EL1 Akron RubberDucks

Stephens Deals, Bats Break out in Fourth for RubberDucks

Published on July 27, 2019 under Eastern League (EL1)
Akron RubberDucks News Release


Akron RubberDucks right-hander Jordan Stephens (2-1) struck out a season-high eight batters in five scoreless innings in his first Eastern League start, and with six straight fourth-inning singles, the RubberDucks extended a 1-0 lead to 6-0 over the Hartford Yard Goats before rain ended play for the night before the bottom of the sixth inning at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday night.

Turning Point

The RubberDucks held a 1-0 lead entering the top of the fourth inning, when Yard Goats right-hander Antonio Santos (0-2) struck out designated hitter Nellie Rodriguez, but the third-strike wild pitch allowed Rodriguez to reach first base. The next six batters - center fielder Alex Call, shortstop Andruw Monasterio, first baseman Alexis Pantoja, catcher Logan Ice, second baseman Ernie Clement, and third baseman Nolan Jones - each singled, before right fielder Trenton Brooks had an RBI groundout to make it 6-0. All runs were charged to Santos who completed five innings.

Mound Presence

Stephens worked around a one-out double in the first inning and a leadoff double in the second inning, when he struck out the next three batters. After a third-inning leadoff single, Stephens induced a ground-ball double play and retired the final nine batters he faced, including striking out the side in the fifth inning. Left-hander Anthony Gose began warming up for the bottom of the sixth inning before the umpires halted play due to rain. For Hartford, after Santos allowed six earned runs on nine hits in five innings, former RubberDucks left-hander Matt Whitehouse walked Clement and allowed a double to Jones before Brooks hit into a fly-ball double play to end the top of the sixth inning.

Duck Tales

The RubberDucks took a first-inning lead after Clement hit a leadoff single, Santos balked to put him at second base, and left fielder Connor Marabell hit an RBI single to right field. That helped Stephens pitch his entire start with the lead.

Notebook

Clement had his third straight two-hit game and has an Eastern League-leading 85 hits since May 9, while reaching base in 26 of his last 27 games...Akron won its first series since June 26, three straight games for the first time since sweeping Hartford at Canal Park June 11-13 and is 6-0 against Hartford...Time of game: 1:41 (0:51 delay)...Attendance: 6,850.

On the Pond

The RubberDucks conclude their series in Hartford at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. Akron RHP Eli Morgan (5-2, 3.29) is scheduled to face Yard Goats LHP Jack Wynkoop (6-12, 3.60). The game broadcast, powered by FirstEnergy, is on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeartRadio channel, and the TuneIn Radio App, and available on MiLB.TV. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.

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Eastern League Stories from July 27, 2019


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