Game 57: Ducks vs Skeeters

The Long Island Ducks enter tonight’s series finale against the Sugar Land Skeeters a season-high 10 games above .500 thanks to wins in six of their last seven games. Prior to this series, the Flock had taken the first three games of a four-game set over the Camden Riversharks before dropping that series finale 6-5 on Friday. Long Island has once again won the first three games of a four-game series, this time against the Skeeters, to position themselves favorably for the final two-week stretch of the first half of the season. Tonight, the Ducks look to finish off a four-game sweep of the Skeeters for the second time in franchise history. The first came back in 2012, from June 28 to July 1, which clinched the first half title for the Ducks.

Last night, the Ducks strong starting pitching continued against the Skeeters. This time, it was the 2013 Atlantic League Championship Series MVP John Brownell who stole the show. Less than 24 hours after Jared Lansford tossed the fifth Ducks’ complete game of the year, Brownell improved that number to six. The righty went the distance, allowing just two runs on six hits, two walks and eight strikeouts en route to a 3-2 Ducks victory. It took Brownell 111 pitches to toss his team-leading third complete game of the year. In addition, Brownell now leads the league in strikeouts with 65, eight more than teammate Shaun Garceau.

Brownell retired the first 10 batters of the ballgame before a one-out double to Taylor Harbin, followed by a stolen base and a RBI single from Travis Scott gave the Skeeters a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Sugar Land did not lead for long, however, as a two-run single from Keith Castillo and a RBI base hit from Dan Lyons in the bottom of the fourth provided the Ducks with a 3-1 lead. The Skeeters scraped together a run in the top of the seventh inning to trim the deficit, but that was all they would muster.

CLICK HERE to view the recap, listen to the audio highlights and watch postgame comments from Kevin Baez, John Brownell and Keith Castillo.

Tonight, Bobby Blevins looks to continue the trend of strong starting pitching from the Ducks against Skeeters righty Matt Wright. Blevins takes the hill tonight with a 4-1 record, team-best 3.39 ERA and 47 strikeouts to just 14 walks over 66 and one-third innings of work. Blevins has won his last three decisions. In his lone start against the Sugar Land this year, Blevins received a no-decision after allowing one run on four hits over seven innings. His counterpart tonight, Wright, is 4-5 on the year with a 3.58 ERA – tenth best in the Atlantic League. Wright has not lost since his May 23 start against the Ducks; a game in which Wright allowed four runs (three earned) eight hits in six and one-third innings. Since that start, Wright has dropped his ERA from 5.40 to 3.58 over five starts, allowing more than one run in a start just once in that span.

Here are tonight’s game notes:

Ducks vs. Skeeters: Tonight marks the seventh meeting of the season between the Ducks and Skeeters and fourth of 10 games between them on Long Island. The Ducks currently lead the series five games to one. Long Island and Sugar Land have played 46 games against each other all-time, with the Skeeters holding a 27-19 lead. However, the Ducks have a 13-10 lead at Bethpage Ballpark.

Triple Crown Threat: Lew Ford is currently leading the Atlantic League in all three Triple Crown categories. The outfielder and hitting coach has a .376 batting average, which is one point higher than Lancaster’s Blake Gailen. His 11 home runs are tied with Lancaster’s Cole Garner for the league lead, and his 50 RBI are seven better than Garner’s 43. Ford is also leading the league in hits (80), runs (47) and total bases (127) and has reached base safely in 21 of his last 23 games.

Lentini Loves to Hit: With a single in the third inning on Sunday, Fehlandt Lentini extended his hitting streak to 18 consecutive games. That’s the longest hitting streak by a Duck this season. During the streak, Lentini is batting .368 (28-for-76) with six doubles, one homer, 10 RBI and 12 runs. Lentini also stole his Atlantic League leading 24th base in the game and is 24-for-24 in stolen base attempts this year. He is the current league leader in doubles (18) and at-bats (237) and is fifth in batting (.321).

Going the Distance: John Brownell’s complete game on Sunday marked the second straight game in which a Ducks pitcher went the distance. Jared Lansford did so in game two on Saturday. Brownell now leads the Atlantic League with three complete games this year after tossing a league-best seven in 2013. The Ducks now have six complete games as a staff this season. In addition, Brownell finished with eight strikeouts and now leads the league with 65, eight more than teammate Shaun Garceau.

