April 7: Halpin's homer and strong pitching boost Ducks past Curve 1-0
RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score Akron RubberDucks (2-1) 1, Altoona Curve (1-2) 0 WP: Rodney Boone (1-0) LP: Valentin Linarez (0-1) Save: Lenny Torres Jr. (1) Summary Petey Halpin’s fifth inning solo home run and five pitchers combining for a three-hit shutout lead the Akron RubberDucks to a 1-0
RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score
Akron RubberDucks (2-1) 1, Altoona Curve (1-2) 0
WP: Rodney Boone (1-0) LP: Valentin Linarez (0-1) Save: Lenny Torres Jr. (1)
Summary
Petey Halpin’s fifth inning solo home run and five pitchers combining for a three-hit shutout lead the Akron RubberDucks to a 1-0 win over the Altoona Curve on Sunday afternoon at Canal Park.
Turning Point
Akron finally broke the scoreless tie with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Halpin lined the first pitch he saw off the batter’s eye in center to give the RubberDucks the 1-0 win.
Mound Presence
Ethan Hankins got the start for Akron and looked good early working around a two-out walk for a scoreless first inning. The right-hander ran into some trouble allowing two hits and a walk in the second but ended his outing with a big strikeout before turning the inning over to the bullpen. Davis Sharpe escaped the bases loaded jam by getting a lineout to first to end the inning. Rodney Boone took over in the fourth and was lights out only allowing three base runners over four and two-thirds innings while punching out three. Lenny Torres Jr. worked a perfect ninth to pick up the save in his Double-A debut.
The man with the golden glove!!!@joenaranjo_ keeps the game scoreless with an amazing play!
— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) April 7, 2024
TOP 2 : Akron 0 | Altoona 0 pic.twitter.com/D272Ijdp71
Duck Tales
The RubberDucks offense was held in check by the Curve most of the afternoon. Altoona was able to scatter three Akron hits and only allowed multiple runners on base once in an inning.
Notebook
With the win, the RubberDucks take the opening series of the 2024 season…Halpin finished the three-game series going 7-for-13 with a home run and four RBI…First shutout by RubberDucks pitchers since September 10, 2023 at Richmond…Game Time: 2:14…Attendance: 2,036.
On the Pond
The RubberDucks will have Monday off before beginning a six-game series against the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Tuesday, April 9 at The Diamond. The game broadcast is on 640 WHLO, the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and akronrubberducks.com, and available on Bally Live. Tickets for all RubberDucks home games, are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.