The Aberdeen IronBirds are quickly starting to turn heads. With the Brooklyn Cyclones in town, the IronBirds were not about to slow down.
After winning four of the five games they played this week and nine out of their last 10, the IronBirds find themselves all alone in first place at 19-6. This is four games better than the next best team in the SAL, and they already hold a 5.5 game lead over second place in their division.
The IronBirds have a +38 run differential. They have scored the second most runs in the league at 146 and have the most home victories with 12. It’s easy to see that Aberdeen right now is the class of the South Atlantic League.
One player leading the charge this week for Aberdeen was first baseman Jacob Teter. To start the month off, Teter had a 5-or-17 week that saw him raise his batting average .021 points to .246 on the year.
A series that saw Teter pick up five RBIs, the former Florida Southern alumni had his best game in the IronBirds’ 4-3 victory Sunday, the first game of a doubleheader.
Teter would go 2-for-3 at the plate. Teter would collect his fourth double of the season, while also picking up RBI No. 11 in leading his team to victory. On the young season, Teter is now batting .246 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.
Outfielder Billy Cook had a strong series that saw him hit two home runs in three games.
In the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader, a 5-1 Aberdeen victory, Cook would homer, his third on the year, and collect one of the team’s five walks. Stealing his eighth base of the season also led to him scoring a run.
On the season, Cook raised his average .020 points to .203. Now with three homers on the year, Cook also has nine RBIs and has stolen 89% of his stolen base attempts successfully.
On May 3, the IronBirds beat the Cyclones, 3-1, behind strong pitching. It was the relief pitching that gets the credit for the strong showing in this game.
Righty Ignacio Feliz entered the game with Aberdeen losing, 1-0. He would go on to pitch five innings of one-hit ball, allowing zero runs and striking out five. This would allow Aberdeen to score late in the game and claim victory.
Feliz would move to 2-0 on the season, while dropping his ERA nearly three points after his outing. He now has pitched 15.2 innings, striking out an impressive 31 batters.
Feliz would propel his outing into the SAL High-A Pitcher of the Week honors. His strong outing was instrumental in Aberdeen’s victory and helped guide them to another strong series performance.
Carlos Tavera was another pitcher who stood out this series. In game one of the IronBirds’ 4-3 victory, Tavera was the starter on the mound.
Though he would not pick up the victory, Tavera would pitch four innings of no-hit ball, striking out five. Aberdeen would do all their scoring while Tavera was in the game, which enabled them to hold on to the 4-3 victory.
Tavera would improve his ERA to 4.42 across 18.1 innings. He is 1-0 with 23 strikeouts, and his WHIP now stands at 1.20.
After Monday’s off day, Aberdeen will travel to Wappinger Falls to take on the Hudson Valley Renegades (14-12).
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