Zach Plesac, Juan Hillman Combine for Pitching Gem, Defeating Baysox 5-3
Published on July 3, 2021 under Eastern League (EL)
Akron RubberDucks News Release
With Cleveland Indians Pitcher Zach Plesac making his second rehab start in Akron, the RubberDucks pitching staff combined for a dominant pitching performance to once again quiet the potent Bowie Baysox by a score of 5-3. With Saturday night's win, the Ducks earn their second series victory over the Baysox, bringing the season series to 8-3 with one game left on the Ducks' 13-game homestand.
Rehab Appearance
Final Line for Cleveland Indians starter Zach Plesac: 3.0 IP, 2 Hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks 43 pitches (27 strikes) Fastball sitting consistently 94-95 mph.
Turning Point
With a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, Daniel Schneeman, called up from Lake County (High-A) on June 28, continued his tremendous start at the Double-A level as he smacked a line drive to the Homerville seats in right field for his second home run in three games. That solo blast gave Akron the 5-2 lead but firmly kept the momentum in the Ducks' favor.
Mound Presence
Zach Plesac made his second rehab start for the RubberDucks Saturday night on a 50 pitch limit. Despite giving up a leadoff home run to Cadyn Grenier, Plesac was solid from thereon as he allowed just one subsequent hit, striking out four and walking one on 43 pitches in three innings.
Plesac on the Baysox hitters' aggressive approach: "I tried to go top zone heater to start the game and see where my heater was playing. There's real hitters in the box. They have a good lineup. I've heard good things about them. Something like that [leadoff home run] happens and intensity has to come from the get-go. I learned that today."
Plesac was satisfied after his performance during the three innings: "Man, I feel good. I feel ready. Every pitch felt good. I think I got an out on every pitch or at least a swing and a miss today."
Juan Hillman would be the long reliever for Plesac and had arguably his best outing of the season, going five innings, striking out seven batters, and allowing three hits with just one of those being a home run in his final inning.
Duck Tales
It only took two pitches for Bowie to get on the board as Cadyn Grenier took a 94-mph fastball from Plesac 400 feet to right field into the Akron bullpen to give the Baysox the 1-0 advantage.
On the mound for the Baysox would be their number 2 prospect and 19th in all of baseball according to the MLB Pipeline, Grayson Rodriguez. The Ducks seemed to be eager to hit because for the first Akron batters, they all made contact on either the first or second pitch. After two men got on, Oscar Gonzalez hit an RBI groundout to 2nd base that scored Andruw Monasterio from third to tie it at, giving him 39 for the season and tying for 2nd in the Eastern League for Rbi's. Daniel Schneeman would continue his hot start to his Double-A tenure as he hit a RBI-single in the inning to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead, his 5th RBI in 4 games. The Lake County Captain's 2021 call-ups continued to shine in the first few innings as Jonathan Engelman hit his third home run of the season in the second inning. That was also his second home run against Rodriguez this season, his first coming on an inside-the-park home run on June 20, a game which Akron won 3-2. The next run wouldn't come until the bottom of the seventh when Andruw Monatserio hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Mike Rivera and extend Akron's lead to three runs. Each team would swap home runs in the eighth inning. For Bowie, Chris Hudgins would hit a rocket 431 feet to left field for his sixth homer of the year. Daniel Schneeman would have Akron's answer in the bottom half when he hit a line drive that just cleared the right field wall as Schneeman once again adds to his hot tenure, making the game 5-2.
Notebook
Oscar Gonzalez's league leading 17-game hit streak, the second longest in franchise history behind Tyler Krieger's 24-game hit streak in 2018, came to an end as Gonzalez went 0-4 in the game. Will Benson added to his impressive series as he went 2-3 with a pair of singles, adding to his gaudy stat line of 12-33 during this 13-game homestand with three doubles, two triples, a home run and 8 RBI. Daniel Schneeman has been red hot since joining the RubberDucks on June 28, posting a 6-for-14 with a double, two home runs, six RBI and two walks. Time of Game: 2:33 ... Attendance: 5,603
On the Pond
The RubberDucks and Baysox will conclude their series Sunday Night on Independence Day, with a special first pitch time of 6:05 p.m followed by an Imagine Dragons fireworks show after the game. Tanner Tully is on the mound for Akron and Bowie's pitcher has yet to be announced. The game broadcast is on 640 WHLO AM, the WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and the TuneIn Radio App, and available on MiLB.TV.
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