The Result
Aeros - 5 to 4

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
11 wins - 17 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing rightfield
Batting #3

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 2 x strike outs, 1 x stolen base, 1 x run scored

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - "right down the middle"
"Well hit back up the middle" but fielded behind second base on a "fine defensive play and throw which robbed Roneberg of a hit"
Out 6-to-3
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
Called strike - curve ball
Foul ball - line drive down the leftfield side
Called strike - on the inside corner - "and Roneberg cannot believe it and is having a few words with the home plate umpire who took his mask off and had a few words of his own"
Strike out
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Foul ball - in the batter's box
"Ground ball which 'squeezed' through the right side for a base hit"
Single
Stole to second base
Scored on a hit
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Foul ball - "and that just missed the first base bag"
Ball - inside - "Brett skipped out of the way"
Ball - outside and low
Swing&miss - breaking pitch - "Roneberg may have chased ball three"
Foul ball - "Roneberg was fooled on that pitch and hit a soft ground ball that went foul down the first base line"
Swing&miss - fast ball
Strike out

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett came in for his second at-bat, the commentator said that "Brett currently has an eleven-game hitting streak going"

(2) After his hit in his third at-bat, the commentator then said "Brett has extended his hitting streak to twelve games and that is the longest by a Sea Dog player since May/June 2003"

Email from Brett
N/A

Game Reports
Dogs on short end of slugfest at Akron

By the time many of the 8,636 fans at Canal Park were still settling into their seats, the game was just about finished.

The Portland Sea Dogs and Akron Aeros combined for seven runs in the first two innings, all on home runs, and the Aeros had all the offense they needed for a 5-4 victory Saturday night.

The long-ball deluge began with Jason Cooper's three-run shot off Sea Dogs starter Abe Alvarez in the first inning.

But Portland trimmed the deficit to one on back-to-back solo homers by John Hattig and Jeff Bailey against Akron starter Victor Kleine in the second inning.

"Victor made some mistakes early, leaving the ball up a bit," Aeros Manager Brad Komminsk said.
"We were just lucky they were solo shots. But he learned quickly and kept the ball down from then on."

Of course, the home-run derby wasn't over just yet.

Zach Sorensen's two-run blast in the bottom of the second built the Aeros' lead back to three - all that action by the conclusion of the second inning.

"On a warm night like this, when you get a lot of balls hit out early, things can get out of hand," Portland Manager Ron Johnson said.
"But it was a nice, clean game.
"Heck, I wish they all could be - except with a different outcome."

Once Alvarez and Kleine settled in, the next three innings were scoreless.

"Abe really did a tremendous job when you consider that the only professional experience he has beyond this season is just 19 innings at Lowell in rookie ball," Johnson said.
"And that first inning, it was a situation where a broken-bat single, a walk on a questionable call and a 3-2 count to a left-hander turns into a big homer."

With Jake Robbins on in relief of Kleine in the sixth, Portland began to chip away at the lead with help from back-to-back singles and a stolen base.
After Brett Roneberg led off with a hit to increase his hitting streak to 12 games, he promptly stole second and came home on Sean McGowan's single to right field.

The Aeros, meanwhile, were hitless from the third inning through Ben Francisco's leadoff single in the eighth.

Aeros closer Lee Gronkiewicz came on in the ninth and promptly gave up the longest homer of the night, a shot by Hattig that not only cleared the right-field bleachers but left the park entirely.

"We've got some big guys that can hit the ball," said Johnson.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Akron

Jason Cooper and Zach Sorensen went deep off of Abe Alvarez in the first two innings, and that is all the Akron Aeros would need to defeat the Portland Sea Dogs, 5-4 on Saturday.

Cooper's three-run home run to right-center field put Portland in an early 3-0 hole.

The Sea Dogs used the long ball to answer Akron in the top of the second, as John Hattig and Jeff Bailey smacked back-to-back home runs off of Victor Kleine to cut the Aeros' lead down to one.

Sorensen gave Akron a 5-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning by belting his first round-tripper of the year.

Hattig added his second home run of the game, and his sixth of the year, in the top of the ninth inning.

Kleine picked up the win in his first decision of the season.
In five innings of work, the lefty gave up just two runs on five hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk.

Alvarez absorbed the loss and fell to 2-3.
He was tagged for five runs on seven hits in six innings of work.

The Aeros improved to 15-13 with the win, while the Sea Dogs dropped to 11-17.

Cooper hits three-run homer in Aeros' win

Jason Cooper hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and the Akron Aeros survived the Portland Sea Dogs' comeback to win, 5-4, Saturday night in an Eastern League game at Akron.

With Franklin Gutierrez and Corey Smith on base and two outs, Cooper homered to right off of Portland starter Abe Alvarez.

Zach Sorensen added a two-run homer in the second inning.

Akron starter Victor Kleine (1-0) gave up five hits and two runs in five innings.

Lee Gronkiewicz gave up one run in the ninth for his fifth save.

Alvarez (2-3) settled down after the second inning, giving up only those five early runs and lasting six innings.

John Hattig homered twice for Portland, bringing his season total to six.

Late arrivals miss home run show
Cooper, Sorensen lead way with blasts for Aeros

When there are seven runs scored in the first two innings of a game and they all come via home runs, a late-arriving crowd sure can miss a lot.
By the time many of the 8,636 fans who eventually strolled into Canal Park on Saturday evening for the Aeros' 5-4 win over the Portland Sea Dogs, a pair of home runs had already given the Aeros all the offense they would need.

The long-ball deluge began with Jason Cooper's three-run shot off Sea Dogs starter Abe Alvarez in the first inning.

That was quickly topped by back-to-back solo homers by John Hattig and Jeff Bailey against Aeros starter Victor Kleine, trimming the lead to 3-2.

``Victor made some mistakes early, leaving the ball up a bit,'' Aeros manager Brad Komminsk said.
``We were just lucky they were solo shots.''

The early home run derby wasn't over until Zach Sorensen's two-run blast handed the Aeros a three-run lead.

``On a warm night like this, when you get a lot of balls hit out early, things can get out of hand,'' Portland manager Ron Johnson said.
``But it was a nice, clean game. Heck, I wish they all could be -- except with a different outcome.''

Once Alvarez and Kleine settled in, the teams swapped zeros for three unceremonious innings.

``Abe really did a tremendous job when you consider that the only professional experience he has beyond this season is just 19 innings at Lowell in rookie ball,'' Johnson said.
``And that first inning, it was a situation where a broken-bat single, a walk on a questionable call and a 3-2 count to a left-hander turns into a big homer.''

With Jake Robbins on in relief of Kleine in the sixth, Portland began to chip away at the lead with the aid of back-to-back singles and a stolen base.

Holding a two-run advantage, the Aeros didn't manage another hit from the first at-bat of the third inning through a Ben Francisco single that led off the bottom of the eighth.

Aeros closer Lee Gronkiewicz walked a fine line in the ninth inning in search of his fifth save.
The first batter he faced, hulking third baseman Hattig, hit the longest homer of the night -- a shot that not only cleared the right-field bleachers, but also left the park.

``We've got some big guys that can hit the ball,'' Johnson said.