(Trenton, NJ) - The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, have designated August as "Make a Difference Month" at Waterfront Park with a portion of ticket sales supporting autism research, education, and advocacy programs.
Through ticket sales and other fund raisers, the team hopes to raise over $10,000 for the cause. To purchase tickets in support of this program fans are instructed to go to www.trentonthunder.com and click on the "Make A Difference Month" link for an order form. The form can be mailed, faxed (609-394-9666) or delivered to Waterfront Park. Phone orders are also accepted at 609-394-3300 and fans are asked to mention "Make A Difference" when ordering.
The "Make A Difference Month" campaign was initiated by Thunder Assistant General Manager Greg Coleman, whose 3-year old son was recently diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), a disability related to autism which affects the development of social interaction and communication.
"Because individuals with autism or PDD may have age appropriate skills in one area and delays in other areas, many families fail to identify the symptoms," said Coleman. "We hope that the campaign will raise awareness and help affected families get the services and support that they need."
The Thunder have 12 games remaining in the 2006 regular season with the season finale set for September 4 at 1:35 PM. The "Make A Difference Month" program applies to all remaining Thunder games this season.
The First Place Thunder will host the Second Place Binghamton Mets (New York Mets) August 8-10. Playoff tickets are on sale now by calling 609-394-3300.
RECENTLY... The Aeros won five of six games over their last home stand, taking two of three vs. New Hampshire in the first series and completing a three game sweep over Portland, defeating the SeaDogs 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.
COMING IN HOT TONIGHT...Akron has now won five straight as they roll into New Hampshire for a three game series to begin a six game road-trip...9-4 RHP SEAN SMITH looks to pick up his 10th win of the season and to keep the teams winning streak alive...Tonight's match-up begins at 6:35 against the Fisher Cats.
RECENT ROSTER MOVE... -Today August 8, LHP AARON LAFFEY was sent to Class A Lake County...The Aeros received RHP JENSEN LEWIS from Class A Kinston...At Kinston, Lewis had a record of 7-6 and a 3.99 ERA over 21 games started (108 IP, 110 H, 48 ER, 29 BB, 94 SO).
OTHER ROSTER MOVES...-On Friday July 28, 3B KEVIN KOUZMANOFF was sent to Triple A Buffalo...The Aeros activated 3B JARED SANDBERG from the D.L...OF NATHAN PANTHER was sent to Class A Kinston...The Aeros received OF JON VAN EVERY from Triple A Buffalo.-On Thursday, August 3, 1B RYAN MULHERN was placed on the disabled list with a right knee bruise...OF TREVOR CROWE was activated from the D.L.
IT'S MILLER TIME...RHP ADAM MILLER has now won 5 straight decisions of his last six appearances with an ERA of 0.50, (36.2 IP, 25 H, 4R, 2 ER, 11 BB, 41 SO) over that stretch...He is now 12-5 with the fifth lowest ERA in the E.L. of 3.01, (125.2 IP, 109 H, 42 ER, 37 BB, 128 SO), on the year.
CONSISTENT...Over his last 34 appearances, RHP JIM ED WARDEN is 3-1 with 7 SV and a 1.83 ERA (39.1 IP, 20 H, 13 R, 8 ER, 19 BB, 30 SO)...After 17 games with the Aeros, OF BRIAN BARTON is batting .426 (26-61, 5 HR, 11 RBI and 10 SB).
HIGH HONORS...RHP ADAM MILLER was named the Eastern League Player of the Month for the Month of July. He compiled a perfect 4-0 record to go along with 30 strikeouts, nine walks, a 0.29 ERA and a .232 opponent's batting average in 30.2 innings of work.
JULY'S BEST... OF RYAN GOLESKI was among the league's best, batting .308 (32-104, 18 R, 11 2B, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 1 SB) with a slugging percentage of .558...OF BRIAN BARTON had at least one hit in 11 of the 12 games he played in the month, batting .488 (20-41) ...He also showed power and speed, with five home runs and eight stolen bases over his first 12 games with Akron.
LEAGUE LEADERS...RHP ADAM MILLER is tied for first in the E.L. in wins (12), tied for third in strikeouts (128) and also has the fifth lowest era (3.01) ...RHP JIM ED WARDEN is tied for second in appearances (44)...2B EIDER TORRES is second in stolen bases (39)...OF BRAD SNYDER is tied for fourth in runs scored (61).
