Goedert's perfect day powers Aeros

All that stood in the way of Jared Goedert making Aeros' history Tuesday was a second homer.

Goedert was 4-for-4 with a pair of homers and fell a triple shy of the cycle as Double-A Akron routed Erie, 8-1.

Goedert and the Aeros got off to a quick start with three consecutive longballs. Tim Fedroff hit the fifth pitch of the game over the wall in right field to stake the club to a 1-0 lead. Two pitches later, Juan Diaz made it 2-0, and on the very next pitch, the 2009 ninth-round pick by the Indians completed the back-to-back-to-back feat. Eight pitches into the game, the Aeros had a lead that would never be challenged.

"I wouldn't say I'm surprised because they're both a couple of really good hitters," Goedert said of the first-inning blasts. "It was a little bit of pressure. It's kind of cool to go back-to-back-to-back, I don't think I've ever done that before."

After doubling and scoring in the third and singling in the fourth, Goedert stepped to the plate in the sixth with a chance at the cycle. Instead, the 26-year-old left fielder went deep for the fifth time this season, a two-run shot. He exited in the seventh for a defensive replacement.

"I felt good," Geodert said. "I wasn't trying to do too much, it felt like every other day really. Things worked out for me statistically I guess."

"I wasn't even thinking about that [the cycle] honestly. I was happy with another homer, but it wasn't what I was trying to do. I was trying to be aggressive in a hitter's count."

The Kansas native is off to a torrid start for the Aeros, batting .383 with five homers and 17 RBIs. He currently paces the Eastern League in average and leads the league with a 1.060 OPS in 34 games.

"Towards the end of last year, as far as approach and hitting-wise, I felt good where I was at the last two months," Goedert said. "I tried to carry that into the offseason and be in the same place as last year. It's more of an aggressive approach, I think that's helped out a lot."

T.J. McFarland became the first Eastern League hurler to win seven games after allowing three hits and fanning six over seven shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.86 for Aeros.

Kyle Bellows smacked a pair of doubles and plated two runs while Chun-Hsiu Chen, the Indians' No. 17 prospect, singled to extend his hitting streak to six games.