RubberDucks Game RecapThunder 8 RubberDucks 7WP: Raynel Espinal (2-0) LP: D.J. Brown (1-6) Save: James Reeves (1) SummaryTrenton's Ryan McBroom crushed a two-run homer to center field to complete a four-run rally in the seventh inning as the Thunder edged the Akron RubberDucks, 8-7, Wednesday afternoon at ARM & HAMMER Park
RubberDucks Game Recap
Thunder 8 RubberDucks 7
WP: Raynel Espinal (2-0) LP: D.J. Brown (1-6) Save: James Reeves (1)
Summary
Trenton's Ryan McBroom crushed a two-run homer to center field to complete a four-run rally in the seventh inning as the Thunder edged the Akron RubberDucks, 8-7, Wednesday afternoon at ARM & HAMMER Park in Trenton, New Jersey.
Turning Point
The RubberDucks (62-59) held a 7-4 lead entering the Trenton seventh, but the Thunder rallied for four runs against a pair of Akron relievers to grab the lead, 8-7. After a pair of one-out singles off Jacob Lee, Mike Ford drilled a two-run double off the wall in left field to make it 7-6. After that, D.J. Brown entered the game and surrendered a two-run homer to McBroom to straight-away center field to push the Trenton lead to 8-7. It was McBroom's 16th of the year.
Winging It
Brown (1-6) was saddled with a blown save and the loss. The homer by McBroom snapped a 15.1-inning scoreless streak for Brown over his previous seven appearances. Lee was charged with three runs in his two-thirds of an inning. Right-hander Matt Esparza started for the Ducks and allowed four runs over the first 5.2 innings. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Esparza settled into a groove and responded with four scoreless frames, but he left in favor of Lee after giving up back-to-back homers to Zack Zehner and Abiatal Avelino in the sixth.
Duck Tales
Eric Haase crushed a two-run homer off Trenton starter Brody Koerner in the fourth. It was Haase's team-high, 24th of the year. The Ducks exploded for five runs in the sixth to take a 7-2 lead. The Ducks loaded the bases on three singles against Koerner, and then, when right-hander Raynel Espinal (2-0) came on in relief, second baseman Nick Solak misplayed a Todd Hankins grounder, allowing two runs to score. Ivan Castillo followed with a three-run homer to right field, his first of the season.
Notebook
The loss snapped Akron's four-game win streak…The Thunder (79-42) retired the final 11 Akron batters…Lefty James Reeves worked the final two innings for his first Double-A save…Akron shortstop Yu Chang sat out the game after being hit on the right middle finger by a pitch in Tuesday night's game…The RubberDucks entered the day in a 2nd-place tie with Bowie, one game behind 1st-place Altoona…19 games remain in the regular season…Time of game: 2:37… Attendance: 4,321.
On Deck
The RubberDucks and Thunder will conclude the series on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.