Winning Ways: The Ducks are currently at their high water mark of the season at 10 games over .500 (33-23). The last time the Ducks were 10 games over .500 for their overall record was July 7, 2012 when the team was 39-29. Long Island’s high water mark of 2013 was nine games over .500 when they were 14-5 in the second half of the season on July 24.

On the Air: Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on the Ducks official YouTube channel. Live streaming video and audio will be available by CLICKING HERE. Michael Polak will call the play-by-play.

Finally, here are tonight’s lineups:

Ducks
#24 Fehlandt Lentini – RF
#2   Cody Puckett – 2B
#20 Lew Ford – CF
#50 Randy Ruiz – DH
#25 Brendan Harris – 3B
#13 Adam Bailey – LF
#22 Joash Brodin – 1B
#27 Keith Castillo – C
#12 Dan Lyons – SS

#18 Bobby Blevins – RHP

Skeeters
#29 Ryan Langerhans – LF
#6    Taylor Harbin – SS
#24 Delwyn Young – 2B
#11  Brian Barton – CF
#16 Travis Scott – C
#5   Chase Lambin – 2B
#21 Nick Stavinoha – 1B
#25 Neil Medchill – RF
#4   Dominic Ramos – 3B

#34 Matt Wright – RHP

Stay tuned here for updates throughout the game as the Ducks look to earn the four-game sweep over the Skeeters!

UPDATE (6:58): No score between the Ducks and the Skeeters through the first inning tonight at Bethpage Ballpark.

UPDATE (7:04): Bobby Blevins has retired the first six batters of the game with three strikeouts! He entered tonight eighth in the league in ERA (3.39)!

UPDATE (7:17): Sugar Land gets back-to-back home runs from Neil Medchill and Dominic Ramos in the third inning to grab a 2-0 lead.

UPDATE (7:35): A two-run home run from Nick Stavinoha in the top of the fourth increases the Skeeters lead to 4-0.

UPDATE (7:42): Ducks get on the board! Joash Brodin with a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to trim the Skeeters lead to 4-1!

UPDATE (7:51): Ryan Langerhans extends the Skeeters lead back out to four with a solo home run in the fifth. 5-1 Sugar Land.

UPDATE (8:23): Through six innings at Bethpage Ballpark, Sugar Land still leads 5-1 over the Ducks.

UPDATE (8:33): The Skeeters extend their lead to 8-1 in the top of the seventh on a two-run triple from Ryan Langerhans and a sac fly from Taylor Harbin.

UPDATE (8:51): Sugar Land adds three more runs, all unearned in the seventh. Skeeters lead 11-1.

UPDATE (9:01): Cody Puckett with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh! 11-2 Skeeters.

UPDATE (9:06): Ducks add two more runs! Randy Ruiz with a two-run double and the Flock now trail 11-4 in the seventh!

UPDATE (9:34): Both teams add a run in the eighth inning. Skeeters lead 12-5, heading to the top of the ninth inning.

UPDATE (9:50): Skeeters take the final game of the four-game series 12-5. Ducks are off the next two days before beginning a series at the York Revolution.

Game 27: Ducks at Skeeters

It’s a high five for the Ducks! After completing a four-game sweep of the Blue Crabs on Thursday and traveling early in the morning to Texas on Friday, the Ducks didn’t skip a beat in the series opener. John Brownell was magnificent on the mound, the offense got some timely hits and timely miscues from the Skeeters, and the Ducks won their fifth consecutive game 4-0 over Sugar Land. The victory ended an 11-game losing streak at Constellation Field dating back to September 10, 2012.

The story on Friday was Brownell. Long Island’s ace had struggled to this point, allowing four runs or more in each of his previous four outings. Last night was vintage Brownell, as the right-hander tossed 115 pitches, 71 of which were for strikes, and completed seven shutout innings for his second win of the season. He ran into some trouble early, allowing two hits to open both the first and second inning, but he rebounded to keep the Skeeters of the scoreboard both times. The third-year Duck finished with eight hits and two walks allowed and tied a season-high with seven strikeouts. That now gives him 32 on the year, which leads the Atlantic League. He also stranded eight Skeeters runners on base. Following the game, we had a chance to catch up with Brownell:

His backstop, Keith Castillo, had a pretty good day as well. Not only did he call a great game, but he also delivered Long Island’s biggest hit. With two out in the fourth, Randy Ruiz and Adam Bailey both singled to center. That set the stage for Castillo, who ripped a double inside the bag at first to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead against Skeeters starter Matt Wright, who took the less and fell to 1-5. Three innings later, Wright committed an error on a pick-off attempt at first that allowed Dan Lyons to score from third. Fehlandt Lentini would score the final run on a wild pitch from Ramon Delgado, and both Eric Niesen and Leo Rosales would throw a scoreless inning to close out the game.

