2018 Akron RubberDucks Game Notes Altoona Curve (2-1) vs. Akron RubberDucks (1-2) Pittsburgh Pirates Cleveland Indians Game 4 • Sunday, April 8, 2018 • 2:00 p.m. People’s Natural Gas Field • Altoona, PA Radio: WARF 1350 AM • WARF iHeart Channel • TuneIn App • Television: MiLB.TV Today’s Starting Pitchers: Sun. 4/8, 2:00 p.m. at Altoona: Akron: LHP Sean Brady Altoona: RHP Mitch Keller Upcoming Games and Pitching Probables (subject to change): Mon. 4/9, 6:35 p.m. at Binghamton: Akron: RHP Shao-Ching Chiang Binghamton: RHP Marcos Molina Tue. 4/10, 6:35 p.m. at Binghamton: Akron: RHP Shane Bieber (0-0, 0.00) Binghamton: RHP Joseph Shaw Wed. 4/11, 6:35 p.m. at Binghamton: Akron: RHP Aaron Civale (0-0, 2.45) Binghamton: RHP Drew Gagnon (1-0, 0.00) Thu. 4/12—OFF Fri. 4/13, 6:35 p.m. vs. Trenton: Akron: RHP Michael Peoples (0-1, 4.50) Trenton: TBA RubberDucks News and Notes: Last Time Out Altoona’s Will Craig socked a decisive, three-run home run in the bottom of the 6th inning Saturday afternoon, lifting the Curve to an eventual 5-1 victory over the Akron RubberDucks on a frigid day at PNG Field in Altoona, Pa. Where We Stand At 1-2, the RubberDucks are tied for 4th in the EL West, 1.5 games behind Erie. The RubberDucks… -were 1-11 with runners in scoring position yesterday and are just 2-19 the last two games. -collected only five hits in yesterday’s game, but three of those were doubles. -have used all eight relievers on the roster during the first three games of the series. Player Notes -RF Dorssys Paulino picked up his first hit and RBI of the season when his shallow pop-up to RF dropped into fair territory in the 6th. -3B Sam Haggerty ripped a pair of doubles and finished 2-3, with a walk. He leads the team with three doubles. -2B Mark Mathias is 0-8 so far, but he has drawn a team-high four walks. About the Opposition Altoona is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Curve won the 2017 EL title with consecutive three-game sweeps of Bowie and Trenton. Michael Ryan is in his second season as Curve manager. The franchise began in 1999, and is named after the famous Horseshoe Curve, a section of railroad line spanning the summit of the Allegheny Mountains and connecting Altoona and Johnstown, Pa. Transaction Wire No transactions involving the RubberDucks have been announced by the Cleveland Indians today. On Deck The RubberDucks will travel to Binghamton, New York, for a three-game series Monday thru Wednesday, to complete the season- opening road trip. Monday’s game is scheduled for 6:35 at NYSEG Stadium in Rumble Pony Land. Akron Baseball: A Winning Tradition This is the 30th season of Double-A baseball in Northeast Ohio, and the 22nd in downtown Akron. The franchise began as the Canton-Akron Indians in 1989, and then moved to Canal Park in Akron as the Aeros in 1997. Known as the RubberDucks since 2014, Akron has qualified for the Eastern League playoffs 16 times overall, and 10 of the last 16 years. The team has captured five Eastern League titles—2003, 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2016. Notable alumni of the franchise include Jaret Wright, Victor Martinez, CC Sabathia, Grady Sizemore, Charles Nagy, Cliff Lee, Jhonny Peralta, Danny Salazar, Jose Ramirez, Roberto Perez, Francisco Lindor, Giovanny Urshela, Tyler Naquin and Bradley Zimmer. Last Game Recap Curve 5 RubberDucks 1…Saturday, 4/7/18 Summary Altoona’s Will Craig socked a decisive, three-run home run in the bottom of the 6th inning Saturday afternoon, lifting the Curve to an eventual 5-1 victory over the Akron RubberDucks on a frigid day at PNG Field in Altoona, Pa. Turning Point Craig launched a timely homer with two teammates aboard with one out in the sixth off Akron starter Michael Peoples (0-1). A feared slugger while playing college baseball at Wake Forest, Craig cleared the left-field bleachers and gave the Curve (2-1) a 3-1 lead. It was his first homer of the season. Mound Presence Peoples made his first appearance since last July when he was shut down with a tear in his right rotator cuff. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was terrific in his return to the mound. He threw shutout ball through the first five innings, holding the Curve to just two hits. He faltered in the sixth when he allowed a walk and a single prior to the Craig homer. Peoples walked one and struck out five. Duck Tales The RubberDucks (1-2) didn’t have much luck against Altoona starter Brandon Waddell. Like Peoples, Waddell held the Ducks scoreless through the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, Sam Haggerty clubbed his second double of the game, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored when Dorssys Paulino lifted a shallow fly ball that landed inches fair along the right-field line for a brief, 1-0 Akron lead. Notebook Bret Helton (1-0) relieved Waddell in the sixth and picked up the win in relief for the Curve…Altoona added insurance runs in the seventh against right- hander Jordan Milbrath and in the eighth against lefty Matt Whitehouse, both of whom were making their season debuts…Haggerty was 2-3, with a pair of doubles. He’s now 4-11 in the series, with three doubles…Game time temperature was 35 defrees…Time of game: 2:26…Attendance: 3,331. RubberDucks 2018 Field Staff #6 Tony Mansolino, Manager—Former minor league infielder Tony Mansolino is in his first season as manager of the Akron RubberDucks. Mansolino, 35, was named the 17th manager in franchise history on January 17, 2018. He replaces Mark Budzinski, who was promoted to the major league staff after managing the RubberDucks last season. This season marks Mansolinoi’s third as a manager in the Indians minor league system. A native of Newport Beach, California, and now a resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Mansolino managed the Class-A Lynchburg Hillcats last season. He was named Carolina League “Manager of the Year” after guiding the Hillcats to a stellar 87-42 overall record and a Carolina League co-championship. Mansolino made his managerial debut with the Lake County Captains in 2016. Drafted by the Pirates in the 26th round of the 2005 draft out of Vanderbilt University, Mansolino played professionally for six years in the minor leagues and was a career .231 hitter with 19 homers and 173 RBI. In addition to the Pirates organization, he also played in the Phillies minor league system and with three independent clubs before moving into coaching in 2011. He served as the RubberDucks hitting coach in 2015. Mansolino played four years for head coach Tim Corbin at Vandy, including an NCAA tournament appearance in 2004. Mansolino’s father, Doug, is the minor league field coordinator for the Phillies. #47 Rigo Beltran, Pitching Coach—After spending the past three seasons as pitching coach at Class-A Lynchburg, former major league left-hander Rigo Beltran will serve as the RubberDucks pitching coach in 2018. Beltran, 48, joined the Indians in 2014, following seven years as a pitching coach in the Reds organization. After being selected in the 26th round of the 1991 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals out of the University of Wyoming, Beltran went on to pitch professionally for 16 seasons. He appeared in 78 major league games with the Cardinals, Mets, Rockies and Expos, going a combined 2-3, with a 4.40 ERA. Born in Tijuana, Mexico, and now a resident of Delray Beach, Florida, Beltran served as the pitching coach for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. #25 Kevin Howard, Hitting Coach—RubberDucks hitters will have the luxury of getting advice from a College World Series champion this season, as former University of Miami star Kevin Howard will serve as the RubberDucks hitting coach. This will be his fourth season as a hitting coach in the Indians organization. Howard, 36, was a sophomore infielder when the Hurricanes defeated Stanford to win the 2001 college baseball title. The following summer, he was drafted in the 5th round by the Reds and went on to play professionally for 10 seasons. Howard slugged 93 homers and drove in 540 runs during his minor league career. He was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, attended high school in Westlake Village, California, and now makes his off-season home in Miami Beach. #13 Dennis Malave, Bench Coach—A fixture in the Indians player development system, Dennis Malave assumes the role of bench coach for the RubberDucks in 2018. Malave, 38, is entering his 14th year in the organization. He spent the last seven seasons as a hitting coach for Indians rookie-level players in Goodyear, Arizona. He spent two seasons as a bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians from 2007-2008. Malave moved into the coaching ranks after playing in the Tribe system for eight years, starting in 1997 when he was signed as a free agent. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Malave lives in Goodyear during the off-season. Jeremy Heller, Trainer—The 2018 season mark’s Heller’s fifth in Akron and his 14th overall as a trainer in the Indians organization. He was named Athletic Trainer of the Year in the Eastern League in 2017. Paul Synenkyj, Strength and Conditioning Coach—Now in his 8th season in the Indians organization, Paul Synenkyj will oversee the team’s strength and conditioning program.