One of the biggest issues for the Aberdeen IronBirds over the past few weeks has been their pitching.
Their struggles have resulted in them barely hanging on to a winning record in the second half and a negative run differential.
A visit with the Renegades turned out to be a step forward in the pitching department. In five of the six games, Aberdeen held them to three runs or less. The one game they didn’t was a 6-5 victory to end the series Sunday.
Billy Cook continued his strong August with another stellar series, collecting at least one hit in four out of five games, including two multi-hit games.
Coming on strong in Friday’s 10-0 victory, Cook would collect three hits in five trips to the plate. He would hit a double and a home run, scoring two runs and knocking in two more.
Cook is now batting .200 on the season, hitting 12 home runs and collecting 49 RBIs and has also stolen 20 bases on the season.
Catcher Connor Pavolony had a strong series, as he hit .285 across four games.
In Sunday’s 6-5 victory, Pavolony would collect a double and a triple, driving in three runs.
Pavolony raised his season average .017 points across the series, to .185. He has one home run and 15 RBIs on the season. He also has five doubles and two triples.
Cade Povich has only been with the team a couple of weeks, but right off the bat, he is looking like a gem from the Jorge LĂłpez trade.
Making his second start for Aberdeen, he followed up his first one with an equally impressive showing. This time, Povich pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and striking out seven, allowing zero runs again.
For Aberdeen, Povich is now 2-0 with 12 innings pitched in two games. He has allowed no runs and struck out 15, while walking two batters and allowing four hits.
He improves to 8-8 on the season with a 3.87 ERA and has pitched 90.2 innings across 18 games, while striking out 122 against 28 walks.
Aberdeen, now 22-19 in the second half, will welcome the Ashville Tourists to town, who are currently on a three-game losing streak. Both teams will be looking to improve their standing in the division with this series.
First game of a doubleheader Tuesday starts at 5:05 p.m. EST. Will Aberdeen keep it’s recent run of pitching success?
Who stood out to you this week for Aberdeen? Let us know in the comments below! And make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook and Twitter, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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