CLICK HERE for Friday’s game recap, complete with audio game highlights.

Tonight, the Ducks will look to make it six consecutive wins for the first time since July 5 through 13 of 2013. They turn to their best starter up to this point, right-hander Bobby Blevins, who will make his sixth start of the season tonight. He is 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA thus far in 2014 and went a season-long eight innings in Monday’s 5-3 win over the Blue Crabs. Blevins has struck out 27 batters, good for third in the Atlantic League, while walking only seven in 32 innings of work this season. He’ll be opposed by righty Chris Smith, who makes the spot-start after Michael Nix was signed on Friday by the San Diego Padres organization and will report to Triple-A El Paso. Smith has appeared in six games (two starts) and has a 3-0 record with a 1.62 ERA. The former big leaguer’s longest outing was five innings on May 5 at Camden, and he most recently pitched a week ago in Somerset where he threw three scoreless innings as a starter.

Here are tonight’s game notes:

Ducks vs. Skeeters: Tonight marks the second meeting of the season between the Ducks and Skeeters and the second of 10 games between the two at Constellation Field. The Ducks lead the series 1-0. Long Island and Sugar Land have played 41 games against each other all-time, with the Skeeters holding a 26-15 lead in the series and a 16-5 advantage at Constellation Field.

Offensive Machine: Lew Ford extended his on-base streak to 19 consecutive games with two hits on Friday. That’s the longest by a Duck this season and the longest in the Atlantic League in 2014. Ford has also now hit safely in 11 consecutive games, tying him with Cody Puckett for the longest by a Duck and second-longest in the Atlantic League this year. Ford ranks second in the league in batting average (.380), hits (38) and total bases (59), third in on-base percentage (.442) and fourth in RBI (22), runs (22), and slugging percentage (.590).

Cody’s Streak Continues: Cody Puckett has now reached base in 16 consecutive games afterdrawing a walk on Friday. That’s the second-longest on-base streak by a Duck this year behind Ford. Puckett has earned at least one hit in 14 of those 16 games.

Good Things Come in Pairs: Keith Castillo earned his third multi-hit game and fourth multi-RBI game on Friday night with two apiece. The catcher has now totaled nine RBI on the season. Ford picked up his team-leading 11th multi-hit game on Friday with two singles.

Staying Perfect: Friday night’s win improved the Ducks record when scoring the game’s first run to a perfect 7-0 this year. Long Island is the only team in the Atlantic League with an undefeated record when scoring first in a game. In addition, the Ducks remained perfect when leading after six innings by improving to 12-0 in 2014. The Lancaster Barnstormers are the only other undefeated team when leading after six innings this year (15-0).

Pitching Leads the Way: With seven shutout innings on Friday, John Brownell continued a streak of terrific starting pitching by the Ducks. During their five-game winning streak, the starters are a combined 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA. In 34 innings, they’ve allowed just seven runs (five earned) on 31 hits and nine walks with 23 strikeouts. As for the bullpen, they now have a 0.47 ERA during the streak. In 19 innings, they’ve yielded just three hits and two walks while striking out 15.

On the Air: Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on Long Island’s home for news, traffic and weather, 103.9-FM LI News Radio. Live streaming audio will be available online by CLICKING HERE. Michael Polak will call the play-by-play. Fans can also watch live streaming video of the game online via ESPN 3 by CLICKING HERE.

Finally, here are this evening’s starting lineups. Manager Kevin Baez will go with the same exact lineup as last night and the same starting nine for a third consecutive game. Skeeters manager Gary Gaetti, however, has three different players in his lineup:

Ducks
#24 Fehlandt Lentini – RF
#2   Cody Puckett – 2B
#20 Lew Ford – CF
#22 Joash Brodin – RF
#50 Randy Ruiz – DH
#13 Adam Bailey – LF
#27 Keith Castillo – C
#5   Chris McClendon – 3B
#12 Dan Lyons – SS

#18 Bobby Blevins – RHP

Skeeters
#41 Adam Godwin – CF
#29 Ryan Langerhans – LF
#5   Chase Lambin – 2B
#16 Travis Scott – DH
#24 Delwyn Young – 1B
#6   Rusty Ryal – 3B
#25 Neil Medchill – RF
#22 Koby Clemens – C
#4   Dominic Ramos – SS

#26 Chris Smith – RHP

We’ll be keeping you updated throughout the course of the game right here, so simply hit the refresh button following the first pitch.

