Minton's Brilliance Leads SeaWolves Past RubberDucks

ERIE, PA - The Erie SeaWolves (21-9, 57-41) earned their second win of the week with a dominant performance in a 9-2 victory over the Akron RubberDucks (11-19, 46-52) on Thursday night at UPMC Park.

Hayden Minton finished his first full month in Double-A with some fantastic numbers. He made five starts in July with a 0.84 ERA over 21.1 innings and 23 strikeouts. The right-hander produced five scoreless innings with a Double-A high eight strikeouts in his final start of the month.

The SeaWolves struck the first blow of the night in the bottom of the first. Josue Briceño was hit by a pitch and, Justice Bigbie followed up with a walk. Andrew Jenkins singled to score both runner and push Erie in front 2-0.

The RubberDucks offense was neutralized for the first five innings against Minton. It's the first time this year that Minton has pitched into the sixth inning and the third time in his last four outings that he's left the game without allowing a run.

The RubberDucks found their footing offensively in the sixth against the SeaWolves bullpen. Bennett Thompson singled with two outs, and a wild pitch sent him to second base. A dropped third strike against Nolan Schubart did not end the inning, as it got away from Briceño behind the plate and allowed Schubart to reach. Akron took advantage of the extra chance when Dean Curley singled home Thompson to cut the Erie lead to 2-1.

The SeaWolves fired back with some insurance in the bottom of the inning. Seth Stephenson singled and stole second base, Peyton Graham drew a walk, and Bigbie sent a double off the wall to score the first run and restore a two-run lead. Jenkins followed that up with a line drive single to score a second, and Max Burt's single plated a third to give the SeaWolves a 5-1 lead.

The SeaWolves broke the game wide open in the eighth. A Bigbie double and Jenkins walk came across on a two-run single from Max Burt. Patrick Lee reaching on an error, it gave Stephenson an opportunity to score two more. He smashed a double to make the Erie lead 9-1.

Tyler Owens entered in relief in the ninth inning. The righty allowed one run on a groundout after a walk and a pair of singles. Owens proceeded to strikeout Jaison Chourio to finish off the 9-2 win.

Andrew Sears gets the ball tomorrow for the SeaWolves against Braylon Doughty for the RubberDucks. First pitch is at 6:35 PM.

Single-game tickets, suites, picnics, The Club by Synchrony events, and Bud Light Party Deck groups are now available by visiting SeaWolves.com, calling 814-456-1300, or visiting the UPMC Park Box Office in person.