Aeros down Sea Dogs

The Akron Aeros defeated the Sea Dogs 8-1 on a beautiful Friday evening in front of a packed house at Hadlock Field. Charlie Zink pitched two solid innings to start the game and it looked for a while like we were in for a pitchers duel between Zink and Akron starter Rafael Perez. That changed when Zink gave up back-to-back home runs to Jon Van Every and Javier Cardona to start the third. Zink struggled a bit after that point as the Aeros rolled. The Sea Dogs managed just four hits off Perez and two relievers, with David Murphy's home run accounting for their lone run.

Scorer's Notes:

• Murphy's stock continues to rise again as his bat is coming around. Sometimes batting 9th less than a month ago, he was in the three hole last night despite facing a lefty. Murphy now boasts a 746 OPS and is second on the team with 49 RBI. He also made a nice running, back-to-the-infield catch on Franklin Gutierrez' long fly ball in the third.
• Perez has now made three starts for the Aeros with a 0.89 ERA. Perez was fairly well-regarded following the 2003 season, however he struggled quite a bit last year. He seems to have regained his form, posting a 3.32 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, however the 48/32 K/BB ratio (in 77.2 IP) was ho-hum. In 20.1 IP at Akron, however, he's allowed just 14 hits and 5 walks while recording 17 K's. Last night Perez featured a featured a fastball that topped out at 90 mph and a slider in the low-80's. Last night his sinker led to 11 ground ball outs and 4 K's.
• Akron featured the smallest first baseman I have ever seen in AA: Shaun Larkin, who I believe is usually a second baseman. Listed at 5'9", 170 lbs, he looked smaller to me than Dustin Pedroia. He's got some pop (20 HR in 2003), though he has been old for the leagues that he has played in since finishing college. Larkin has struggled with his first taste of AA: 224/299/377-4-25 in 49 games. His walk rate this year is higher than in years past, which is a good sign for him.
• I got my first look at Jason Pearson, who Portland rescued from the Atlantic League a week ago. Pearson is a lefty who features a slow curve ball. With the exception of the double that he allowed to Cardona in the 8th to allow two inherited runners to score, Pearson pitched pretty well in relief.
• Yesterday I wrote that Aeros 1B Michael Aubrey "must have missed some time with injury this year." Well, duh - he's on the DL right now with a bone bruise in his back. By the sound of what I read at the Cleveland Indians Report, Aubrey has been a bit injury-prone in his career to date.
• The PA crew showed a possible-record three Red Sox highlights during last night's game. Boston's 17-1 destruction of the Yankees was the best news the Hadlock Faithful received all night.