EL Akron RubberDucks

Late Rally from Curve Stuns RubberDucks, 7-6, in Series Opener against Altoona

June 8, 2021 - Eastern League (EL)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


The RubberDucks and Curve kicked off their series in Altoona on Tuesday night with a back-and-forth affair that saw the Curve emerge victorious, 7-6, thanks to two clutch home runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Turning Point

After tying the game with a towering two-run home run from Rodolfo Castro in the bottom of the seventh, Altoona sealed their victory in the bottom of the eighth when Jonah Davis launched a 1-1 fastball beyond the right field wall and nearly onto the Skyliner rollercoaster at People's Natural Gas Field to give the Curve the 7-6 lead.

Mound Presence

Alex Royalty made his sixth start of the season for the RubberDucks and cruised through the first three innings, allowing only one hit. However, the 2018 eighth round pick for Cleveland would face trouble in the fourth inning when he led off the inning with a walk and a single to right field. Following a wild pitch that scored Oniell Cruz, Canaan Smith-Njigba found the outfield grass on a single to left which scored two more Curve runs for the 3-1 lead through four. Royalty would settle down nicely in the fifth inning before being lifted in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kyle Marman would come on in relief with two men on base and surrender a single to Canaan Smith-Njigba with that run being charged to Royalty. Marman would be charged with the blown save after Rodolfo Castro tied up the ballgame 6-6 with a towering two-run blast in the seventh. The final blow to the RubberDucks would come in the bottom of the eighth when Aaron Pinto would surrender the deciding run on a Jonah Davis home run to right field, giving Altoona the 7-6 lead.

Duck Tales

The RubberDucks opened their scoring in the top of the fourth inning when Will Benson smashed a grounder right at the first baseman, but allowing just enough time for Oscar Gonzalez to cross the plate with the game's first run. The RubberDucks offense finally came to life in the top of the sixth inning when they put up a five spot on Roansy Contreras. After beginning the inning with a groundout, Chris Roller doubled, Will Benson walked, and Jose Fermin laced a single to center field, scoring Chris Roller. Two batters later, Tyler Freeman singled to left to tie the score at 3-3. Alex Call would put the exclamation point on the inning with a first-pitch liner into left field which scored both Josh Rolette and Tyler Freeman to give Akron the 6-3 at that point.

Notebook

The RubberDucks were out of character Tuesday as a team as they left nine runners on base Tuesday night, despite being in the bottom third of Double-A with 192 total runners stranded on base ... Conversely, the Ducks' ten hits Tuesday night raised their team batting average to .257 which ranks sixth among all Double-A teams ... Alex Call continues his tear offensively by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, raising his batting average to .319 which is good for sixth in the Double-A Northeast... Time of Game: 3:02 ... Attendance: 3,007.

On the Pond

The Ducks and Curve will rerack it and meet in the second game of their series Wednesday at People's Natural Gas Field, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. The game broadcast, powered by FirstEnergy, is on 640 WHLO, the WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and the TuneIn Radio App, and available on MiLB.TV. RHP Thomas Ponticelli (2-1, 1.25) will start for Akron against the Curve.

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Eastern League Stories from June 8, 2021


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