Brieske Logs Six Strong Frames in Double-A Debut
The SeaWolves were let down by their bullpen on Sunday afternoon, dropping their series finale with the Akron RubberDucks in 10 innings, 6-4. Erie held a two run lead with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning, but Akron tied the game with their 16th
The SeaWolves were let down by their bullpen on Sunday afternoon, dropping their series finale with the Akron RubberDucks in 10 innings, 6-4. Erie held a two run lead with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning, but Akron tied the game with their 16th home run of the series, and plated two runs in the 10th inning to win. Every batter in the SeaWovles lineup reached base at least once, while eight collected hits.
Akron made the first strike in the third inning when Andruw Monasterio lifted a two-run home run to center field. Despite the early deficit, Erie was able to lean on Beau Brieske to work a quality start in his Double-A debut. After the home run, Brieske faced the minimum for the remainder of his outing, and retired the final 10 batters. Out of the pen, Erie got scoreless innings from Brad Bass and Gerson Moreno.
Erie faced Cody Morris for the second time this week, but could not break through over the first three innings, stranding runners in scoring position in the second and third. Trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, Brady Policelli lined his third home run of the series to left-center field, a two-run shot to tie the game.
Against the Akron bullpen, Erie took the lead in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Kerry Carpenter, and Josh Lester broke out of a four-game hitless skid with a solo home run, his 15th homer of the season, to give Erie an insurance run.
The extra run from Lester proved necessary. In the ninth inning, Henry Martinez was one strike away from closing the win, but blew the save by allowing a game-tying two-run home run to Marcos Gonzalez.
With the game tied into the tenth inning, Erie left it up to Martinez to try and hold the tie, but that was still not possible. Martinez let up another pair of runs on a single-and-error hit by Brayan Rocchio. All four Akron runs in the ninth and tenth innings scored with two outs and two strikes on the batter at the plate.
Erie hits the road for six games against the Harrisburg Senators starting on Tuesday. It will be the first time this season that Erie faces Harrisburg, the only team in their division that they have not seen this year. The first pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Erie returns to UPMC Park on Tuesday August 10 to open a series with the Altoona Curve.