RubberDucks Beaten by Curve Homers, 6-3 and 5-4

RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score: Game 1 | Game 2

Game 1: Altoona Curve (28-37, 59-75) 6, Akron RubberDucks (31-33, 66-66) 3

WP: Peyton Stumbo (3-12) LP: Jay Driver (7-3) SV: Tyler Owens (5)

Game 2: Altoona Curve (29-37, 60-75) 5, Akron RubberDucks (31-34, 66-67) 4

WP: Aaron Shortridge (4-0) LP: Cam Schuelke (0-1)

Summary

Altoona swept a doubleheader from Akron at Peoples Natural Gas Field Thursday, erasing a three-run deficit with six runs in the sixth inning of Game 1 and winning Game 2 on center fielder Lonnie White Jr.’s walk-off home run in the eighth.

Game 1

RubberDucks left-hander Franklin Gómez carried a one-hitter into the sixth, and Akron led 3-0 behind third baseman Luke Hill’s second-inning sacrifice fly and center fielder Jace LaViolette’s two-out, two-run homer in the fifth. The Curve sent nine men to the plate in the sixth. Gómez walked the leadoff batter before right-hander Jay Driver walked two more. A wild pitch brought home the first run, left fielder Titus Dumitru added a two-run single and center fielder Will Taylor followed with a two-out, three-run homer for a 6-3 lead. Driver was charged with the blown save and the loss, and Altoona right-hander Peyton Stumbo went six innings for the win.

Game 2

Akron built a 4-1 lead. Catcher Bennett Thompson doubled home a run in the third and right fielder Aaron Walton followed with a two-out, two-run double. Third baseman Dean Curley homered in the fourth. Left-hander Caden Favors struck out nine over six innings but gave up three in the fifth on Ryan McCarty’s RBI single, a run-scoring force out and first baseman Callan Moss’s sacrifice fly. Thompson threw out the automatic runner stealing third in the eighth before White drove a 2-1 pitch to the left-field bleachers off right-hander Cam Schuelke for the winner.

Notebook

LaViolette’s homer was his seventh and Curley’s his sixth…Designated hitter Jaison Chourio stole his 31st base with Akron in Game 1…Favors has a Guardians-organization-leading 140 strikeouts in 128 innings this season…RubberDucks pitching struck out 14 on the day…First baseman Jake Fox had his six-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2…Akron fell to 10-11 against the Curve in 2026 and 4-5 at Peoples Natural Gas Field…Altoona has a season-long five-game winning streak…Game 1 Time: 1:48…Game 2 Time: 2:04…Attendance: 3,000.

On the Pond

The RubberDucks continue the series at Altoona at 6:00 p.m. Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Akron left-hander Rafe Schlesinger (4-4, 4.36 ERA) is scheduled to face Curve right-hander Matt Ager (6-5, 5.87 ERA). The game broadcast is on 99.7 Canton’s New Country, the 99.7 Canton’s New Country iHeartRadio channel, akronrubberducks.com, and the Bally Sports Live, MiLB and MLB apps. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available on the MiLB app and akronrubberducks.com/tickets.