LaPorta's two homers lead Aeros

Matt LaPorta fittingly caught the final out of a game he almost single-handedly won for Akron.

LaPorta homered twice and hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 12th inning as the visiting Akron Aeros beat the Bowie Baysox, 6-5, to take their playoff opener Wednesday at Prince George's Stadium.

The former first-rounder went 4-for-5, smacked a leadoff homer in the fourth, hit a two-run shot in the sixth and lined a clutch single to plate Bronson Sardinha in the 12th as the Aeros took an early 1-0 lead in their best-of-5 series.

"It felt great, our team did a great job of staying in the game," LaPorta said. "It was getting late and our team did a great job. Our pitching staff was staying in there, and I give a lot of credit to my teammates."

Sardinha and Wes Hodges lined consecutive singles to begin the 12th ahead of LaPorta's single through the left side.

"It was really good to get that big hit," LaPorta said. "But again, nobody comes in if there's nobody on base. It was a great team effort."

It was the first multi-homer performance for LaPorta since he joined the Indians organization July 6. He had three two-homer games for the Huntsville Stars this season before he was traded for CC Sabathia.

"[The first one] he threw a changeup or a slider I think," LaPorta said of his first postseason long ball. "[The next one,] we had a guy on base and my job was really to move him over. The count got to 2-0 and he threw a fastball on the inner part. I got extended and hit it out, I was looking for it."

LaPorta singled in the 10th, scored twice and walked in his playoff debut. He hit .279 with 22 homers and 79 RBIs between Huntsville and Akron this season. The Indians' prized outfielder was selected to the XM All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium and helped the United States win a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

"It's just two different atmospheres, playing the Olympics was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, playing for your county," said LaPorta. "But the playoffs, that's the goal everyone has, to be in the playoffs. That was a goal we accomplished this year."

Akron lost a 4-3 lead in the eighth, but Wyatt Toregas smacked a one-out homer off Gerardo Casadiego to give the Aeros a lead in the ninth.

"They're a great club, we knew it would be a hard-fought game," LaPorta said. "We just wanted to come out and do the best we can."

Bowie (0-1) responded in the bottom of the frame when Jonathan Tucke scored on a grounder to send the game into extra innings.

Neil Wagner (1-0) struck out three and held the Baysox to three hits over three innings to pick up the win. Starter Scott Lewis allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings for Akron.

Chad Thall (0-1) allowed a run on three hits over 1 1/3 innings to suffer the loss. Bowie starter Jason Berken struck out six and allowed four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks over six innings.

Former first-round pick Matt Wieters went 1-for-4 with a pair of walks in his first career playoff appearance for Bowie.

LaPorta downplayed the added spotlight on him and Wieters, two of baseball's biggest prospects.

"It's just another game, we go out there play hard," he said. "We do what we can do and let the chips fall where they may."

Nolan Reimold put Bowie ahead in the first with a solo homer and Jeff Nettles added a solo drive in the second. Carlos Rojas added an RBI double in the fifth and Ryan Finan lined a game-tying RBI single in the eighth.

"It's a five-game series, and we know we have to come out and play our best everyday," said LaPorta. "Anything can happen in baseball." Box score

In other EL action:

Trenton Thunder 2, Portland Sea Dogs 1
Eric Hacker struck out six over 5 2/3 innings and Edwar Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with an RBI as the Thunder edged the visiting Sea Dogs in the playoff opener. Box score