fun planned, so make sure you get your tickets for this week's games! We can't wait to see you at the ballpark this week as the Crushers continue their playoff push!

Check out the Lake Erie Crushers Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from August 5, 2024


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