AS A TEAM...The Aeros lead the Eastern League in batting average (.276), hits (1063) and SB (150) and runs scored (547) ...On the hill, Akron leads the Eastern League in shutouts (14) and is second in strikeouts (860).
The Trenton Thunder scored four times in the second and never looked back, beating the Binghamton Mets 7-2 in the series opener at Waterfront Park Tuesday. Binghamton's lost three in a row, falling two games behind the first-place Thunder.
Trenton (63-52) batted around in the fourth, reaching William Collazo for five hits and four runs. Grant Plumley got Trenton on the board with an RBI single before Vince Faison hit a two-out, three-run homer to right, giving Trenton a 4-0 lead.
The B-Mets (60-53) pulled within three in the bottom of the fourth when Chase Lambin led off with a double, moved to third on a Philip Hughes wild pitch and scored on Michel Abreu's groundout to third. That would be the only run Hughes (7-3) would allow over five innings of work.
Trenton got to Collazo (6-6) again in the fifth when Omir Santos singled home a run. Felix Escalona's RBI single in the sixth gave Trenton a 6-1 lead before Plumley's second RBI single of the game in the seventh increased the Thunder's lead to six.
Abreu completed the scoring with a leadoff homer in the ninth.
Wednesday, the B-Mets play the second game of their three-game series at Trenton. Miguel Pinango (7-6, 3.87) will start for Binghamton against Matt Childers (1-1, 2.01) of Trenton. The first pitch is slated for 7:05 at Waterfront Park with the radio broadcast starting at 6:50 on Newsradio 1290 WNBF.
18-hit attack leads Thunder to 7-2 win over B-Mets
(Trenton, NJ)- Trenton pounded out 18 hits, three hits for four different players, and Phil Hughes allowed one run over five innings to lead the Thunder to a 7-2 win over Binghamton on Tuesday afternoon.
The Thunder (63-52) tagged B-Mets starter Willie Collazzo for 14 hits over six innings. Trenton took the lead with a four-run 2nd Inning. An RBI single by DH Grant Plumley put Trenton on the board. RF Vince Faison added a three-run homer later in the inning for a 4-0 lead. After Binghamton got a run back off Hughes in the 4th Inning, Trenton got single runs off Collazzo (6-6) in the 5th and 6th Innings thanks to RBI singles from C Omir Santos and 3B Kevin Howard for a 6-1 lead.
Meanwhile, Hughes allowed just two Binghamton batters to reach base over five ininngs. Hughes (7-3) picked up six strikeouts with no walks en route to the win. Binghamton (60-53) scored their first run after a leadoff double by 3B Chase Lambin, who later scored on a Michel Abreu ground out.
2B Gabe Lopez, Faison and 1B Randy Ruiz each had three hits as the top three batters in the order, while DH Grant Plumley added three hits and two RBI from the bottom of the order. SS Felix Escalona set a Trenton franchise record as he was hit by a pitch three times in the game.
The series continues on Wednesday at 7:05 PM. Matt Childers (1-1, 2.01) starts for the Thunder against Binghamton's Miguel Pinango (7-6, 3.87).
The Harrisburg Senators announced today that several player moves have occurred due to the trade of major league pitcher Livan Hernandez to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hernandez was traded on Monday to Arizona for two minor league pitchers, both have been assigned to the Harrisburg roster.
Pitchers Matt Chico and Garrett Mock will be added and three other moves were announced at the same time. The Senators sent all-star pitcher Kip Bouknight to New Orleans. The team activated pitcher Chris Thompson from the Inactive List and then sent Thompson and pitcher Juan Ovalles to Potomac.
Bouknight leaves Harrisburg after 21 starts this season. He was 6-8 with a 4.55 ERA. In 124.2 innings, he allowed 127 hits, 63 earned runs, 39 walks and 92 strikeouts. Bouknight also tossed three scoreless innings in the Eastern League all-star game this season.
Both new comers will join the Senators off of the Tennessee Smokies' roster, which is the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Mock had been with the Smokies all season and made 23 starts with a 4-8 record and a 4.95 ERA. Garrett worked in 131 innings and allowed 144 hits and 50 walks and had 117 strikeouts. Mock was selected by Arizona in the 3rd round of the 2004 draft.
