Aug. 12: Bracho homers again, but Senators beat Ducks, 5-4

August 12, 2023 RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score

Harrisburg Senators (20-18, 51-55) 5, Akron RubberDucks (19-19, 54-53) 4

WP: Dustin Saenz (3-4) LP: Ross Carver (1-4) Save: Nash Walters (3)

Summary

Akron second baseman Aaron Bracho homered for a third straight game and had three hits, while RubberDucks center fielder Petey Halpin also had three hits, but the Harrisburg Senators prevailed, 5-4, in the fifth game of a six-game series at FNB Field Saturday night.

Aaron Bracho's 3⃣rd straight game with a HOME RUN!

TOP 6 | Harrisburg 5 | Akron 3 pic.twitter.com/703OPZUCq5

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) August 12, 2023

Turning Point

The Senators already led, 1-0, in the fourth inning, when they widened their lead against Akron right-hander Ross Carver. After a walk to right fielder James Wood, third baseman Brady House singled to left field. Two batters later, catcher Israel Pineda hit a three-run home run to left field, extending the Harrisburg lead to 4-0.

Mound Presence

Carver pitched two hitless innings before yielding the game’s first run in the third inning, when shortstop Jackson Cluff and left fielder Jacob Young hit consecutive one-out doubles. After the three-run fourth inning, he struck out two batters around a hit and walk in the fifth, departing after a season-long 4 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Right-hander Tyler Thornton entered and allowed House’s RBI single before ending the inning and lasting 1 1/3 innings. Right-hander Franco Aleman was perfect with two strikeouts across the seventh and eighth innings.

Duck Tales

Akron reached the scoreboard in the fifth inning off left-hander Dustin Saenz. Third baseman Gabriel Rodríguez drew a one-out walk, and left fielder Connor Kokx hit a two-out RBI double to left-center field. Halpin then hit an RBI single to right field but was caught in a rundown to end the inning with a 4-2 deficit. Bracho hit a two-out home run off Saenz - his first off a left-hander this season - in the sixth to cut the gap to 5-3. In the eighth, Bracho doubled to left-center field off right-hander Tyler Schoff, and right fielder Cesar Idrogo hit an RBI double off right-hander Nash Walters to the center-field wall to make it 5-4. Walters retired the final four batters of the game to earn his second save of the series.

The 6th @connorkokx hit this week has us on the board!

TOP 5 | Harrisburg 4 | Akron 1 pic.twitter.com/Y7aIo1BQwo

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) August 12, 2023

A 3-hit night already + an RBI for @peteyhalpin

TOP 5 | Harrisburg 4 | Akron 2 pic.twitter.com/UbYwMSq4cI

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) August 12, 2023

The 1st Double-A RBI for Cesar Idrogo!

TOP 8 | Harrisburg 5 | Akron 4 pic.twitter.com/QybUH17EYm

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) August 13, 2023

Notebook

Losing four of the first five games in the series, the RubberDucks dropped a series in Harrisburg for the first time since July 2018…Shortstop Juan Brito went 0-for-4, ending his 24-game on-base streak – the longest by a RubberDuck since Ka’ai Tom (27) in 2019 and tied for seventh-longest in the league overall this season…Akron fell one game behind Harrisburg and Bowie (20-18), remaining two games behind Richmond (21-17) in the Southwest Division second-half race…Akron leads the season series with Harrisburg, 9-8…Game Time: 2:18…Attendance: 7,469.

On the Pond

The RubberDucks conclude their series in Harrisburg at 1 p.m. Sunday at FNB Field. Left-hander Doug Nikhazy (4-6, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to face Senators left-hander Mitchell Parker (8-4, 4.83 ERA). The game broadcast is on 640 WHLO, the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and akronrubberducks.com, and available on Bally Live. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.