Guardians Baseball Insider

The RubberDucks finished their most recent week of play by dropping the rubber match of the series on what was a scary day for Akron. After Eli Lingos’ frightening injury, in which he was struck by a line drive, Akron was unable to rally back from a five-run deficit. However, earlier in the week, Akron was able to secure two wins in a row to even the series, scoring eight and six runs respectively. Other than that, though, the Akron offense struggled in their three losses, scoring only four runs in those three games. The pitching staff struggled throughout the week except for the shutout in Friday’s nightcap, as starter pitchers not named Thomas Ponticelli surrendered a combined 20 runs (18 earned) in the other four games. While the team ERA is third in the league at 3.52, the starters’ ERA ranks 8th out of 12 teams, at a 4.26 clip. Once again, the theme of the lack of starting pitching for the RubberDucks has held the team back in several games. With Eli Lingos going down, it is very possible reinforcements could be on the way from Lake County, which has been a hotbed of young pitching talent with the likes of Logan T. Allen, Tanner Burns, Mason Hickman, and many more. Allen is a prime candidate to make his debut in Canal Park very soon, and this injury to Lingos may prompt that promotion. 

Day-by-Day

6/1: L 2-7 vs. Erie; W: R. Pinto (2-1); L: A. Royalty (1-1)

6/2: PPD to 6/4

6/3: PPD to 6/23

6/4: Game One: L 2-8 vs. Erie; W: Y. Chentouf (1-0); L: S. McCarthy (0-1)

       Game Two: W 6-0 vs. Erie; W: T. Ponticelli (2-1); L: A. Ladwig (1-2); SV: A. Pinto (2)

6/5: W 8-5 vs. Erie; W: J. Hillman (3-1); L: M. Leiter (1-3); SV N. Mikolajchak (4)

6/5: L 0-6 vs. Erie; W: P. Payano (2-1); L: E. Lingos (3-1)

Player of the Week:

OF Alex Call: 6-14, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1.438 OPS

Alex Call got off to a blistering start in June with a six-hit week in just four games, collecting four XBHs as well. In the series opener, Call recorded three hits driving in a run, and in the following game, he homered twice, scoring both runs for Akron. He now is second on the team in RBI’s, batting average, slugging percentage, and is tied for tops on the team in doubles. 

Who’s Hot:

C: Bo Naylor: 4-11, 2 2B, 3B, 1.091 OPS

After a solid week, Bo Naylor looks to be coming out of his slump that has made it a tough start to the season. In four games, Naylor logged four hits, three of which were for extra bases. His overall numbers still leave much to be desired, but the turn of the calendar from May to June may be all that he needed, as he has yet to go hitless in three games during the current calendar month.

RP Francisco Perez: 2 G, 5 IP, 2 ER, 10 SO, 0 BB

Francisco Perez continued his season as one of the top relievers in the entire Double-A Northeast, striking out 10 against Erie this past week in five innings of work. He is tops on the team and tied for seventh in the league. The southpaw gave up his first runs of the season on June 1st, but he still has only given up 2 ER in 20 innings of work. Perez got back to his dominant ways in the series finale in which the reliever struck out four in two frames.

SP Thomas Ponticelli: 1 GS, 5 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, W

Thomas Ponticelli turned in his best outing of the year on June 4th in the back end of the doubleheader, as he tossed five scoreless innings and gave Akron their first win of the series. The right-hander struck out three batters and was able to work around traffic on the basepaths throughout the game. Ponticelli retired all three batters he faced in an inning once, as he was able to work efficiently and effectively out of the stretch during the nightcap. Ponticelli moved to 2-1 with the win and lowered his season ERA to 1.53 in just his second start of the season, after relieving four games earlier in the year. 

Who’s Not

SP Shane McCarthy: 4 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO

Shane McCarthy struggled for the first time this season to prevent runs as the Erie offense was able to get to him early and often in his lone outing of the week. A four-run fifth inning for the SeaWolves knocked McCarthy out of the game, as all four batters that he put on base scored in the frame. This start was a far cry from his first outing against Erie, when he allowed only one hit, no runs, and struck out eight. The same command and swing and miss stuff did not seem to be there for the right-hander whose ERA ballooned from 2.60 to 4.64 in the loss. 

IF Andruw Monasterio: 2-15, 3B, 7 SO, .400 OPS

Andruw Monasterio struggled against the SeaWolves after a good stretch of play in the previous weeks. Monasterio only managed two hits and struck out in nearly half of his at-bats. The infielder went hitless in the first two games against Erie and finished out the series by striking out three times. After heading into June with a respectable .271 average, it has now dropped down to .238 after the first week of the month. 

Coming Up:

6/8: @ Altoona, 6:30 p.m.

6/9: @ Altoona, 6:30 p.m.

6/10: @ Altoona, 6:30 p.m.

6/11: @ Altoona, 7:00 p.m.

6/12: @ Altoona, 6:00 p.m.

6/13: @ Altoona, 6:00 p.m.