Another third rounder (2003), Chico split his time this season between Lancaster and Tennessee. In 10 starts at single-A Lancaster, Chico was 3-4 with a 3.75 ERA. The lefthander ran his record to 7-2 at Tennessee in just 13 starts. At double-A, he worked 81 innings and allowed just 62 hits and 20 earned runs.
With the player move today, the Senators active roster stands at 23 players, the limit allowed by the Eastern League. Rosters will expand to 24 on Thursday.
Today's Game... Today is game one of a three-game series in Portland. The Sea Dogs enter play this evening in third place in the Northern Division having fallen behind both Trenton and Binghamton after leading the division for most of the season. The Senators come into play tied for third with Reading after taking two of three from Reading over the weekend. The Sens were 4-2 on the homestand and hit 14 home runs.
Last Time Out... On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon for baseball, the Senators made it four wins in six tries on their homestand with a 6-4 win over the Reading Phillies. With new Nationals prinicpal owner Mark Lerner and team president Stan Kasten in attendance the Senators used outstanding pitching from David Maust and the longball to defeat the Phils. Kory Casto homered twice for the second time this season, and Prentice Redman and Salomon Manriquez also homered. The Sens wrapped up their six-game homestand with 14 home runs. David Maust (6-9) went 6.1 innings for the win allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out three. Maust stranded the bases loaded in the first and two in the fifth, pitching out of trouble in both cases. Dan Kolb earned his sixth save of the season, and third straight, even though he allowed a run in the ninth inning. For the second straight appearance he struck out the final batter of the game.
Big Trade... There were several player moves made earlier today due to the trade of major league pitcher Livan Hernandez to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hernandez was traded on Monday to Arizona for two minor league pitchers, both have been assigned to the Senators. Pitchers Matt Chico and Garrett Mock will be added and three other moves were announced at the same time. Both new comers will join the Senators off of the Tennessee Smokies' roster, which is the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mock had been with the Smokies all season and made 23 starts with a 4-8 record and a 4.95 ERA. Garrett worked in 131 innings and allowed 144 hits and 50 walks and had 117 strikeouts. Mock was selected by Arizona in the 3rd round of the 2004 draft. Another third rounder (2003), Chico split his time this season between Lancaster and Tennessee. In 10 starts at single-A Lancaster, Chico was 3-4 with a 3.75 ERA. The lefthander ran his record to 7-2 at Tennessee in just 13 starts. At double-A, he worked 81 innings and allowed just 62 hits and 20 earned runs.
Nationals Senators Players of the Month... INF Josh Whitesell and RHP Justin Echols were selected as the Senators players of the Month by the Nationals. Whitesell was 27 x 80 (.338) with 7 HRs and 14 RBIs. He had a slugging percentage of .613. Echols had an ERA of 3.86 in six starts. In 32.2 innings he struck out 31 and walked 19 and opponents batted just .246 off of him.
Against Portland... This is the second and final time these teams play one another this year. The Senators took three of four from Portland April 20-23 at Commerce Bank Park. The Senators beat Portland just one time in the 2005 season.
4/20 Home W 5-3 Sens snap four-game losing streak with Echols on the mound and Casto homering
4/21 Home W 6-4 Sens score all six runs in the first three innings and Shawn Hill earned his first win
4/23 Home #1 L 4-5 Corcoran blows his only save as Portland scores four in the seventh to win
4/23 Home #2 W 3-0 Alvarez pitched six shut out innings and Manriquez hit two-run homer in win
Playoff Chase... Beginning play today, the Senators and Reading Phillies are tied for third place and both trail Altoona by 10 games for second place. The "magic number" for the Senators to be eliminated by Altoona from the playoff race is 18. That number is the combined number of Altoona wins and Senator losses.
Majewski's walk-off home run gives Fisher Cats 3-1 victory over Akron
Manchester, NH- Dustin Majewski's second home run of the night, a two-run blast that cleared the centerfield wall with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, gave the New Hampshire Fisher Cats a 3-1 walk-off win over the Akron Aeros before 4,810 delirious fans Tuesday night at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium.
Majewski's game-winning shot off Tony Sipp (3-2) was his fourth home run in his last 12 at-bats, and it made a winner of Jordan DeJong (4-0). DeJong went two perfect innings, extending his scoreless-innings stretch to 16.1 IP over his last 9 appearances.