UPDATE (6:10): We are underway at Constellation Field!

UPDATE (6:40): No score after two in Sugar Land. Bobby Blevins works around a leadoff double in the second to keep the Skeeters off the scoreboard.

UDPATE (7:04): Nine straight have been retired by Blevins, but we remain scoreless through four innings. Great pitcher’s duel thus far!

UPDATE (7:32): The Ducks have broken through! Lew Ford breaks the scoreless tie with a two-out RBI single to left in the sixth that scores Fehlandt Lentini. 1-0 Long Island!

UPDATE (7:41): Skeeters scratch across the tying run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI groundout to second by Ryan Langerhans.

UPDATE (8:00): Long Island re-gains the lead on a RBI single to right off the bat of Adam Bailey! 2-1 Flock at the seventh inning stretch.

UPDATE (8:16): What a job by Blevins! He works out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the seventh to keep the Ducks on top 2-1!

UPDATE (8:37): The Skeeters are able to tie the game in the eighth as Adam Godwin scores on a groundout to first by Travis Scott. 2-2 the score.

UPDATE (8:57): Ducks strand two on in the top of the ninth, and we remain tied at two going to the bottom of the inning.

UPDATE (9:11): Sugar Land wins the ballgame 3-2 in the ninth on a walk-off hit to center by Ryan Langerhans. Series now tied at one apiece.

Games 4/5 Recap: Doubleheader Sweep

After three days off, one scheduled and two because of rain, the Long Island Ducks made it three consecutive wins to close the opening road trip of the season with a doubleheader sweep against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The Ducks picked up right where they left off in the postseason after sweeping the Blue Crabs in three games, using a combination of great pitching and timely hitting to earn a pair of wins. The Ducks now head home above .500 at 3-2 on the year and feeling extremely positive.

CLICK HERE to read a game recap on LIDucks.com, complete with audio game highlights

Offense was the story in game one despite a terrific start from Matt Way in his first game since August 16, 2013. The lefty allowed just one run, a solo homer by Johnny Bowden, and two hits over five innings. He walked on batter and struck out six, once again showing his swing-and-miss arsenal throughout the game. However, Long Island’s bats stole the show.

The Ducks mimicked the Patriots from Saturday night with five straight hits to open an inning, this time it was the third inning, and jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Even after the homer from Bowden, the Ducks jumped all over Southern Maryland for three more runs in the fourth to extend their lead to eight. Lew Ford’s three-run blast in the sixth, part of a five RBI day for the veteran, put a capper on an 11-run, 11-hit attack that gave the Flock their first blowout win of 2014.

Game two was more of a pitcher’s duel with Fernando Hernandez and Brian Burres locking up in a good battle. Hernandez deserves a lot of credit for settling down after a one-run, three-hit first inning to toss three more scoreless frames in his first start of the year. Burres had pretty good stuff for the Blue Crabs, but Keith Castillo opened eyes with a two-run homer after the hosts took the early lead to put the Crabs back in a hole. Dan Lyons added some insurance with his big single in the fifth, just adding to his resume of clutch hits.

Credit must be given once again to Long Island’s bullpen who now has given up just one run in 22 and one-third innings this year. That’s good for a 0.40 ERA. Brett Lorin and Steve Garrison each threw a scoreless frame in the opener, while the trio of Eric Niesen, Jeremy Accardo and Leo Rosales held the Blue Crabs in check in game two. Long Island’s relievers have been especially impressive through the first five games.

Here are the key contributors from today’s twinbill sweep:

Game 1:

Lew Ford: 2-4, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
Fehlandt Lentini: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
Joash Brodin: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB
Matt Way: W, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 77 pitches, 50 strikes

Game 2:

Keith Castillo: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
Ryan Strieby: 2-3, 2B, R
Dan Lyons: 1-3, RBI
Fernando Hernandez: ND, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 62 pitches, 37 strikes

Today’s postgame audio comes from three of these key contributors: Matt Way, Fernando Hernandez and Keith Castillo. Here are our interviews with them:

The Flock now returns home for their first game in the friendly confines of Bethpage Ballpark, which will take place on Friday night when the York Revolution come to town. As a reminder, the game is slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. with the gates opening at 6:05. Replica championship rings will go out to the first 1,500 fans, courtesy of P.C. Richard and Son, and fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:30 for the championship ring and banner raising ceremony. It should be a special night on Friday at the Duck Pond!

