Nellie's blast give 'Ducks win in 11 innings, 2-1
RubberDucks 2 Mets 1 (11)
WP: Louis Head (1-1) LP: Mike Hepple (2-2) SV: Ben Heller
Summary
Akron's Nellie Rodriguez blasted a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning Saturday afternoon, snapping a 1-1 tie and lifting the RubberDucks to a 2-1 victory over the Binghamton Mets at NYSEG Stadium.
Turning Point
In the 11th, Rodriguez led off the inning and ripped the first pitch he saw from Mets right-hander Mike Hepple (2-2) off the batter's eye in center field to give the RubberDucks a 2-1 lead. It was Rodriguez's seventh home run of the season and raised his RBI total to 19.
Winging It
Louis Head worked three perfect innings of relief to earn the win for the RubberDucks. Head (1-1) entered the game in the eighth inning and mowed down every Mets hitter he faced, including four by strikeout. He turned things over to closer Ben Heller, who worked around a single and walk in the ninth to post his six save in six chances. Heller has now tossed 11.1 consecutive scoreless innings over his last 11 outings. J.P. Feyereisen also chipped in 1.2 innings of perfect relief, striking out four of the five batters he faced.
Duck Tales
Bradley Zimmer tied the game at 1-1 with a solo home run in the sixth inning off B-Mets starter Robert Gsellman. It was Zimmer's fifth of the year.
Notebook
The RubberDucks (19-9) improved to 3-0 in extra-inning games…Victor Cruzado homered off Ducks starter Adam Plutko in the second inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead…Plutko allowed only Cruzado's homer, but reached 83 pitches and left after four innings…Ironically, Rodriguez hit a game-winning sacrifice fly off Hepple at Canal Park on April 20th…RubberDucks pitching matched a season-high with 13 strikeouts…Time of game: 3:31…Attendance: 1,780.
On Deck
The RubberDucks and B-Mets will play the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05. LHP Rob Kaminsky is the announced starter for Akron, and LHP Andrew Barbosa is expected to get the ball for the Mets. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.