2018 Akron RubberDucks Game Notes Altoona Curve (40-35) vs. Akron RubberDucks (46-34) Pittsburgh Pirates Cleveland Indians Game 81 • Saturday, June 30, 2018 • 7:05 p.m. Canal Park • Akron, OH Radio: WARF 1350 AM • WARF iHeart Channel • TuneIn App | Television: MiLB.TV Today’s Starting Pitchers: Sat. 6/30, 7:05 p.m. vs. Altoona: Akron: RHP Carlos Carrasco (NR) Altoona: RHP Tate Scioneaux (1-1, 4.15) Upcoming Games and Pitching Probables (subject to change): Sun. 7/1, 2:05 p.m. vs. Altoona: Akron: RHP Jake Paulson (4-3, 2.71) Altoona: LHP Taylor Hearn (3-5, 3.28) Mon. 7/2, 7:05 p.m. vs. Altoona: Akron: LHP Sean Brady (5-3, 3.74) Altoona. LHP Cam Vieaux (3-1, 1.73) Tue. 7/3, 7:05 p.m. vs. Altoona: Akron: RHP Triston McKenzie (2-2, 4.15) Altoona: RHP Pedro Vasquez (2-4, 5.04) Wed. 7/4, 6:35 p.m. at Richmond: Akron: RHP Aaron Civale (4-2, 2.64) Richmond: TBA RubberDucks News and Notes: Last Time Out Akron’s Willi Castro socked a go-ahead, lead-off, solo homer in the seventh inning, and Kieran Lovegrove stranded two runners on base in the ninth for his first save, as the RubberDucks edged the Altoona Curve, 4-3, Friday night at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio. Where We Stand At 46-34, the RubberDucks are in 1st place in the EL West, 3½ games ahead of 2nd-place Altoona and five up on 3rd-place Harrisburg. The RubberDucks… -have won three straight games and have been in 1st place alone in the EL West since 5/4. -are in the midst of 20 straight games without an off-day leading up to the all-star break on 7/9. The team is 7-4, so far. -rank 2nd in the EL in runs (405), including 10+ runs in a game nine times, going 8-1 in those games. -are 21-16 within the friendly confines of Canal Park. -rank 1st in the EL in ERA (3.08), 11th in batting (.244) and tied for 4th in defense (.978). Player Notes -OF Andrew Calica currently ranks 10th in the EL in hitting (.299) and 4th in on-base percentage (.406). -1B Bobby Bradley is tied for 1st in the league in homers (16). He clubbed four HR’s in the Bowie series. -3B Joe Sever is currently tied for 3rd in the league in total hits (83), tied for 1st in doubles (21) and 3rd in at-bats (287). -2B Mark Mathias is the top-ranked defensive second baseman in the EL (.992 FA, 2 E, 258 TC). 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 2nd 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. Notable alumni of the franchise include Andrew McCutcheon, Starling Marte, Neil Walker, Jameson Taillon and Gerritt Cole. Transaction Wire RHP Carlos Carrasco joins the RubberDucks on a minor league rehabilitation assignment today. He is expected to throw 65 pitches. Carrasco, 31, has been on the Indians DL since being struck on the right elbow by a line drive from Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, 6/16. Carrasco is 8-5, with a 4.24 ERA, in 15 starts for the Indians. On Deck The RubberDucks and Curve will play Game 3 of the five-game series at Canal Park on Sunday afternoon at 2:05. 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 RubberDucks 4 Curve 3…Friday, 6/29/18 Summary Akron’s Willi Castro socked a go-ahead, lead-off, solo homer in the seventh inning, and Kieran Lovegrove stranded two runners on base in the ninth for his first save, as the RubberDucks edged the Altoona Curve, 4-3, Friday night at Canal Park in Akron, Ohio. Turning Point The RubberDucks (46-34) were leading 4-2 in the top of the eighth, but the Curve had the bases loaded with only one out. Facing sidearm specialist Nick Pasquale, Bralin Jackson smoked a line drive to Castro, who snared the ball moving to his left and turned it into an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead. Mound Presence Aaron Civale allowed only a pair of runs in six innings for Akron, but left with a 2-2 tie. Jordan Milbrath (1-3) tossed a scoreless inning to earn the win. Matt Whitehouse and Pasquale split the eighth, and Lovegrove earned his first Double-A save despite giving up a run in the ninth on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ RBI single. He fanned Altoona’s Will Craig to end the game and strand the potential go-ahead run on base. Duck Tales Castro led off the eighth inning with a solo homer to right field off Yeudy Garcia (1-3) to break a 2-2 tie. It was Castro’s third homer of the season. After a walk to Mark Mathias, Logan Ice drilled an RBI double to right field, his first Double-A hit, to make it 4-2. Bobby Bradley drove in a pair of runs in the first inning with a double. Notebook The RubberDucks have won three straight and four of the last five…Christian Kelly homered for the Curve in the second inning to tie the game, 2- 2…The Curve (40-35) dropped to 3.5 games behind Akron in the EL West…Garcia was struck on the hand by a line drive from Andrew Calica in the 7th and had to leave the game…Time of game: 2:57… Attendance: 7,042. 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.