Majewski (2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI) staked New Hampshire (51-64) to a 1-0 lead with a line drive home run off Akron starter Sean Smith (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K) with two outs in the fifth inning. It was the third home run in three games for Majewski, matching a franchise record established by Adam Lind earlier this season and matched by David Smith Sunday in Erie.
Akron (71-44) tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the seventh inning against David Purcey on a bad-hop single by Trevor Crowe that plagted David Wallace. Purcey matched season highs in innings pitched (7) and least runs allowed (1), while striking out a season-high nine batters. The left-hander scattered six hits --all singles-- and walked three.
The Fisher Cats and the Aeros play game two of their three-game series Wednesday morning at 11:05am when Jesse Litsch (2-4. 5.85) pitches against Akron's Jensen Lewis (1-0, 1.00). Bob Lipman and Mike Murphy will call the action on WTPL 107.7 FM and www.nhfishercts.com starting at 11am. Tickets can be purchased by calling (603) 641-2005 or by visiting www.nhfishercats.com.
The Connecticut Defenders beat the Altoona Curve 3-1 thanks to a gutsy pitching performance by James Garcia, who snapped a personal five game losing streak.
The Defenders got on the board in the top of the first inning when they loaded the bases with no outs. A run scored when Brian Horwitz grounded into a double play. The Defenders got only the one run in the 1st. They loaded the bases with one out in the 2nd inning, but could not get a run across, so the Defenders led 1-0 after two innings, yet it was a disappointing two innings. The Defenders loaded the bases again in the 3rd inning, this time with two outs, and Todd Jennings delivered a two run single to right field, giving the Defenders a 3-0 lead.
The Curve scored on a sacrifice fly against James Garcia in the bottom of the 3rd, but that would be all Garcia would allow. In seven innings of work, Garcia allowed only one run on three hits, and two walks, working nearly flawlessly after allowing the run. The Defenders would not score either after the 3rd inning, but three runs were enough. Joe Bateman and Billy Sadler finished the 3-1 victory. Sadler picked up his 18th save, and third in four games.
The Defenders will try to win their fourth straight series with right hander Jesse Floyd (2-12) taking to the hill on Wednesday. Right hander Wardell Starling (4-2) will pitch for Altoona. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Sea Dogs can't capitalize late, lose their tenth straight
The Sea Dogs scored three runs in the final two innings but fell short on Tuesday night, 4-3 to the Harrisburg Senators in the start of a 9-game homestand. Portland suffers their 10th straight loss and the second in team history.
Beltran Perez (8-5) worked seven and 1/3 innings on five hits, one run (unearned), two walks and five strikeouts. Frank Brooks (2-4) fanned eight over six and 1/3 innings on four hits and three runs. Dan Kolb worked the ninth inning, allowing two runs to earn his seventh save of the season.
Matt Van Der Bosch and Keoni De Renne had two hits for the 'Dogs, who lost their fourth game in five tries against Harrisburg.
Cristian Guerrero had two hits for the Senators, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning off Brooks.
Portland rallied for two runs in the ninth inning on sacrifice flies by Dusty Brown and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Notes...Portland has never lost 11 games in the history of the franchise...Jon Searles and Randy Beam worked scoreless innings...The Sea Dogs have lost the season series to Harrisburg.
Allied Home Mortgage Big Dog of the Game: Matt Van Der Bosch
Curve offense sputters against Defenders, fall to Connecticut 3-1
ALTOONA, PA - The Altoona Curve managed just a single run on Singles Night at Blair County Ballpark, losing to the Connecticut Defenders 3-1 on Tuesday night. Nyjer Morgan had one of the Curve's three hits and scored the lone run of the game for Altoona. The two teams will play the rubber match of their series Wednesday night.
Altoona pitcher Dave Davidson arrived at the ballpark Tuesday morning to learn he would be starting that night's game, his first start of the 2006 season in just his second appearance in a Curve uniform.
Davidson, who was added to the Curve roster from Lynchburg on Monday, was handed the loss despite not allowing an earned run. The left-hander pitched two innings and surrendered an unearned run on two hits while striking out two.
The Defenders scored in their first at-bat when leadoff hitter Derin McMains reached on a throwing error by Brandon Chaves. He would advance to third base on an error by Ray Sadler during the following at-bat and score on a ground out by teammate Brian Horwitz.
The Curve have now committed at least one first-inning error in four consecutive games, and a total of 11 defensive miscues in that same span.
Eastern League news 8/09
Eastern League news 8/09
