Wednesday, April 10: Dayan Frias hits grand slam to power RubberDucks to win over Flying Squirrels
Third baseman Dayan Frías hit a go-ahead grand slam — his first Double-A home run — to cap a five-run eighth inning Wednesday night as the visiting RubberDucks rallied from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 6-3 win over the Flying Squirrels in the second game of a six-game series before a crowd of 7,502 at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.
Ducks shortstop Yordys Valdés hit a leadoff double down the left-field line in the eighth. Center fielder Petey Halpin and right fielder Chase DeLauter drew consecutive walks, forcing left-hander Nick Swiney out of the game after three batters. Second baseman Kahlil Watson hit an RBI groundout against right-hander Tyler Myrick (0-1). With two outs, Frías drilled a 2-2 pitch from Myrick 375 feet over the fence in right field for his third career grand slam.
The Ducks added a run in the ninth off right-hander Tanner Kiest. Catcher Kody Huff and Valdés each singled and Watson hit a two-out RBI single.
Ducks left-hander Ryan Webb allowed a first-inning solo home run to Flying Squirrels first baseman Victor Bericoto. Webb left the bases loaded in the second inning. In the fourth, he allowed three hits and a run on center fielder Grant McCray’s RBI single. Webb pitched 3⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Right-hander Bradley Hanner escaped a jam in the fourth inning and struck out the side in the fifth. Right-hander Trey Benton (1-1) tossed a perfect sixth before allowing a run on three hits in the seventh. Right-hander Tyler Thornton worked around a single, hit batter and walk for a scoreless eighth, and right-hander Lenny Torres Jr. worked around a leadoff single for a scoreless ninth and his second save in as many appearances.
The Ducks have won four straight games for the first time since July 3-6, 2023, against Erie and Harrisburg. Ironically, the Ducks' last grand slam also capped a five-run eighth inning in a 6-3 comeback win when Michael Berglund delivered on Sept. 3, 2023, against Bowie at Canal Park.
Tuesday, April 9: Aaron Bracho home run, solid pitching gives RubberDucks win over Flying Squirrels
Aaron Bracho hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and three RubberDucks pitchers made it stand up for a 2-1 win over the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday in Richmond, Va.
Aaron Davenport (1-0) started and worked five innings for the win. He allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out six. Jack Leftwich came on to strike out four in two hitless and scoreless innings, and Andrew Walters pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts for his second save.
Kahlil Watson and Dayan Frias had the other two hits for the Ducks (3-1), who won despite being outhit 6-3.
Sunday, April 7: Petey Halpin and Rodney Boone power RubberDucks to win over Curve
RubberDucks center fielder Petey Halpin hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and five pitchers combined to post a shutout in a 1-0 win over the Altoona Curve before a crowd of 2,036 at Canal Park.
Halpin's homer off Valentin Linarez cleared the fence in center field. Halpin finished the three-game series 7-for-13 with a home run and four RBIs.
Ethan Hankins started on the mound for Akron and worked around a two-out walk for a scoreless first inning. He allowed two hits and a walk and struck out one in the second before turning the inning over to the bullpen with two outs. Davis Sharpe escaped the bases loaded jam by getting a lineout to first to end the second and then pitched a scoreless third.
Rodney Boone allowed only three base runners (two walks and a hit) over 4 ⅔ scoreless innings and had three strikeouts to get a win. Bradley Hanner pitched ⅓ of an inning and Lenny Torres Jr. worked a perfect ninth to pick up a save in his Double-A debut.
Saturday, April 6: Petey Halpin and Yordys Valdes lead RubberDucks to win over Curve
RubberDucks shortstop Yordys Valdes collected two hits and two RBIs and right fielder Petey Halpin had three hits and scored two runs to lead the RubberDucks to a 5-2 win over the Altoona Curve before a crowd of 1,860 at Canal Park.
Halpin recorded three hits in his first three at-bats for the second night in a row.
Akron starter Tommy Mace pitched five shutout innings with four strikeouts and allowed three hits and one walk to get a win. Ross Carver fired two scoreless innings with five strikeouts and Tyler Thornton allowed two runs (one earned) in ⅔ of an inning. Andrew Walters struck out all four batters he faced to earn a save in his professional baseball regular season debut after being drafted by the Guardians in 2023.
The RubberDucks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Halpin scored on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Bracho. Valdes singled in Kody Huff in the second to make it 2-0.
Bracho reached on a fielder's choice in the fifth that scored Halpin, Valdes singled in Christian Cairo in the sixth and Dayan Frias reached on a fielder's choice in the seventh that scored Chase DeLauter.
Altoona's Sean Sullivan took the loss after pitching 3 ⅔ innings and allowing six hits, two runs and a walk.
Friday, April 5: Curve top RubberDucks in Opening Day at Canal Park
RubberDucks left fielder Petey Halpin had three hits and three RBIs, but the Altoona Curve rallied in the season opener to defeat the RubberDucks 4-3 in 10 innings before a crowd of 4,019 at Canal Park.
The Curve tied the RubberDucks in the ninth inning when a wild pitch by Jack Leftwich allowed Jackson Glenn to score. Matt Fraizer singled home Seth Beer in the 10th to complete the comeback and give Altoona the win.
RubberDucks starter Doug Nikhazy pitched five no-hit innings with five strikeouts and two walks. Jordan Jones allowed two runs, two hits and a walk in one inning, Bradley Hanner pitched a perfect seventh, Leftwich allowed a run on two hits and a walk in two innings and Trey Benton allowed an unearned run and one hit in the final inning.
Halpin doubled in Aaron Bracho and Kody Huff in the bottom of the second and singled home Milan Tolentino in the bottom of the fourth to give Akron a 3-0 lead. Altoona scored twice in the sixth with Kervin Pichardo scoring on a groundout and Glenn hitting a single that scored Fraizer.
Altoona reliever Isaac Mattson earned the win with two shutout innings.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron RubberDucks results: Dayan Frias hits grand slam in win over Flying Squirrels
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