Game Recap 6/16: McBride Ignites Aeros Win

Aeros Rally In Seventh For 4-1 Victory

Looking to avoid a third straight loss, the Aeros retaliated with a three-run seventh inning en route to a 4-1 win against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Wednesday night. The crowd of 3,654 at Merchantsauto.com Stadium witnessed a beautiful pitching duel between Akron starter Eric Berger and New Hampshire’s Kyle Drabek through the first six frames until the Aeros struck for three unearned runs against Drabek. The win helped the Aeros jump up above .500 for the season at 33-32 while the second-place Fisher Cats dropped to 40-26 overall.

Berger continued his impressive pitching and limited the New Hampshire offense until a double to left by shortstop Manny Mayorson started the fourth inning. Two batters later, Shawn Bowman recorded the RBI with a single to left as well, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The Aeros responded against Drabek shortly thereafter, as DH Jerad Head began the top of the fifth with a single to center and advanced to second on a groundout. Left fielder Tim Fedroff then scored Head to tie the score at 1-1 with a clutch base hit of his own to left.

The score remained even until the top of the seventh where Drabek allowed a single and a walk to start a quick one-out rally. Mayorson followed with an error at short on a Jordan Henry fielder’s choice, allowing catcher Miguel Perez to score as the go-ahead run. After two pitching changes and another walk, first baseman Matt McBride greeted reliever Tim Magnuson with a two-run single to left-center, providing the final margin of the night.

The Akron bullpen was tremendous as Chen-Chang Lee (4-3) earned the win with two shutout innings with one hit and a pair of strikeouts. New Hampshire’s Kyle Drabek (7-6) took the loss despite recapturing the Eastern League lead in both innings pitched and strikeouts for the season. Closer Bryce Stowell then recorded his fifth save for the visitors with four strikeouts over the final two frames. Berger was three outs shy of his third straight quality start, permitting the lone run on four hits with three Ks in five innings.

No single Aero finished with multiple hits on the night but the two-run single from McBride in the deciding seventh inning was the difference. Kipnis also walked twice and stole a base for the first time in his brief Double-A career.

Hillcats and Indians to Play Double Dip on Thursday

Wednesday night's game between the Kinston Indians and the Lynchburg Hillcats in Virginia was postponed because of rain. The two teams will play a double header on Thursday starting at 6:05pm.

Soto Shutouts Captains 1-0

The White Caps' Giovanni Soto tossed a complete game shutout defeating the Captains 1-0. Lake County was held to just three base hits all night long. The Captains are now tied with Great Lakes for first in the Eastern Division; the first Lake County has been tied since the fifth game of year.

West Michigan scored their run in the third inning, when Michael Rockett sent a fly ball to centerfield, Delvi Cid broke in and the ball sailed over his head to the wall as Rockett tripled. Austin Adams was able to get one out before Jamie Johnson singled in the ballgames only run.

Giovanni Soto (5-4) earned the win allowing just three hits in his nine scoreless innings, striking out seven hitters. Austin Adams (2-4) suffered the loss despite pitching very well, Adams went five innings allowing just one run on three hits and struck out seven. Nick Sarianides rebounded nicely from his last outing going three innings and retiring all nine hitters he faced.

The Columbus Clippers had a scheduled night off.

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