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Francisco Mejia walks it off on Father's Day, 3-2

Francisco Mejia delivered a pinch hit, walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to cap a three-game sweep of the Sea Dogs on Father's Day at Canal Park. (David Monseur)
June 18, 2017

RubberDucks Game RecapRubberDucks 3 Sea Dogs 2WP: Robbie Aviles (3-1) LP: Luis Ysla (1-4) Save: None SummaryFrancisco Mejía hit a walk-off pinch-hit double in the ninth inning to beat the Sea Dogs 3-2 completing the three-game sweep on Father's Day at Canal Park.

RubberDucks Game Recap<o:p>
RubberDucks 3 Sea Dogs 2<o:p>
WP: Robbie Aviles (3-1) LP: Luis Ysla (1-4) Save: None <o:p>
Summary<o:p>
Francisco Mejía hit a walk-off pinch-hit double in the ninth inning to beat the Sea Dogs 3-2 completing the three-game sweep on Father's Day at Canal Park.

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Turning Point<o:p>
Following a Dorssys Paulino walk, Francisco Mejía received a pinch-hit opportunity on what was a routine day off for him with the winning run on first base. Mejia delivered by hitting a line drive off the right field wall to win the game for the RubberDucks.<o:p>
Winging It<o:p>
Akron starter Matt Esparza settled in to throw five scoreless innings, following a two-run homer given up in the first inning to Nick Longhi. Esparza gave up five hits, walked one and struck out five, giving up just two runs. Esparza also came back to work the sixth inning following a 49-minute rain delay. In relief for the Ducks, Leandro Linares threw two scoreless, allowing just one hit. Portland starter Travis Lakins rebounded from a shaky first inning to throw 4.2 innings, allowing just one hit, one unearned run while striking out four and walking four. Lakins did not stay in the game following the rain delay in the fifth, and left-hander Bobby Poyner entered. Robbie Aviles secured his third win of the season for Akron, and worked a scoreless ninth inning. Luis Ysla was the loser for Portland, yielding a walk followed by Mejia's walk-off hit. <o:p>
Duck Tales<o:p>
The Ducks scored one run in the bottom of the first when Portland starter Travis Lakins struggled to find the strike zone early. Lakins began the game with a walk, hit batter and a walk. A fielder's choice grounder hit by Bobby Bradley with a throwing error by shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin would allow Tyler Krieger to score. The Ducks tied the game at two a piece in the sixth inning when Yu Chang blasted a solo home run. It was Chang's team leading 14th home run of the season. The walk-off double was Mejia's first career walk-off with the RubberDucks and was the teams third walk-off win of the season.<o:p>
Notebook<o:p>
The game was delayed 49-minutes due to rain with the game paused at two outs in the bottom of the fifth… Jorma Rodriguez made his Double-A debut, batting ninth and playing third base for the Ducks… Rodriguez was 0-3 in the game… Following a solid Double-A pitching debut last night, Tanner Tully was transferred back to Lake County and Matt Whitehouse was received back from Columbus… Time of Game: 3:03 (0:49 delay)… Attendance: 6,901 <o:p>
On Deck<o:p>
The RubberDucks are off Monday before beginning a six-game road trip. Akron will begin a three game series vs. Reading on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Nick Pasquale (3-5, 4.99) is scheduled to start for Akron against Reading's Tommy Bergjans (0-0, 3.60). The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1350 AM, the WARF iHeart channel, and the TuneIn Radio App.<o:p>