Rosales Returns; Roster Nearly Finalized

The man who toed the rubber in the ninth inning of Game Five in the 2012 and 2013 Atlantic League Championship Series is back. This week, 2013 All-Star Leo Rosales re-signed with the Ducks in hopes of making it three championships in three years.

“It’s very exciting,” said Rosales via telephone. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I’m just ready to come in and do a good job. I look forward to seeing where this year takes us.”

The Los Angeles native became the 13th player to return from last year’s title winning team and the 10th member of both the 2012 and 2013 squads to come back for 2014. The Ducks have built a core of players who have the experience of finding success with the Ducks and in the Atlantic League. Most importantly, they have brought back players who WANT to play on Long Island.

“I think it makes it a little bit easier because I think everybody knows what’s expected of the team and what needs to happen in order for us to win,” he said.

There aren’t many closers in professional baseball that can end a game with ease each time they take the mound. Even greats like Mariano Rivera go through their struggles and can cause some second-guessing among fans and organizations. Rosales certainly has put fans on the edge of their seat since he’s put on a Ducks uniform, but more often than not, the righty gets the job done. The Ducks have the man that will likely be their closer for 2014, and fans should be excited to have a guy like Rosales back on the roster.

“I just think people on Long Island just come out and have a great love for the game,” noted Rosales. “It’s a great place to play with a big fan base like that. It really helps as far as home field advantage. Not many other teams see that kind of fan appreciation.”

Speaking of the roster, it currently sits at 26 after three more players were signed on Wednesday. Those three were pitcher Jeremy Accardo, outfielder Quincy Latimore and catcher Keith Castillo. Accardo is an eight-year Major League veteran who has filled many different roles throughout his career. Latimore provides a power bat and versatility in the outfield. Castillo has been strong defensively in his career and joins Brian Peacock as the two catchers on the team. Let’s take a look at the roster as it currently is projected:

Pitchers:
Jeremy Accardo – RHP
Casey Barnes – RHP
Bobby Blevins – RHP
John Brownell – RHP
Shaun Garceau – RHP
Steve Garrison – LHP
Fernando Hernandez – RHP
Josh Lansford – RHP
Jared Lansford – RHP
Brett Lorin – RHP
Eric Niesen – LHP
Leo Rosales – RHP
Matt Way – LHP

Catchers:
Keith Castillo
Brian Peacock

Infielders:
Joash Brodin
Dan Lyons
Chris McClendon
Sergio Miranda
Cody Puckett
Ryan Strieby

Outfielders:
Adam Bailey
Lew Ford
Quincy Latimore
Fehlandt Lentini
Jon Myers

That equates to 13 position players and 13 pitchers, a very nice balance. Atlantic League teams are able to carry up to 27 players until June 1, so there could potentially be one more signing before Opening Night, likely a pitcher. Starters usually will not go deep into games early on, especially with only a week and a half of spring training. That means another bullpen arm could quite useful early in the season.

Spring training gets underway at Bethpage Ballpark on Monday, April 14 with player workouts taking place throughout the week. While the exhibition schedule has not been released just yet, the team did announce that they will face the Bridgeport Bluefish at 1:05 on Saturday, April 19 as part of Fan Fest at Bethpage Ballpark. In previous years, the team has usually played between three and four preseason games before the regular season begins.

“Quack of the Bat” will be the place to be throughout the next two weeks. We will be posting photos, video, interviews and information all week long from player workouts and spring training games. All of that will lead into Opening Night on Friday, April 25 when the Ducks head to Bridgewater, New Jersey to face the Somerset Patriots. As we get ready for players to arrive, we have some questions for our loyal readers:

-What do you think of the roster thus far?
-Who are you most happy to see return and which newcomer are you most excited to watch?
-In which area do you feel the Ducks are strongest?
-What position are you most concerned about this season?

Let us know your thoughts on all of these questions by commenting on this post. We might just post some of those responses once spring training gets underway. Get excited Ducks fans…Baseball is just days away!